Forum: Minnesota Dirt Track Racing Forum (go)
Moderators: StanM

Weather Delays St. Croix Valley Raceway Opener To May 18
St. Croix Valley Raceway
St. Croix Falls, WI
By: Greg Parent (5-7-12)

Adverse weather has plagued all area race tracks in recent weeks, and the planned opener for the St. Croix Valley Raceway on May 11 has already felt the impact of the weather. Heavy rains during the past two weeks have set back the construction of the new safety catch fence while not allowing heavy equipment on the track. "We need to be fully race ready on our opening night instead of where we are at right now. In the past two weeks, we've received 8" of rain at the track. This has put us behind schedule, so unfortunately we must postpone our season opener one week to May 18," stated track co-owner and promoter Ron Bernhagen.

Continued Bernhagen, "Assuming cooperative weather during the next couple of weeks, we should be right on target to start the 2012 season on Friday May 18 with a great track surface and new safety catch fence in place along with numerous other improvements at our facility." The rescheduled opener on May 18 will feature the five regular weekly divisions including the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, the UMSS Traditional Sprint Car Series, the UMSS Micro Sprints, the SCVR Pure Stocks and the Future IVs (hornets). The UMSS winged sprints will not run at the May 18 opener, since they are scheduled to compete in the 1st Annual Davey Tabor Memorial the following Friday night May 25. The winner of the UMSS winged sprint car feature that night will receive $1,034 thanks to some sponsorship from GRP Motorsports along with an increased payout for all remaining feature race positions courtesy of the Tabor family.

Stated track owner Rick Mastell, "Everybody has been eagerly looking forward to our season opener and several of our SCVR team members have been working long hours to try and stay on schedule, but there isn't much we can do about the weather setback. Both Ron and I feel this will work out for the best for our drivers, fans, and the track itself, as we will be ready to present an entertaining opening night program on what should be a very competitive track." St. Croix Valley Raceway will hold a practice session on Thursday night May 17 from 7:00 until 10:00 pm. This will give the drivers and crews their first opportunity to turn some fast laps at SCVR with the season opener the following night.

Please note those towing large race car haulers to the track from Minnesota will need to use the bridge at Osceola or other bridges south of there, as the construction work on the Taylors Falls Highway 8 bridge has restricted lane widths for larger vehicles or those pulling trailers. For up-to-date information about the St. Croix Valley Raceway, please visit our website at www.scvraceway.com or like us on Facebook. Additional race information is available by contacting Ron Bernhagen at 612-363-5302. We look forward to seeing many drivers and fans on May 17 and 18, as the 2012 season gets underway at the St. Croix Valley Raceway.

Even as early as Monday morning, SCVR was still on schedule to try and make an attempt at opening on Friday May 11. The weather delays caught up with them and they realized that there wasn't going to be enough hours in remaining days to get all the work completed on the new safety fencing before the Friday opener. Sorry, but Mother Nature in a bit of a round-about way has claimed another race night as a victim this spring.