Reflections of Ponoka: Ponoka area drivers were stars on the 70’s stock car circuit

Into the 1970s, the active Ponoka Stock Car Club was blazing a trail of glory and good times on the noisy and dusty racing tracks in Central Alberta.

Along the way for more than an exciting decade they would have their share of prizes and pile-ups, but always gathered a rambunctious following of family, fans, sponsors, and avid community spirit.

Rain or shine, these amateur Mario Andrettis would load up their metal monsters most every summer weekend and head for the red hot racing action sponsored by the Central Alberta Stock Car Club. As well as family and fans our hot-rodders were accompanied by their reliable pit crews, along with an extra half-ton truck full of parts, pieces, extra tires, gas and oil, and maybe even a few cases of beer. Their motto: “If it breaks, weld it back together, but no matter what, get it fixed and back out on the track before the next race!” If their junk yard creation was smashed up too badly, they would likely spend all week after work putting it all back together again for the next meet, burning the midnight oil and making many trips to the local auto wreckers.

In those days the challenging dirt tracks at Bashaw, Alix, Camrose, Wetaskiwin, Drayton Valley, and Crossroads Speedway north of Red Deer were the oval battlegrounds for the wild and woolly weekend stock car racing fraternity. The makeshift tracks were surrounded by rows of wooden bleachers behind high wire safety fences, and those seats were always packed to capacity with boisterous fans of all ages. An afternoon of stock car racing would usually feature regular heats of up to 10 laps around the track, the popular powder-puff derby for the ladies, as well as many other exciting feature dashes, with any number of cars vying for position down the straight-aways or around the banked corners. Every one of those races was wild and unpredictable but safety was always stressed, as the drivers were required to wear helmets and seat belts, while their cars were built like Sherman tanks, and included roll bars, heavy wire on the windows, and bumpers made of heavy duty pipe. This way they would survive the nudges and collisions, the occasional rollover, and many unplanned trips off the track and into the mud and the bush!

Ponoka club was a friendly team effort

The Ponoka Stock Car Club was formed in 1966 and quickly gained popularity and enthusiastic membership and support. Initial drivers included: Keith Hopgood, Bob Delong, Dick Sykes, Bob (Louie) Smith, Tom Mackie, Merle Sebry, Louie Peterson, Wayne Hunt, Bob Azure, Sheldon Pregitzer, Bill Lucas, Beth Sykes, and Janice Mackie, with many others bravely testing their skills along the way.

As always, the community responded with great gusto for this new motorsport, with sponsorships coming from early businesses such as: Riverside Service, Jimmy’s Esso, Royal Cab, Kraft Auto Service, Loucks Motors, Reg’s Auto Wreckers, Vern Hunt Transport, and others. Reg Rust Building Construction was one of the car sponsors, but always loved hanging out with the gang and helping with the welding of the roll bars as well as assisting with minor repairs.

Popular mechanic Keith Hopgood was one of the biggest early promoters of the Ponoka Stock Car Club, serving for many years on the executive, keeping his own car running, but always willing to lend a hand to fellow members when it was needed. It became a neat tradition that all of the club members helped each other on many occasions, but when they got behind the wheel and headed out onto the racetrack it was always pedal to the metal and everyone for themselves.

As a cub reporter with the Ponoka Herald I got the great opportunity of covering all the action of the Ponoka Stock Car Club, loving to cheer on those good old guys and gals, and being invited into the infield to take photos after the race. I will always enjoy sharing the memories of that exciting mix of competition, skills, and camaraderie, both on the track and all around our community!

Along with dances and other community fundraisers organized by the club, one of their initial race meets was held on the track at the Ponoka Stampede Grounds. A good crowd was on hand, but unfortunately one of the cars went through the fence, it was very expensive to repair, and no more meets were hosted there. In the early 1970s the Ponoka Stock Car Club obtained some land south of the Battle River just off Highway 53, and the County of Ponoka graciously built a fine track using their equipment fleet. The club then sought permission from the provincial government to operate the track, but the requirements of putting in access roads would be far too expensive, and sadly the track had to be abandoned without a single event being held.

Stock racing and other motorsports still carry on each summer at Camrose, Wetaskiwin, Rimbey and other centres. Meetings are currently underway to build another track in central Alberta, and wouldn’t it be nice if the Ponoka district and our new generations of racers and fans might be considered as the hosts?