After rain and hail delayed the start of the racing season in the Southeast a couple of weeks ago, racers and fans rallied around the Estevan Motor Speedway yesterday to get the facility ready for opening night. 

"It was big. We had to clean up about 3 weeks ago and we might've had 8 or 10 people there. Tonight, I bet you we had 30 people. We had drivers, we had families of drivers, we had, you know, fans - we had a bit of everything.  A lot of our normal volunteers were here, a lot of our board members, so I just pumped to see so many people. We got a lot done," expressed President Brad Pierson. 

Board members of the Speedway put a call out to the community Thursday morning for some help with housekeeping around the track via their Facebook page. Volunteers showed up ready to work. Much of the work surrounded getting rid of old signage, putting up fencing in various parts of the facility, disposing of tumbleweeds, and hauling wood out of the spectator's stands. 

Pierson added that he is excited to open the gates to the public on Saturday night. "I think a bit more than usual because we got rained out two weeks ago. We were really fortunate over the past few years where if we did get rained out, we just pushed back a day so we didn't lose any races. So it was disappointing 2 weeks ago [when] the weather wasn't that good. We're really excited for Saturday and what it has to bring."

The opening night on May 18th is themed to be First Responders Night. Several first responders' vehicles from the police, fire department, and EMS will be featured. He added that there will also be a cabaret scheduled after the race to celebrate the Victoria Day long weekend.