Delaware Speedway is a half-mile paved race track that is one of the oldest continuously operating tracks in Canada. It is located a few minutes west of London, Ontario northeast of Delaware, Ontario. It hosts stock car racing every Friday night during the summer. The track opened in 1952 as a quarter-mile dirt track that was paved in 1960. In August 1969, the track was expanded to a 1/2 mile paved oval and continues today.
Divisions
The track hosts four different divisions as part of its home classes (Late Model, Super Stock, V8 Stock, Bone Stock). They also host the King of the Hill spectators races.
Late Model
Late Models are purpose-built race cars. They are the fastest weekly class at the speedway and drivers in the series make occasional trips to other speedways in the province for large special events or tour the province with the APC United Late Model Series. The signature event for the Late Models is "The Great Canadian Race" held annually.
Super Stock
This class is made up of mid-1970s through mid-1980s North American vehicles. The cars are sometimes described as "The Late Model of Yesterday" in reference to their similar look to the old Late Model class. The cars have been modified with safety and performance in mind. The division was known as the "Street Stock" class until its name was changed to "Super Stock" several races into the 2007 season. The change occurred as a result of gradual improvements to the quality of the cars in recent years and the signing of a new sponsor to the division. The speedway announced that more modern muscle car body packages will be introduced for the 2011 season including Dodge Challenger, Chevrolet Camaro, and Ford Mustang.
V8 Stock
The V8 Stock division is one of the newest at Delaware Speedway, however the series has roots dating far back into the track's history with the Enduro Series, which thrived in the 80's and 90's. After the collapse of the Enduro series, the V8 Stock division was born as a weekly series. These full bodied stock cars and trucks have in a way taken over where the Street Stock division was in the 90's before its evolution to the Super Stocks. In recent years the V8 Stock Series has seen car counts grow to record numbers with more drivers entering from the Bone Stocks. In 2019 the Division was combined with the V8 Truck division, allowing drivers to compete with an array of V8 style vehicles.
Bone Stocks
In an effort to create an easy entry level and add additional entertainment value to the track, the speedway announced in the 2008 Rule package the introduction of a 4-cylinder "Chaos Car". The division was developed by track announcer John Houghton. The class ran in "Novelty" type events before Enduro races and occasionally at the conclusion of the Friday program. Over ten different vehicles were entered into competition in the first year. Race courses included "barrel turns" where drivers had to drive 360 degrees around a barrel before continuing, weaving cones, stop boxes as well as small launch ramps in the season finale. The inaugural "Chaos Car" champion in 2008 was "SnotRod", built by Mark Thyssen and piloted by Tyssen Toll. In 2009, Spencer Rabideau in "Bush Bomb" claimed the title at the season finale in which nine drivers competed. The car count held steady into the beginning of the 2010 season, which finished the year with 12 vehicles competing in the finale in which the championship was won by "Blue Thunder". The 2011 season built on the success regularly starting more than 10 drivers and finishing the year with 15 drivers at the season finale.
The series experienced the largest single-day growth of a division in speedway history with the introduction of the "Bone Stock" format, which updated the Chaos Car rules to fit an old-school 1990's Enduro-type race. The Bone Stock 75 made its debut on October 15, 2011, in which 30 drivers arrived to compete, nearly doubling the size of the division.
Junior Racing League
The Junior Racing League races on Wednesday nights on a special roadcourse in the infield. The drivers (aged 8–17) years old race 1/2 scale late model stock cars. The program was formerly known as the "CASCAR Junior Program" and was founded in 1997. Racing is divided into two divisions - Junior (8–12 years old) and Senior (13–17 years old). The program has seen many drivers graduate to higher divisions in racing, including J. R. Fitzpatrick.
History
Opening (1952) The track was opened in 1952 by Hugh Brodie as a 1/4 mile dirt track and operated as such until it became a 1/4 paved oval in 1960. Expansion to its present-day 1/2 mile paved track configuration took place in 1969.