NASCAR series comes to Newfoundland and Labrador this year

The biggest name in motor racing, NASCAR, will come to Newfoundland and Labrador this summer.

The Eastbound Speedway in Avondale will host races for regional NASCAR competitions this year, the organization announced on Tuesday.

The speedway will become one of only four NASCAR "home tracks" in Canada.

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"In Avondale here, they've got a first class facility that's incredible. I've seen it in pictures, and I got a chance to stand on the ground yesterday," said NASCAR's Alex Nagy.

"It takes commitment, facility, desire, dedication and all the ingredients are here."

Eastbound will host races in the Whelen All-American Series, a continent-wide racing championship where drivers compete based on point totals from individual races.

Winners in the local races will be invited to NASCAR "Night of Champions" gala in North Carolina.

The Whelen series is considered one of the developmental rungs on the NASCAR ladder, where local drivers are featured on local tracks.

Community growth

While the agreement doesn't necessarily mean the big-league racers will grace the track in Newfoundland, one local driver says it will be a great addition to the growing racing community in the province.

"It's definitely a big step, cause now everything is more legitimate," said Josh Collins. 

"It's not just another race track."

Collins was the first person from Newfoundland and Labrador to race in a NASCAR event when he took part in the Canadian Tire NASCAR series in Nova Scotia last year.

He says the Avondale track has come a long way in the last two years, since current owner Pat Squires took over the facility and built new tracks.

"'It's after growing, major. There's three times as many cars and people. It's just a really nice facility."

Michael James, the director of events at Eastbound, says the number of racing teams in the province has grown substantially because of Squires's efforts.

"A lot of that goes back to Pat Squires importing race cars from all over North America into the island and building teams to where they are today," he said.

Squires told the crowd at the unveiling on Tuesday that he and his team worked on the track tirelessly to make sure they were "able to get somebody to be on the world stage."

The first NASCAR event at the Avalon Speedway will be held on May 22.