PGARA to open season this weekend despite $70,000 theft

The Turgeon Memorial has been given the green light this weekend, officially kicking off PGARA’s 2024 season.

“We are going to have all four classes running around out here, it is going to be good racing,” Aaron Conn, the Vice President of PGARA Speedway, told My PG Now.

PGARA runs four classes – Hornets, Mini Stocks, Street Stocks, and Legends.

Hornets are largely beginners, many of whom are 16 and under and don’t even have driver’s licenses yet.

The other categories fall under different specific rules which you can find here.

Conn said they expect between 200-600 fans to come out and watch, depending on the weather.

“We should have a decent crowd, they were pretty good last year and just kept getting better and better,” he said.

Preparing for the season has not been smooth sailing for PGARA.

When staff returned to the race track after winter, they found between $50,000 – $70,000 of wiring had been stolen.

“All our lighting, PA system, and timing booth wiring got stolen,” Conn said. “They did a lot of damage and probably got less than $200 in copper.”

“We are trying to get it fixed right now… onwards and upwards trying to get things going,” he said, adding PGARA has an open file with the RCMP on the theft.

“When we found out last week how much was wrecked and stolen, we started trying to get things done. We have been on the phone every day since trying to get things happening, and every day we have been going as hard as we can at the track trying to get it fixed.”

PGARA is a non-profit, Conn said he is thankful for their sponsors now more than ever.

“Without our good sponsors we can’t do this,” he said. “Without them we don’t have a place to play. There are so many people who do so much for us at this race track, from our sponsors and volunteers to our racers and our fans.”

The opening weekend Turgeon Memorial is scheduled for Saturday starting with time trials at 6:00 followed by racing at 7:00.

You can learn more about PGARA here.