Gerrard Diaz, gdiaz@shawanoleader.com
Like a displeased parent of a teenager, Mother Nature has taken the Shawano Speedway keys away for at least one more week.
Soggy conditions forced the speedway to delay the start of its season until track conditions improve.
Opening night, originally set for April 19, has been moved to April 26.
“The track isn’t ready,” said Dale Hodkiewicz, Shawano Speedway president. “It’s wet, it’s sloppy, the grounds are wet, the pits are wet. It’s been so cold we can’t even turn the water on in the bathroom yet. There’s several reasons that we cancelled it for the week.”
This is the second year in a row the speedway has had to delay the start of its season. Opening night came two weeks late last year, not getting under way until May 4.
Hodkiewicz hopes it is only a week delay this year.
“That’s our goal, let’s put it that way,” he said. “We’ll shoot for the 26th. If it rains all week, well, that takes care of that.”
Hodkiewicz said the track needs some warm weather to get all of the frost out of the ground and for the track to dry enough for workers to get on it and prepare it for racing.
“It’s sloppy,” he said. “I was down there today, the infields are just mud all over. We still have snow on the south side of the track.”
Hodkiewicz said the track usually does not run opening night special promotions just in case something like this happens.
If the track is ready for April 26, the speedway will hold a practice session at 6:30 p.m. April 25.
The opening of the track would be held May 3 if it is not ready for April 26.