THUNDER BAY – At six, Tanner Williamson hopped in a go-kart and with that, was hooked on racing.
By 13 he had graduated to stock cars and now, at 17, he’s already got three feature wins under his young racing belt, including a first-place finish on Saturday in the modified stock car event at the Thunder Bay Truck Centre Dirt Track Nationals, the first official win at the newly opened Dairy Queen International Speedway.
The Fort Frances, Ont. native has been building his track credibility the past several years, and it’s all coming together this summer he said, as he and his crew prepped for Sunday’s finale.
He’s excited to have another speedway in the region, especially one that plans to offer racing weekly on Wednesday night next summer, up to 14 different race nights.
What a track, he said.
“It’s a very beautiful track, I love every bit of it,” the teenager said, admitting his racing dream would take him to the NASCAR circuit.
“The mod’s been running excellent. We got third place in the heat race and went out and took the A-feature from third place. It’s been a pretty successful weekend so far.”
Williamson said racing’s been a part of his life as long as he can remember.
“Ever since (I was a kid) I’ve been coming out to the race track every weekend and feeling the engines, hearing the people around you cheering you on, the excitement, the atmosphere of the sport, it’s amazing.”
That’s just how track co-founder Louis Nadin felt on Sunday, the roar of the race cars whipping around a speedway built as a labour of love and a love of the sport music to his ears.
With thousands of fans filling the grandstands, Nadin and his brother, Norm, are excited at the possibilities looming in front of them, next year and beyond.
“It’s been an amazing weekend. The crowds are unbelievable, the weather’s great, the pits are full of drivers – there are probably 100 drivers in the pits. It’s just amazing, it’s a great turnout,” Nadin said.
Week 1 was part of a learning curve for track officials, who spent Saturday night grading the circuit after two days of hard riding by some of Ontario’s finest stock-car drivers.
“The track’s a little bumpy, but they worked on it last night until about two in the morning. My brother was on the grader and there were a couple of guys on the packer, so they got it dialled in pretty good,” Nadin said.
“It’s taken a little bit of a beating, but it’s kind of the maiden voyage for this track, so it’s going to probably take a year or two to get it where it needs to be.”
Racing is expected to continue in 2022.
Final results weren't immediately available following Sunday's races.
