HISTORY


Agassiz Speedway (formerly known as Kent Raceways) is located just outside of Agassiz, BC. (you can get there by heading towards Harrison Hot Springs and then follow the signs 5km before Harrison) Kent Raceways Society is a non-profit society committed to furthering motor sports in general and stock car racing in the Fraser Valley.

In 1956 the Agassiz Harrison Piston Pilots Automobile club was organized by the local Anglican minister Father D.F. Belway and some of the local youths. The club started racing in a field on McCallum Road owned by Mark Striker. In 1958 the club moved to a second location a field of Tranmer Road where they cleared and constructed a rough 3/10 mile track. They raced at this location until 1959 when the land was lost to a finance company.
In 1969 the Piston Pilots led by Dave Freeman and Don Sciotti moved to a site at the base of Agassiz Mountain and started building the present race track. The track was constructed for fun, not big time racing, and for the first three years racing was done if and when cars were available and when the weather co-operated. The track was a very rough plain red dirt 2/10 mile oval with no banking or guardrails and very little spectator seating. The first car to run the track did not even have a cage. After the car rolled on the first time around the track racing was delayed until cages were installed in the remaining cars. Rules were adopted from Digby Speedway in Burnaby. Anyone racing or attending the races came away covered in dirt. In the early days when there was no income to support track improvements you could always find Bunk MacKay at the track working with his heavy equipment. Bunk was always the driving force behind track improvements and he led by example.
The track was briefly known as U.V.O.T.A., Upper Valley Oval Track Association, but in 1974 the club formed a registered non-profit society known as Kent Raceways. At that time the society was made up of thirteen members. The first race was held in June of 1970. A total of twelve cars competed on the clay oval, nine of which were station wagons. Expansion was needed so in the winter of 1971 work was done to increase the size of the track to 1158 feet around.
In 1974 the track was upgraded. Widened to forty feet and graded regularily, clay was trucked in and a water truck was acquired to keep the dust down.
In 1978 the club embarked on a project to pave the track to a super-elevated ¼ mile oval, 55 feet wide with a depressed pit area in the center. Members loaned the club matching monies and a loan was obtained from the bank for the remaining funds required. August 27, 1978 was the official opening of the newly paved track. The club could not make the bank payments during the off season so it was decided to sponsor community roller skating on Friday nights. Roller skating was run by Kent Raceways until 1984. By 1982 all loans made by the track members were able to be paid back and in 1983 the bank loan was also paid off.
In 1987 the Lions Club donated $2000.00 to help in the construction of a retaining wall. New buildings and a concession stand were built with the help of a lottery grant in 1988.
In 1990 the club welcomed a new sub-compact class of cars, the Mini Stocks. Up until this time there had only been one class of cars, the Hobby Stocks. About fifteen Mini Stocks had raced at Kent Raceways from 1973 to about 1976. They belonged to a Vancouver club that ran mostly indoors at the P.N.E. Agridome. The number of classes running at Kent Raceways was increased to four in 1992 with the addition of the Street Stocks and the Mini Modifieds.
In 1997 a wheelchair accessible walkway was constructed along with designated wheelchair space in the spectator area. 1999 saw the Hobby Stock class renamed the Sportsman class.
In the fall of 200 the club expanded the track to a true ¼ mile oval. The track surface was extended in the #1 and #2 corners with increased banking and was repaved. A new concrete wall was also constructed. The increase in size of the Pit area allowed for the addition of a new on/off lane. Traffic lights at #1, #2 and #4 corners were installed and new washrooms in the Pit area were constructed. 2002 saw the addition of a concrete wall on the back stretch and around turns #3 and #4. The catch fence was extended through turn #1 and a concrete wall was installed along the Pit area through turns #1 and #2. Night time racing was introduced in 2003 with the installation of street lights around the track surface. Generators were used to provide the power. The name of the club was changed from Kent Raceways to Agassiz Speedway.
2004 saw a new expanded bleacher area and more track lighting. The club ran hydro lines to the track in 2005 allowing us to retire our generators. A new concession building was purchased and is being operated in the spectator area. The Hornets, an entry level class, were added to the existing classes. In 2007 the Pit area was graded and reconfigured to allow for more space. A concrete block wall was installed along the Pit area from the back to the front stretches. An electronic scoring system using transponders was installed in 2008.
In 2009 the Midget and Hit to Pass classes were added as Associate Members. In 2010 an electronic scoreboard was installed.

The club is run by volunteers and through the years has sponsored various local baseball and swimming teams as well as the R.C.M.P. Victim Services, Cure for Cancer and the local food bank among other causes. The local high school operates the spectator concession with part proceeds from sales going towards their annual Dry Grad celebration.