After a year off due to COVID, Westshore Motorsports Park’s fastest race weekend is back.
The Daffodil Cup is one of Canada’s oldest open-wheel races and for decades has featured Winged Sprint Cars.
The specialized racing machines can reach speeds in excess of 200 km/hr as they race around the Langford oval.
“You know the fastest cars of the year are the Winged Sprint Cars, they put on quite the show,” said track general manager Daryl Crocker.
“They are pretty awesome machines,” added Crocker.
While a large number of American cars usually make the trip up for the race, border restrictions mean this year’s field will mainly be made up of local drivers.
“We’re still struggling from the aftermath of COVID a little bit with some border stuff so we’re not going to have as many U.S. cars as we usually have or typically have but luckily we still have some local contingents and one or two guys at least coming from the States,” said Crocker. “So we’re still going to be able to put on a really good show.”
This weekend’s race is set to be another classic and will mark the debut of second-generation driver Brad Aumen. Brad’s dad Scott is a five-time Daffodil Cup winner and come Sunday the younger Aumen will look to add his name to the list.
“It’s an honour to get in this race car here and see what we can do at the Daffodil Cup,” said Aumen.
“I actually didn’t think I’d ever be able to race in one of these races with the circumstances of the speedway but when Daryl [Crocker] phoned me I was all in,” added Aumen.
With a full crowd expected, the weekend also comes as a welcome boost for the track.
“We’re used to spending every Saturday night from April to September out here and having people in the stands and that camaraderie in the pit areas and the energy in the stands and stuff,” said Crocker.
“So it’s done us all really well having crowds back out here and it’s been really well supported, we can’t thank the fans enough,” added Crocker.
Qualifying for both nights starts at 5 p.m., with racing kicking off Friday and Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Cole Sorenson
