Nine years ago there was a small city in Southwestern Ontario that changed the face of Drag Racing in Ontario. The Annual Stratford Spectacular has become one of the biggest and best weekends you will ever spend at a Drag Strip, (with the exception of the recently completed IHRA Mopar Canadian Nationals....finally good weather!). It is not necessarily the size of the event but how it is organized. This is truly Canada's largest community supported drag racing event. This event has become the benchmark for similar events. It is a weekend of fun for the entire family.

Thanks to a few local racers and a great number of local businesses this events unique format was able to work. What is so unique about this event is, every racer who enters any class gets paid. It is an easy formula, if a $100 is raised and there are 10 racers, each racer gets $10. There are well over 150 businesses that support this event. In exchange for their support they receive passes to the event. This would not be possible without the co-operation of the Grand Bend Motorplex. They virtually give up the gate in order to get more than 6000 spectators and over 400 race cars on their property. "Racing facilities make their living from what they receive at the front gates, so it's amazing to other racetracks when they find out that we give it away on the Stratford Weekend. The truth is, the Stratford community has done such an astounding job of building support and loyalty for this truly unique program, that we can give the gate away and still earn enough in our concessions (food, beverages) to pay the bills at the end of the day." Commented Motorplex General Manager, Ron Biekx. "They've also made it so attractive economically, that I truly believe it brings new fans to our facility that might not otherwise make that first trip here."

The race program includes all of the regular Grand Bend classes, plus Top Sportsman and Top Dragster. The CAN-AM Stock/Super Stock Series also competes and for the first time the Bar's Leak SUPERCHARGED THUNDER cars will be making the track shake. It is also not uncommon for a few PRO teams to show up and test new combinations. The organizers also ensure that the fans have a great time. They offer a free shuttle service into Grand Bend (3km away), a classic car show, kids activities and door prizes. They also donate any money raised on the door prizes and the 50/50 to a local House of Blessing.

The organizers would also like to announce a new title sponsor for this years event. Cooper Standard has agreed to support this event in a big way, while long time major sponsor FRAM remains the presenting sponsor. Cooper Standard has three plants in Stratford and another in near by Mithcell. Those plants together with FRAM employee thousands of Stratford residents. Make sure you mark July 24 & 25 on your calendar as a "can't miss" event. For more information about this event you can contact one of the organizers, Barry Blowes @ 519-271-5710 or Kevin Zimmer @ 519-272-4950.