Up North: Proctor Speedway holds annual Silver 1000
The Silver 1,000 at Proctor Speedway was postponed months ago, but gave fans the chance to catch some extra racing into the early fall.
The Proctor Speedway Silver 1000 is not supposed to be in September.
“This is the postponed Silver 1000, 52nd annual. The first one is scheduled the Thursday before Labor Day but was rained out, so they postponed it ’till tonight. So luckily, we got great weather, and it’s a beautiful fall day,” said Jody Bellefeuille.
The Silver 1000 brings out drivers from all over the map to race late model and modified stockcars at the Proctor Speedway.
For a well known and respected driver like Jody Bellefeuille, it’s a chance to get out on the track and try out some new things away from his home turf.
“Late models are limited on Saturday nights, where you can go,” said Bellefeuille. “Not every track has them. So my Saturday night track, Ogilvy, they run mods. Not every night, they run late models, but every now and then. So we talked about maybe someday getting into a late model, but for now, we’re going to stick with the mod.”
Bellefeuille isn’t the only one who is tinkering with the late models though.
“The last couple of years now, the late model class is really growing,” said Bellefeuille. “So Ogilvy is taking them a couple times during the season, and other tracks are taking them on, too. So a lot of it is the cost and availability. You can buy a used competitive late model, fairly reasonable, and the modified just keep getting more and more expensive. So cost is some of it. Then obviously, the late models, the start pay is good money. So guys starting out, they look at it. If they make the show, they can make a couple hundred bucks, where in a lower division, they have to win to make that money. So some guys will do that.”
No matter which car it is, Bellefeuille feels comfortable in Proctor.
“It’s convenient for me, because it’s 20 minutes from home. So that’s really handy. I’ve been going here since I was probably five years old. So I come to my home track every Sunday is pretty cool,” concluded Bellefeuille.
The Silver 1000 was the last race of the year at the Proctor Speedway.