FILE PHOTO - Penticton Speedway

(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

After 23 seasons, the Penticton Speedway is changing hands.

Owner Johnny Aantjes said the sale of the race track is set for March 10 and it will be taken over by Trevor and Ingo Seibert of Avion Developments.

“We’re very fortunate that we feel that the people that are looking at taking it over right now, they’re able (to keep it as a speedway,)” he said. “We’ve tried to keep grassroots racing alive in the community and push for bigger and better events over the years and we’ve built the track up…. These people coming in have some strong resources to do some improvements, they’re dedicated to racing, they have new energy.”

Aantjes and his family hope to enjoy the racetrack from now on as participants and spectators.

The Penticton Speedway has been in operation since 1969 at 2070 Carmi Avenue. The closest other racetrack to the Penticton speedway is the Area 27 Motorsports Park in Oliver.  

Spallumcheen’s Motoplex Speedway hasn't been in operation for years, and its owners Okanagan Aggregates Ltd. applied to the township in 2020 to rezone the land into an industrial zone, said Mayor Christine Fraser.

"(Penticton's Speedway) has survived while multiple other tracks in the valley have opened and closed. Racing, we see it as fun, family entertainment, for local people.... It's a wonderful thing in our community, and I'm so glad that we have a group that's going to maintain racing for another 10, 15, 20 years," Aantjes said. “We’re just finishing up the last of a couple of details and they should be taking over then. Racing will continue, it will be similar with this COVID stuff and everything in place for another year probably, I know these guys will take the downtime and do a bunch of improvements to the property.”

READ MORE: Penticton speedway returns for its 50th season

The new owners are also third-generation racers. Seibert is the co-designer, engineer, constructor and founding partner of the Area 27 Motorsports Park.

"We are very excited about the potential the Penticton Speedway has when combined with the team at Avion Motorsports. We will continue to serve the existing fans and various racing groups while at the same time investing into facility improvements and expanding the venue offerings," Seibert said, in Penticton Speedway sale's announcement.

READ MORE: Kamloops's last racetrack, and why it was abandoned 42 years ago

Aantjes' next project will be to get involved with the Desert Park Equine Facility and Racetrack in Osoyoos, he said.

“For a number of years that park has been underutilized. I’m not sure what we’re going to be able to do with horse racing and how we’re going to be able to revive it, but we’re interested in getting kids involved with small animal projects like 4-H, horseback riding and some training,” he said.

Aantjes has another small business called the Feedway, which provides pet and livestock feed, and the horse track fits in well with that business, he said.

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