The revival of the Dead Horse Creek Speedway, west of Morden, in July and August saw record crowds coming out to watch dirt track racing once again in the Pembina Valley this summer.
Valley Motorsports President Chris Unrau brought the signature racecar to the Boundary Trails Health Centre Friday to share in the success of the two events with a couple of victory laps.
"Today we're happy to provide a cheque to the Boundary Trails Hospital Foundation for the expansion project for $20,000 raised at the Dead Horse Creek Speedway events this summer. We're just thrilled to be able to do that, and support our local hospital, which is critical to all of us.”
Unrau explained why the project was selected to be the recipient of money raised at The Watermelon Cup in July and The King of Corn event in August.
"It's something that's front of mind, because it's an asset our community has that's really special. When you've needed this kind of an asset, you need it right now, you need it desperately, and to have such a great facility locally is a real blessing. It's something that we can all use. We all do use it, in fact. Coincidentally, one of our board members is laid up, and in the hospital here today, so it's really special for us to be able to do this today in such a way."
With the popularity of the sport returning to the area, Unrau shared the feedback he heard from supporters about giving back to the community.
"You know, we had a phenomenal response from the entire community. The business community supported us, the racers supported us, the spectators and fans supported us with huge record crowds. It was a great time. We've had pretty much nothing but positive feedback. It was a great summer, and people were thrilled to see we were doing this, supporting a local cause through our passion, and people just love it. It's been great."
BTHC Foundation Fundraising Coordinator Jennifer Ching-Faux expressed her gratitude on behalf of the board.
"It's exciting. It was a really fun summer to watch these events come together. We were in it from the beginning with Valley Motor Sports Association. So, today's a really great day. It's the finish line."
She added, the size of the donation is significant as they near the finish line of $10 million dollars.
"It's a big drop in the bucket, actually, when you consider it, and two events and how quickly they had to turn it around from spring to summer. So, a fantastic achievement, and we're lucky to be a part of it."
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