Emo Speedway - History - 2000s

2000s

The success of the late 1990s began to return in the year 2000 since the reinstatement of the Borderland Racing Association.The beginning 2000 saw much of the success that had been taken While low attendance from fans had traditionally occurred during the opening few races, 2000 saw more than average crowds. Although not highly noticeable, it seems that 2000 was a more successful year.

Invitationals were canceled for the 2001 season. This was mainly due to the fact that more money was being lost than earned, and the latest Modified Invitational that took place on June 30 and July 1 of 2000 saw only a few traveling cars, and less than satisfying fan counts. At the end of 2001, new clay was added in the corners of the Speedway.

2001 saw the talented Steve Arpin dominant the WISSOTA Modified class. It was in this year where his talents became fully known to the community. During the summer, he won 13 of the 15 races that took place. It was his second championship title in 3 years. His career in the Modifieds took off soon after and in 2003, Steve raced a more limited schedule in Emo and raced abroad. His last visit to Emo was during the NOPA Super Truck Special which took place on June 18, 2005. Arpin has raced in ARCA, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and in the Camping World Truck Series.

2004 saw the introduction of a new class. Midwest Modifieds were created to make a cheaper alternative for open wheel racing such as the Modifieds. This allowed the older motors and chassis' that were used on Modifieds during the 1990s to be raced again. During the year, the Borderland Racing Association ran Street Stocks, Modifieds, Midwest Modifieds, and Mini-Sprints.

2004 also saw the placement of a new lighting system for the racetrack. A dozen or so Mercury-vapour lights replaced the older halogen lights which had been in place since the early-1980s. It also featured underground wiring that required less poles, which in turn, allowed an increase in fan view ability. A new pit canteen was also built in that year.

2005 was a down and up season. Firstly, the season got off to a rough start as the opener was canceled due to rain and the first two weeks of June were also rained out. The weekend of June 17 brought the first real sunshine and blue skies. The first invitational to be scheduled since 2000 took place on June 18. NOPA Super Trucks from Winnipeg, Manitoba visited Emo Speedway for the first time. Seven trucks made the long trip and a higher than usual turnout was seen in the grandstand. The rest of the season turnout very well in terms of weather, with the exception of Friday night of the Fall Fair, when two inches of rain two days before and rain all day race day made for a mess.

2006 started out much better than in 2005 as the season opener on May 20 took place as scheduled. The BRA decided to include rain dates set for 1:00pm on Sunday if the races were canceled on the Saturday night. The season only saw one rain date used which was on Sunday, August 13. 2006 also saw the return of Super Stocks to Emo Speedway in almost a decade. The Special took place on July 22, 2006 with 15 cars traveling from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Bemidji, Minnesota, and Ashland, Wisconsin. The winner was Gary Nelson Jr. out of Blackduck, MN.

The 2007 season started on May 19 with cloudy skies and a temperature of 10C (50F). An average crowd for an opener braved the cold temperatures to watch the action. 2007 was a wet then dry season. One week after cold temperatures, a full day of rain the following Saturday canceled the races. The following week the Modified feature was rained out. June 9 was also a complete rain out. June 16 had beautiful weather, the first of the year, but the weekend after saw the features rained out. Canada Day Celebrations on June 30 had a double whammy. The features from June 23 ran plus a full show!

The second half of the season had only on rain out (July 14) but from then on it was great. The Super Stock Special of 2007 saw 15 cars once again compete. The added bonus was that they were also competing in the first year of the Northern Super Stock Touring Series, Emo being the second race of the three race series. The winner was #20 Kevin Penner of Blumenort, Manitoba, Canada.

The Emo Fall Fair drew a huge crowd and a large car count. 27 WISSOTA Modifieds appeared for day one while 23 showed for day two. In the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, 19 cars entered on day one and 22 entered on Day 2. In the Street Stocks, 15 started on Friday, and 14 started on Saturday. It was great weather and an exciting two nights of racing.

2008 was a wet start. Although the track would run its first four races of the season, there was no racing for three weeks out of four in June. On July 19, the Northern Super Stock Touring Series was rained out halfway after a record total of 16 WISSOTA Super Stocks had arrived. The race was rescheduled for August 2 where only 7 cars returned. However, the Annual Fall Fair Specials had beautiful weather. But on August 23 and September 6, the races were cut short and canceled respectively.

In late September, 300 dump truck loads (3,500 yards) of clay were added to the track. A complete resurfacing was done to the track.

In 2009, the Emo Speedway celebrated its 55th Anniversary of the original opening of the track on July, 25th. A large crowd and over 125 drivers, past and present attended the event. The winners were Greg Ferris in the WISSOTA Modifieds, Brady Caul in the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, and Scott Messner in the Street Stocks.