The drivers have spoken and this year there will be no WPCA Pro Dodge Tour event in Drumheller.
The Richard Cosgrave Memorial Dinosaur Derby has enjoyed more than a decade of history and was always well attended. According to Kelly Carson, operations manager for the WPCA, there will not be an event in Drumheller.
“This was a driver decision at the annual general meeting,” said Carson. “They voted not to go back.”
Carson said track issues were probably the number one issue drivers had.
“They (the Ag Society) did a great job of fixing it when we did go back, there was no question about that. It was going to be an ongoing issue because of the spring on turn two and that was their (the drivers) decision,” said Carson.
The Dinosaur Derby started with a bang, and was well supported by the community. A few years back there were changes in the tarp auction and it was no longer done on site with the drivers, but rather through a satellite auction. This took a toll on the event.
“It is tough to find tarp sponsors, that also weighed in to it. The amount of local sponsors was not many,” said Carson, adding that when they introduced the remote tarp auctions, most show’s tarp total went up.
Another snag was when the race was moved from mid summer to early June, and for two seasons the races were postponed due to weather.
“If we ran in the spring in Drumheller and we were cancelled two years in a row, the odds of it being cancelled again? Probably pretty good,” said Carson.
He said it is not just the weather, but also the track’s ability to withstand the weather.
“The main issue will always be the track and when we want to run. It was underwater this year when we went and obviously we couldn’t run on it,” said Carson. “We are trying to make sure we have all weather tracks. If you look at Medicine Hat, they put $400,000 into the track; you could run there in the winter. When it gets to that stage the show runs on time, the advertisers are happy and everyone’s happy.”
Last year the Dinosaur Derby ran on the last possible date of the season, and the season champion was crowned. Carson said this was anticlimactic.
“This year, if we are cancelled we’ll not go back. So if we were to run in June and were rained out, we would not go back. What happened last year is we arranged with Rocky Mountain House to have the World Finals there but in essence the World Finals were in Drumheller because we went there after Rocky Mountain House,” said Carson.
Carson said no show this year doesn’t mean it is gone for good.
“The board changes every year and that doesn’t mean that they won’t come back on track, it will always be out there, but that’s how it stands right now,” said Carson.
