Riverside International Speedway

Riverside International Speedway is a 1/3 mile, high banked, asphalt short track located in James River, Nova Scotia, Canada, about ten kilometres southwest of the town of Antigonish.Track historyRiverside International Speedway started out as a dream Antigonish businessman John Chisholm, who was an avid racing fan and was determined to advance his favourite sport in his home province. In 1967 Chisholm flew down to Bristol Motor Speedway and met with NASCAR co-founder Bill France, Sr., who gave him permission to model the track after a scaled-down version of Bristol. Chisholm and his team began construction on the speedway in 1968 in James River, Nova Scotia. The pro just was completed a year later and opened its doors for the first time on May 18, 1969.In 1975 Riverside played host to its first celebrity driver when Benny Parsons visited the track to compete in the NASCAR Canada series race, just a few months removed from his Daytona 500 win. This was the first time that a major stock car driver visited the region to compete in a race. The race also featured a purse of $7500, the largest in the region at that time.In 1977, under new track promoters Jerry Lawrence and Ron King, Riverside hosted its first 250 lap race, a staple that soon became an annual tradition.Chisholm sold the track to local resident Derek Vandalin in the 1989. Vandalin owned the track until his death in 2005, at which point John Chisholm subsequently bought it back in 2006. Upon regaining ownership of the track, Chisholm began a major renovation project. The renovation consisted of repaving the entire track, replacing the metal guardrails with concrete walls, rebuilding and enlarging the grandstands, and constructing a new press box with VIP seating. The restroom facilities were completely rebuilt, the sound and lighting systems were replaced, an electronic scoreboard was installed, and the parking and campground capacity was increased.