Are you old enough to remember when Alexandria had its own speedway?

The small Eastern Ontario town's dirt race track was in operation in the 1960s, and its legacy can still be seen in recent satellite imagery.

The community of Alexandria in Eastern Ontario, a stone’s throw from the Quebec border, had its own dirt oval race track operating in the 1960s. The track was located just north of town on the shores of the Delisle River, and its remnants can be seen in satellite imagery.

Satellite imagery via Google Maps circa 2010 showing remnants of Alexandria’s old speedway.

Local racer Joey Ladouceur shared on a certain social media platform an image from the heyday of racing in Alexandria.

Frank Periard’s #507 Pontiac as seen in 1964. (Photo courtesy Frank Periard via Joey Ladouceur)

In 2021, Ladouceur shared another great photo from that era.

Here's the #9 stock car owned by Larry McDonald and driven by Dick Sauve in 1964. The flag man pictured is track owner Pat Brunet. (Photo courtesy of Mederic Sauve via Joey Ladouceur)

The race track in Alexandria was one of many in that era across Eastern Ontario, including ovals in Maxville, Vankleek Hill, Casselman and others.

The lone track remaining in the region is the Cornwall Motor Speedway which holds events each week throughout the summer on Sunday evenings.

In an online search, I came across a website called Yesterday’s Speedways which aims to aims to preserve “Ontario’s great stock car racing history.” Apparently, there is also a book!

Unfortunately, none of our local former tracks are included at this point.