Racing is more than a Saturday night event for the Rinaldi family — it’s a way of life.
As owners of Brighton Speedway, the family is involved in virtually every aspect of making race night happen. And so is their staff. From directing vehicles into parking spots and selling tickets to working behind the scenes in the pits and even climbing behind the wheel of a race car, the Rinaldis and staff keep the speedway running from start to finish.
This is the 59th season of the speedway and every Saturday throughout the summer, preparations begin long before the first green flag waves. The familiar roar of engines could be heard well ahead of the scheduled 7 p.m. start on Saturday, June 13, 2026, as drivers prepared to tackle the speedway’s one-third-mile clay oval, a track the family has owned and operated for more than three decades.
Promoter and owner Mark Rinaldi has 24- events scheduled for the season.
But with Brighton Speedway to work as smoothly as it does it requires a small army of dedicated staff and volunteers. Canteen workers, gift shop attendants, ticket sellers, flaggers, pit crews and race officials all play a role in ensuring thousands of fans enjoy a smooth evening of racing.
But no matter how much planning goes into a race night, there is one factor no one can control — the weather.
A week of preparation can quickly be erased by a storm, and Saturday’s forecast threatened to do exactly that. What began as a beautiful evening with a stunning sunset came with a severe thunderstorm warning calling for wind gusts up to 90 km/h and toonie-sized hail.
As Mark Rinaldi made his rounds around the facility in a motorized cart, keeping an eye on every detail of the operation, the concern was evident as he repeatedly glanced toward the darkening skies.
Race officials adjusted the evening’s schedule to ensure fans would still get their entertainment should the weather arrive sooner than expected.
Fortunately, about 30 minutes later only a few raindrops fell. The most severe weather passed north of the speedway, and a rainbow soon appeared over the track — a welcome sight for racers and fans alike.
The evening featured competition in the Min-Stock, Late Model, Canadian Modified and Thunder Stock divisions, providing plenty of action around the clay oval.
However, the crowd favourite was undoubtedly the school bus races. They weren’t the fastest vehicles on the property, nor were they the most graceful, but the oversized machines had spectators laughing and cheering as drivers wrestled the buses around the track in an entertaining display of controlled chaos.
By night’s end, another successful race program was in the books.
For most people, that might mean a chance to relax. At Brighton Speedway, it means starting all over again. The countdown to the next race night begins immediately, with only seven days until the green flag drops once more.
At Brighton Speedway, racing on dirt is exactly as it should be.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
