The Saskatchewan International Raceway is celebrating it’s 60th anniversary in 2026.

Trevor Jacek, who is the President of the Saskatchewan Drag Racing Association, says that in honour of the anniversary, 2026’s Southwinds Showdown will be bigger than anything the track has put on in it’s 60 year run.

“Southwind Showdown is the premier event we have every year. With this being our 60th anniversary, we’re planning something big. I think it’s going to be the biggest motorsports or drag racing event in the history of Saskatchewan. We’re planning something that’s going to be a tribute to 60 years of heritage.”

“What we’re going to do here is we are going to bring in a pile of exhibition cars, these guys that are doing 300, 400 kilometres an hour and just put on a spectacle for fans to just celebrate drag racing and the history of SIR.”

Jacek adds that the Saskatchewan International Raceway is the oldest drag racing track in Western Canada.

“The track was built by the Howard family in the mid 60s. They ran it as a private venture for a couple decades. There was a few different operators in the early 1980s before the Saskatchewan Drag Racing Association took over running the track. In 1993, the Saskatchewan Drag Racing Association bought the track from the Howard family and has run it for the last 30 plus years.”

The 2026 Southwinds Showdown will take place on August 15th.