The showpiece of the Borderline Speedway calendar is back this week and race fans are getting revved up for the 2022 Kings Challenge this Thursday night.

The 30-lap dash for cash is always a sprint car spectacle not to miss and has become one of the most popular race meetings for teams since its opening night in 1995.

Borderline Speedway president Cary Jennings said momentum for the 2022 edition of the race is building strong with many cars already nominated for a huge night of racing.

“The annual Kings Challenge sprint cars race will be held this week and the roll up of competitors is extremely good,” he said.

“When we see the likes of Ian Madsen, who has been competing in America for over five years and James McFadden, who did the same is good to see.

“The Australian champion Jamie Veal is also expected to come because he would love to get on the podium, while the two Dumesny brothers have also been going really well.

‘We also have plenty of locals, so the field looks really strong and I think the 30-lap final will be a buzz to watch.

“Tickets are selling slow because people may still be scared of the COVID situation.

“Lets hope lots of people get their tickets and make Thursday the night of the speedway.”

Jennings also revealed there will be more than just sprint cars hitting the dirt with two support categories on the card including a new title which could add a new dimension to the fan experience.

“For the support classes we have a state of origin race for the wingless sprints and some junior sedans,” he said.

“The wingless sprints field has been capped at 20 so that will be a great event.

“Last time we had the wingless sprints there were 65 cars, which would have been too many this time because the Kings Challenge is the main event.

“We wanted to have 10 cars from each state and it will be a new thing, so hopefully it works.

“The Kings Challenge has mainly been sprint cars and we needed a change so the committee thought let’s try this.

“It will also be great to have some junior racing back at Borderline Speedway and they will put on as good as show as any other class.

“We like to foster as many juniors as we can in all classes, so hopefully some of the parents in the crowd will watch them and think we will get into that.”

For the second season running border restrictions have impacted the quality of fields taking on the dirt with Victorian competitors finding it difficult to race in South Australia.

However, the door to South Australia is much more open now and more big names will return, while the previous 1000-patron limit has also been exceeded under new restrictions.

More than 1000 people attended the recent December 28 sprint cars event and the COVID management plan held up fine.

Despite the recent breakthroughs, Jennings said rules would remain in place this week.

“Unfortunately COVID restrictions are going to be around for a long time I believe,” he said.

“Our COVID management plan says we have to have masks on when entering and moving around the speedway, but when you are seated you do not need them.

“So we just ask people to adhere to that and look after each other because it is all about safety for everyone and it puts a bit more pressure on our staff.”

Mountains of hours of hard work is required for the Borderline Speedway dirt track surface to be race ready and Jennings said the venue’s volunteers have been busy yet again with things on track for the big race.

“Our track preparation crew do a great job every race meeting,” he said.

“They have had to deal with all different types things from the environment like the heat of the sun or forecast drizzle which can be very annoying.

“It is always a huge team effort from the person who looks after the toilet facilities to the caterers.”