Track manager Dave Roberts said there was a buzz around the speedway, with large numbers of competitors expected to take to the dirt.
“This is the first meeting for our racing season, and the build-up has been quite surprising, actually,” he said.
“The car counts are fairly good, and I think everybody’s ready to go.”
The volume of entries has been so high it has forced a change to the start time, although Roberts predicts an exciting program right the way through the night.
“We’re starting earlier; it’s a 4:30pm start to try and get our program completed at a reasonable hour,” he said.
“Families could expect not only the skills of the junior sedans, which are operated by kids aged between 12 and 16 years old, which may surprise a lot of people, but we’ve also got the modified sedans.
“They are the heavy hitters in that section; that will be their first meeting (this season), so they’re very excited.”
There will also be sprint cars in action, and following the cancellation of the 2023-24 Eastern Creek speedway season in Sydney due to an unviable race surface, Roberts said many would be making the trek to Heartland.
“The sprint cars, we’re a little bit slow in Victoria getting them going; they’re usually really good,” he said.
“Because of the disaster up at the new complex in Sydney, the government speedway, they’ve shut it down for the foreseeable future, and we’ve attracted several cars from up that way, so I think there’s exciting times ahead.”
Roberts also shared a few tips for fans attending on Saturday to ensure they were comfortable while watching the on-track action.
“If I was a spectator coming, by all means, bring a fold-up chair to be comfortable, but I would also put a coat in because I don’t know what the weather’s going to be like,” he said.
• The season opener at Heartland Raceway will start at 4:30pm on Saturday.
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