Westwood Raceway Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Cache Information:
The cache is located outside the fence in the undeveloped Goodyear
Creek Park. Please use the parking/trailhead we have provided as
there are not many areas to access the park (end of Carousel
Court). After you cross the ditch, go to your left and you will
find a small trail to the cache.
Update June 20, 2008
There is a lot of excavation happening in the park and you can no
longer access the racetrack. I am not sure what they are doing as
this is supposed to be a park. The cache is not near the area being
excavated.
History of Westwood Raceway:
In May of 1959 the Sports Car Club of BC signed the lease with the
provincial government for the 485 acres that would become Westwood
Raceway. The track was named after Earl C. Westwood who was the
Minister of Recreation and Conservation at the time and was
instrumental in helping the club to acquire the lease. Construction
began in December of 1958. The track was built mostly by volunteers
and it would not be unusual to see up to 100 Sports Car Club
members clearing bush and stumps on the weekend. Stirling Moss was
a consultant on the design of the track. The final paving was
completed on the morning of the first race held on July 26, 1959 to
an estimated crowd of 20,000 race fans. Westwood was the first
constructed circuit in Canada.
"Swooping through the forests and hillsides, the 1.8-mile circuit
featured challenging turns, banked corners and tight hairpins - in
short, a little of everything. From the start line, the circuit
curved left through a fast bend that somehow never acquired a name,
passing under the wooden bridge that allowed spectator access to
the infield. Although not a corner as such, any drivers getting it
badly wrong would find a swamp-like pond awaiting them to the
right... Turn 1, also known as the Carousel, was a steeply banked
(15 degrees) and fast corner and could be treacherous in the wet (
not uncommon at Westwood). It also served as a launching ramp for a
few unfortunate souls who landed in the trees some considerable
distance from the track. The course then fell away slightly down to
the Clubhouse Corner at Turn 2, and then arrived at the Turn 3A/3B
complex, known as Valley Corner Curve. That 'long straight' was not
quite the breather for the drivers that might first be imagined.
Roughly half way along, the track rose to a slight kink on a crest
known as Deer's Leap - aptly named, for cars could often fly off
the circuit and land in the gully that ran alongside. Assuming you
made it over Deer's Leap unscathed, the track then fell towards the
sharp 180-degree Marshall's Hairpin, which would test brakes to the
limit, before embarking on the steep climb through The Esses (Turn
5) and back to the start/finish."
The last race was held on October 8, 1990 and the track was closed
after the government refused to re-new the lease and the land was
sold to the developer of the Westwood Plateau.
During its 32 years the track was used by many different racing
series, including, the Canadian Driving Championship, Trans-Am,
Nascar, Player's Ltd / GM Motorsports Series, Honda Michelin /
Honda BF Goodrich Series, Canon Yokohama Challenge, Formula
Atlantic and many other amateur drivers series. Some famous names
that raced at Westwood included: Gilles Villenueve, Danny Sullivan,
Michael Andretti, Stirling Moss and Greg Moore.
I was lucky enough to get to drive my old Hyundai Pony on the track
as well as sit in the passenger seat while Nascar driver Bill
Elliott put a Porsche 944 turbo through its paces.
The circuit is now gone, most of it being developed into
housing after the raceway closed.
If you enter the undeveloped Goodyear Creek Park, you can still
find the stretch from Turn 3 to Deer's Leap now covered with small
trees as well as some old remnants from the past including some old
fencing and a tire wall.
When you drive in the area, you will be reminded of the former
glory in the names of the streets like: Deer's Leap Place, Carousel
Crescent, Paddock Drive, Moss Court, and Firestone Place.
Sources:
"Westwood, Everyone's Favourite Racing Circuit" by Tom Johntson
ISBN 1-894694-49-X
http://www.etracksonline.co.uk/Features/stories/canadaspioneer.html
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
xrrc bhg