A Remote Controlled (RC) track is coming to Ashern this summer.
When Joe Stoyanowski got cancer in his back in 2019, it meant he could no longer do what he loved most: working on cars. Unable to crawl under them and work like that, he had to find a new hobby, something he was passionate about. So, he decided to buy himself a smaller car — one he could drive without stepping into it at all.
Stoyanowski started playing with his RC car in his backyard, but he couldn’t use it to its full potential with limited space there. So, he took it onto the road, where all the children in the neighbourhood could watch and test it themselves.
“It’s not convenient there either, though, because of traffic and ditches,” he said. “So, I thought it’d be nice to have a track for the kids to go to with their RC cars and race around.”
That’s why he’s creating the town’s first RC track. Stoyanowski went to the town council and asked permission to use the property across from the Manitoba Hydro building. The town readily agreed, but Stoyanowski won’t be building anything permanent on the site because they still own the property.
Instead, he’ll build one out of old tires and baler belts. The recycled materials will prevent the RC cars from leaving it and getting onto the roadway. Anyone with old tires and baler belts can donate them to Stoyanowski for the track.
He described the new track as working like a skate park — it will be unsupervised for everyone to enjoy.
Stoyanowski knows a lot of adults who are interested in RC cars but have nowhere to take them, so he’s hoping the track will get used often. He said it can be another avenue for parents to bond with their children and to build intergenerational relationships.
“I think it’s important to have anything for the community to do,” he said. “Especially for the kids. It’s a good way for parents to get involved with their kids too. If they’re sending their kids to the track, they should be there supervising them and helping them. It’s something they can do together.”
Right now, the RC track will be small, but Stoyanowski said it will increase in size and complexity as interest in the track grows. This summer is a start-up for it, a way for him to gauge interest and see if the community really wants it.
“And if there ends up being no interest, it can be dismantled and recycled,” he said.
Ashern’s new RC track is expected to be ready for use sometime soon. Watch the community Facebook page for updates.
