Bemidji Speedway spotlights women’s roles during Motorsports Night

Bemidji Speedway used Women in Motorsports Night to put women at the center of a weekly race program that still drew 74 cars, showing how much of local racing in Beltrami County depends on more than the drivers who take the green flag. During intermission in victory lane, 12 women drivers were introduced, but the recognition stretched further than the track itself, honoring women who score keep, work concessions and help promote racing at Bemidji Speedway.

That wider list matters in a sport where getting in, and staying in, often depends on access to people already inside the pit gate. A 2025 Bemidji Speedway event listing said drivers under 16 must talk to Tonja before they can race, a reminder that entry into the sport can run through a single point of contact. Tonja Stranger, identified in a Women in Motorsports Night promo as the speedway owner and a former racer, represents the kind of hands-on leadership that shapes who gets a chance to compete and who learns the routines behind the scenes.

The speedway’s 2026 schedule listed Women in Motorsports Night for Sunday, May 31, with pits opening at 2 p.m. and racing starting at 5 p.m. That placement on the official calendar underscored that the recognition night was not a side show. It was built into the night’s racing program at the 3/8-mile, semi-banked dirt oval in Bemidji, a track profile that also lists the facility at 1,360 feet elevation.

The event’s repeated appearance in recent seasons suggests a sustained effort rather than a one-time tribute. DRC.TV posted a full Women in Motorsports Night broadcast from Bemidji Speedway on June 15, 2025, and another from July 21, 2024, showing the celebration has carried across multiple race years. That continuity gives younger fans a clear message: women are not visitors to Bemidji Speedway. They are part of the place’s operating rhythm, from the grandstand to the pits to the people keeping the night on schedule.

That local reality matches the larger mission described by Women in Motorsports North America, which says it works to expand opportunities for women across motorsport through mentorship, advocacy, education and growth. At Bemidji Speedway, that mission looked concrete and local, with women visible not only behind the wheel but also in the work that makes race night happen.