Advance Auto Parts Home Track Hero: Bruce Heggerud of Edmonton International Raceway
Throughout the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Advance Auto Parts is spotlighting a series of Home Track Heroes from NASCAR-sanctioned short tracks around the country. Each Home Track Hero, nominated by his or her peers as a result of contributions made to the race track, will have his or her name appear on the C-Post of Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang in a Cup Series Playoff race. Bruce Heggerud, the safety director at Edmonton International Raceway, is the Home Track Hero whose name will appear on Blaney’s car during the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Simply put: Edmonton International Raceway in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada could not operate as smooth as it does without the aid of the man who’s volunteered at the quarter-mile race track for more than 30 years and never missed a race event.
Bruce Heggerud was working as search and rescue officer when he joined Edmonton to aid in its safety program all those years ago. Now doubling as the safety director at the track while serving his primary job as a truck driver for Maple Leaf Foods, Heggerud remains the first employee to arrive at Edmonton on a race day and the last to leave.
Heggerud uses his own truck, covered with logo stickers and topped with Whelen safety lights, for his safety work at the race track. The staff applauds him for having constantly improved EIR’s safety program over the course of his tenure, not to mention his work away from the track. For example, the former volunteer firefighter once organized fire safety training for the Wetaskiwin City Fire Department.
Heggerud’s weekday job also allows him to aid others on occasion. While driving his rig, he never passes a stranded car on the side of the road without pulling over to make sure all people involved are OK and receiving the aid they need. He even has assisted the local police and fire departments on dispatch calls.
Heggerud’s passion for the well-being of others can only be rivaled by his love for racing at Edmonton International Raceway. Even when that dedication clashed against a new affection, when he was planning his wedding years ago, the race track had to be considered. Heggerud made sure to schedule his summer wedding on a weekend when the track was not hosting an event.
Heggerud is a Home Track Hero in more ways than one, but to Edmonton International Raceway, he’s the lifeblood that keeps the track’s safety program top-notch.
