Workington Comets legend and all-time record appearance holder Carl Stonehewer will be back on his old stomping ground this weekend as he returns to Derwent Park.

Stonehewer - affectionately known as Stoney to fans - has been helping his 13-year-old son Beau get to grips with Northside speedway training track this week.

And the Comets veteran will be at tomorrow night's crunch clash against Redcar, which starts at 7pm, to watch Workington continue their play-offs push.

He said: "My last race was at Redcar and I won it then I walked away from the sport.

"I'd had injuries and there were too many silly rule changes and I'd given a lot to speedway so I just felt I was a little hard done to.

"But I wouldn't change anything about my career and when I came to Workington it was life-changing.

"It was fantastic, the crowds were good, the sponsorship was good and Ian Thomas promoted it properly."

Comets fans may even see a Stonehewer on their shale again, as

Beau has practised all week in the hope of riding on the track his dad made his own before tomorrow night's meeting.

Stonehewer said: "I've spoken to Tony Jackson and hopefully if I feel he's going well enough we're going to try and get him on the big track before the meeting starts.

"It would be a good experience for him and it would be pretty emotional for me."

Despite having lost interest in speedway since retiring, Stonehewer admitted he had had more fun teaching his son how to ride a bike than he did as a rider.

Stonehewer has even agreed to run a series of training sessions at Northside speedway training track over the coming months.

The 44-year-old said: "I'd been trying to put Beau off because I didn't want him to go the bike route but he said he wanted to come to Workington to learn how to ride.

"I used to come here to test engines, especially at the beginning of a season. I'd ride until I couldn't ride anymore.

"This is a fantastic training facility for the children and it's brought a lot of them on."

Stonehewer, who now works as a HGV driver, won the Premier League Riders' Championship in 2000 and 2001 in Comets colours, secured the Fours and Pairs titles multiple times and clinched the Young Shield in 2008.

He was also the first Premier League rider to qualify for the Grand Prix series.

After announcing his retirement in early 2006 following a horror accident, Stonehewer returned to Comets in 2007. He eventually retired in 2010 after a spell with Redcar.