Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

    I disagree. Hartford already has a bunch of the infrastructure already there, it just needs to be fixed up and improved. It also wouldn't have to deal with zoning issues. Starting fresh in a cornfield would probably cost more and would require years of zoning issues and resistance from folks who don't want a new speedway close to their home.

     I was trying to think of the last racetrack built from scratch in our area. The answer might be Hartford back in around 1976(?). Park Jefferson was converted from a dog racing(?) track maybe 20-25 years ago? I don't think anybody builds new tracks from the ground up anymore.

Double post! It's my lucky day! :0

in addition to your reasoning, Murphy, location is good on ye old i90 as well.  Far enough from town (I think, I’ll admit I haven’t been by there is some years) to not have to worry about the noise freaks. As well, it’s just of Interstate 90 for ease to get to for travelers and close enough to the Sioux Falls (main population) that its a quick drive to the track as well many communities with racing ties. I agree the infastructure is already there, a little more banking (just my thoughts) would make it quite the track, though I’ll admit I was only to a few races there since I was a Lake County Speedway guy and several years the two tracks kinda went back and forth against each other.  the more I think of it it seems a bit more logical solution. The only downside is recognition. I’d venture that you could ask a sprint fan anywhere in the country if they’d heard of Husets and they’d say yes for one reason or another, but i90 or Red Devil (same track just a different name) and the percentage drops significantly. But that could all be changed with the right publicity. 

I agree a i-90 resurection would be great. Yes, some substantial improvements need to be made to grandstands and I'm guessing the infrastructure has deteriorated in the last 3 years but I assume it's nothing insurmountable. The pits need a lighting makover and if done right it would give the fans in the stands a unique perspective. 

In reality, I only see a couple issues with Hartford. First, is the fact that when it was around and they were running 360s, (2008-2013 ish), they did not pull in cars. The car count stadily declined at hartford, Same as it did with husets, however husets had at least 4 or 5 more cars per week then hartford ever did in the later stages of the 360 deal, at the same pay. Why was that? I know, I know, you guys can say what you want about the pay, fact is Husets paid within $100 of Hartford at the time and had on average 4 to 5 more cars per week, basically double the car count of Hartford. Not saying that could not turn around next year if it opens, however I feel that might scare some people from doing it. But I do hope that if someone takes the initiative to open the place that everyone that has a sprint car within 60 mile will show up.

Second, I think the location is not quite right to draw an Eastern crowd. I feel that Husets was placed perfectly. East side of Sioux Falls, closer to the MN towns, which may have helped the car draw as well, I don't know. But fact is that someone from My hometown of Worthington, has a 45 minute drive basically from their drive way to the Parking lot of Husets, now that drive is roughlly 20 minutes longer on a Sunday Night. More population to the east of Sioux Falls than the West of Sioux Falls, hopefully that is not a factor. It wouldn't be an issue for me, however with the times and the way people are now, I can see a eastern Sioux Falls resident saying "You mean to tell me I need to drive another half hour to go to a race? F That!"

Now, with that being said, I really do feel like that Hartford is the best choice. I think it would take too much work, effort, and money to carve out a brand new facility in a corn field, hell it could be 5 years before anything brand new might be completed. Hopefully something can be worked out and sprint car racing can return to the Sioux Falls area strong! 

     A couple thoughts:

     I think you're looking at the future through the perspective of the past at Hartford. I don't think we're talking about 
I-90 2.0/the reboot. I'm thinking more along the lines of if there's a place to bring local racing back up from the ashes, Hartford would be a good place to start. I think it would be better than starting from scratch. 

     As far as location goes, there's some pluses and some minuses. A lot of racetracks are dealing with urban sprawl and unhappy neighbors. Hartford is far enough out that the smelly feedlot a couple miles east of the speedway will be an issue long before the track is. A track needs to be somewhat close to a population area. The Sioux Falls metro area has a lot of people. I live on the southeast part of town. It's about 30 minutes home from Hartford Speedway, about 15 minutes home from Brandon.  Maybe the location is only relative. Eldora is out a ways and I think Deer Creek is as well. Remember the first time you tried to find Lake County? Several miles on gravel roads, looking for old, weed-covered signs!

    One other thing- my personal soapbox issue: Why couldn't the 20 extra minutes become a non-issue by running the damn show in a timely fashion?

    I know, I know, get off my lawn!

Trust me Murphy, I think Harford could do it, they just need the cars and fans to come support their efforts. The way I see it, if there is anyone who bitched about he husets deal that doesn't go to hartford the first night if they so choose to open, theyre a hypocrite.

I agree, get the damn show done by 10pm st the latest, 9:30 pm is better, and more people will come. I am the biggest race fan of them all, and a previous 305 racer as well. Even I know that I love racing so much, but I do not want to sit through a 4 hour show. Get the races done TIMELY and that will make a world of difference in Fan and Car counts alike in my opinion.

I just hope something can be donme to revive Sprint car racing around Sioux Falls, maybe even have a 410 show 5 or 6 times there! Whatever options there are, I am all for it, and I will drive 3 hours from Lincoln to be at the first race!

       Hartford has risen from the weeds a couple of times. When I moved to Sioux Falls in 1984, a friend and I went out to the old half mile weed patch. Some years later it was turned into the existing 3/8 mile track. Didn't the 3/8 track sit dormant a couple of times before now as well?

     Why do you think a new track would have to be east of Sioux Falls? That area has lots of people and therefore lots of neighbors and potential zoning issues. Remember the guy north of Corson who took his neighbor to court over the braying donkeys? 

     Captain trivia would point out that the Hartford flagstand looks to be 1.83 miles from I-90 pavement. The flagstand at a former speedway 21 miles east measures out at 2.63 miles from I-90 pavement.

     What would be the advantage of tearing up a cornfield to build an all new track when you could start with a place that already has a track carved into it, has some fences, some lights, some concession stands and at least the foundation fot some grandstands?

     Did you ever race at I-90 in the 305 or with the crew on the 360? I always wondered what it would be like if they made the track about 20 feet wider. From the stands it looks like the exits of the corners are kind of pinched.

Ive been to almost every "special" at I90/Red Devil dating back to an All Star event that had the Jacobs brothers, Shawna Wilskey, and the likes.  In all those trips, Ive never been impressed with the racing or the facilities at Hartford. The facilities have been deteriorating for years, to the point that you didnt want to step down a row from plank to plank unless it was supported underneath. Its obviously worse for wear now.  Most of the issues at Hartford were track prep based, from under water, to overwatering, to failed equipment.  I never left there thinking I cant wait to get back.  That can be fixed, along with the track prep.. Exactly the opposite at Husets.  While the stands were starting to fail the final years the Rubins had it, you could not dispute the quality of the racing, or the speed with which they put on a show.  Rarely did it ever take me past midnight to get back to Okoboji from Husets.

Todays race fans (not necessarily me) want  decent facilities in regards to concessions, and especially bathrooms.  (I like good concessions though)   and are quickly getting spoiled with the status quo in the area, in regards to Knoxville, Jackson and the current Husets.    The speedway is an intergral part of the puzzle thats leading me to retirement in south east South Dakota.  I can only hope that it continues..    

I agree, me either. The worst night of racing I ever saw (or didn't see) was at Hartford for an All Star show. So friggin dusty couldn't see a thing on the track. I think they even shortened the show. Last time I was ever there.

the Hartford half mile opened for racing in 1976.

Park Jefferson, former horse racing track, opened for car raing in 1986.

I guess, technically those are the 2 "newest" tracks in the SE SD area.

Buying Hartford for 1 million and then sprucing up what is a REALLY run down shithole, good Lord, seems like dropping 3.15 million on Badlands would be a slightly higher expense and a LOT less hassles.

I was also at that Thursday night All Star dust out. I think Joey Saldana won it in a red #17???? Judi Bates won the B if I remember right? The dry track caused spinouts with the modifieds virtually every lap. It was a disaster.

The worst president of my lifetime:
Ronald Reagan

I was there for that one too!  We should have had a party! I remember my wife asking two questions: How was the racing and what happened to you? I said I didn't see any races and that I had been steamrolled by a dust storm. I can recall one Cheater's Day that came close to that.

I think we've all driven some distances to attend a race. So if a track is more than 3 miles from an easy exit, people will pass over a track? Makes you wonder how Lake County did it all those years.

You bring up an interesting point about recinfiguring the track. Care to expand on what you think would make for better racing?  I've never been to Grand Forks, but the videos always show a bunch of close racing. I thought that had to do with being a short track with wide corners and such. Looking at Google maps, it doesn't look like a wide track at all.

You sat in the stands? You're braver than I am. I sat there once, in 1991 when I forgot my lawn chair. I'm sure there has been no repair on them since then. I wonder what keeps the mosquito population fed out there without people around?

We were traveling thru to Chamberlain and not weekly attendees.  No bag chairs.  But we did try to move down the fence to the west to try to gain a better view of the dust devil there that night.  You could always expect a dry dusty cheaters day race. .  I thought you bought a lake cabin and were dropping off the face of the earth  in regards to the local racing scene?.

Well.... it's a hard habit to break and I've been hooked since 1973. I figured if I left the lake by 5:30 on Sunday, I could be at the track in time for the National Anthem- just this once, cause you know I can quit anytime I want to.

I tried sitting at the west end a few times. Then a tire came over the fence and another time I thought a car was coming through the fence. Then I went back to the east end.

I am not from South Dakota.   I live in central Pa. And I have a question? 

I hope the Husets situation or rebuilding a track or making a new one can happen.

But my question is if a person does this they will need lots of money, of course.  And usually a person with lots of money is not a stupid person.  So this person does all the research and says I can do a track and make a little money for my efforts.  But the only way the numbers work is I need to race Friday or most likely Saturday night?  

What do you all say?  Do you want a track or only if it is a Sunday night track?

Also as an outsider I have one more question.   How many actual cars and fans came  from Knoxville each week to run Husets? 

Either way I hope sprint car racing can continue in your area��

Sorry about the ending questions marks.  I wanted to put thumbs up emojis.  My bad.

Wonder if anyone is willing but fearful that if they buy or build a track someone who hates racing might host a race or several at the existing track just to be a dick?

In my area a group of businesses bought a hockey team, called it community owned and 8 of the 20ish owners need to sit on the board on a rotating basis. I wonder if a similar business model could work for a SD track. Local business and folk donate money to get something started not with a desire for return on investment but more like a donation and investment in racing and community.

Would also be nice but unlikley that the WoO and Ascoc would run a probono event to get a community owned track up and running. Like a charity hockey or baseball game to raise funds. I would expect a decent profit from a WoO gate with waived sanctioning fees. Would the drivers race for $1000 tow money and points instead of the $10g to win. Volunteers running the track, gate ,concession etc until the track is in the black.

One person couldnt do it all. It would take a huge group of fans to get the job done. But I bet with the right leader and dedicated support it could be.

Hotels and gas stations should invest in things like this. They are the 1st to benefit from any sporting event but in my area you dont see them coughing up much giveback.

And i keep reading that Hartford or whatever its called is listed for $1M. If the place is rotting I am sure any offer would be consideredi know i know....keep dreaming. But the biggest track in Saskatchewan is run by drivers and fans and I beleive it is race club owned.

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!