ESCANABA, Mich. – Since 2001 the sounds of race cars have been absent from Escanaba. Race fans in the area will be able to rejoice in 2010 as the rumble of the engines will reignite excitement at the U.P. Fairgrounds.
The management team of the U.P. State Fair Authority and Delta County Commerce Center is working with several former board members of the U.P. Racing Association to stage three exhibition events this season and analyze the prospects of reopening the speedway on a full-time basis in 2011. The three Saturday dates scheduled are June 12, July 31 and Aug. 21.
While plans are still being finalized for participating divisions at the fairgrounds on those dates, a former board member of the UPRA is drafting rules for local four-cylinder drivers to participate. Rules, registration and information will be available shortly at www.deltami.org. Boyd Widdis can be contacted for the rules at 906-450-5112. More information on the events will be available shortly.
The U.P Racing Association sanctioned races at the fairgrounds before its closing in 2002, and may be able to supply some financial assistance to the project. The Commerce Center is also exploring options for stimulus dollars including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help with track development.
“Since the day that racing ended in Delta County there has been a constant request to bring racing back,” said Vickie Micheau, Executive Director of the Delta County Chamber. “Our objective is to develop a business model that will support future racing events.”
The group’s plan for 2010 is to use the existing track to create an abbreviated course for the three exhibition races. By hosting the events, they hope to gauge interest in returning racing to the fairgrounds and, with limited expenses, deposit funds to help support non-fair events such as racing.
To help the sport get back on track in Escanaba, the group has consulted Doug Strasburg, who has been involved in short track racing for over 40 years. Strasburg is volunteering his time to help to help guide the groups through the process. He and his wife Julie, who live in Fort Atkinson, Wis., near Madison, are the owners of the Mid-American Stock Car Series, which returned to the Upper Peninsula last June for an event at Norway Speedway. The couple also served as track managers of I-44 Speedway in Lebanon, Mo.
In December Strasburg attended Racing Promoters Workshop in Reno, Nev. With information from the workshop, Strasburg said he hopes to help champion the future success of racing at the venue. “The long-term goal is to have a successful short track at the fairgrounds. I look forward to working with the people from Delta County, the management team and U.P. State Fair Authority to help guide this project.”
No plans for 2011 have been finalized. Jim Gale, president of the Authority said, “The groups involved are working to do a cost analysis to assess which track configuration and type of surface will best be supported by the racing community.”
Currently the track is a five-eighths mile clay oval. The venue opened in 1928 as a quarter-mile dirt oval and was named Bayland Speedway. The track surface was then paved in the late-1970s and remained paved until the mid-1980s when the current configuration was constructed.
For more information on the events at the U.P. Fairgrounds visit www.deltami.org.
This article was posted to the website on February 12th, 2010 • Click to view all related content in the following categories
