Downsizing

One of the most popular phrases in today’s world is “downsizing” and most of the time it has a negative connotation.  In the corporate world it usually means a bunch of people losing their job, sadly.

There are other examples of there being fewer in our world. There are less potato chips in a bag than ever. Restaurant portions are smaller.  There simply aren’t as many M&Ms in a bag anymore (trust me, I know). Parking spaces seem even smaller, even with more SUVs and trucks on the road.

Let’s apply downsizing to racing. A trend in dirt-track racing over past 10-20 years is when racetracks are reconfigured or reshaped, they are almost always shortened. Rarely do you see a track lengthened.

I found some examples:

--Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo was a high-banked half-mile for many years and shortened to 3/8-mile in 2010. A few folks, like me, miss the old half mile, but those days are long gone and aren’t coming back.

--Fiesta City Speedway in Montevideo (pictured above, photo is from myracepass) was reshaped to a true 3/8-mile a couple of years ago. At one time decades ago, the track was a big, flatter half-mile, then shortened to about 4/10-mile in the 1990s. I think some banking has been added, at least from what I saw a few years ago.

--In 2017, Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., was shortened from a slightly-banked 1/2-mile to a 4/10-mile oval. That was part of a big facility overhaul which included new bleachers, replacing the badly dated wood outfit that was there for decades.

--Park Jefferson Speedway, located just north of North Sioux City, Iowa, was shortened from 3/8-mile to 1/3-mile in 2024. Many folks may remember that track, along with neighboring Raceway Park, was devastated by flooding in 2024. I have been to Park Jefferson a few times and in some ways, it reminded me of Fiesta City.

--A bit more outside the area, Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, Iowa was shortened from a ½-mile track to a 3/8-mile track in 2022. The Silver Dollar Nationals was wisely moved there for 2026 after a few ill-fated years at Huset’s Speedway.

Another track, Davenport Speedway in Iowa, has focused on racing on its 1/4-mile track in the past few years, and not the half-mile that has been there.

A couple of theories on why tracks are being shortened instead of lengthened. One, it makes for closer, more competitive racing. Two, an article in Speedway Illustrated suggested it is a bit easier on engines by having shorter straightaways.  In some cases, I think tracks do it just to change things up, trying to freshen things in hopes of bringing in more cars and fans.   The smaller the track, the closer the racing would be the argument.

The most popular track size in racing in Minnesota is 3/8-mile. Of the 24 dirt weekly tracks I counted operating in Minnesota, 14 are 3/8-mile ovals, which includes in my main coverage area, Norman County Raceway in Ada and I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls. There are four 1/4-mile tracks in Minnesota (Bemidji, Buffalo River, Worthington and Princeton), four half-mile tracks (Viking, Fairmont, Arlington and Redwood) and two 1/3-mile tracks (North Central in Brainerd and Chateau Raceway in SE Minnesota).  

If you were going to build a track in today’s world, it most likely would be a 3/8-mle track or smaller. You don’t see many tracks being built, or reconfigured, to half miles. The newest (and what looks like the nicest) facility in Wissota, for example, is Thunder City Speedway in Thunder Bay, Ontario – and that is a 3/8-mile. I need to get to that place.

One of the things that I enjoy about racing is tracks are different sizes and shapes. River Cities is vastly different than Red River Valley Speedway, Viking is vastly different than Buffalo River, and so on. If every track were the same shape and size, well frankly it would be boring.   

I was pleasantly surprised to find there were still four half-mile tracks left in Minnesota. It seems like there are fewer of those in racing in general. I have a friend who races in Arlington and from time to time I check that track out online – but again, it is different than the half-mile at Viking, or the one at Fairmont. Arlington, by the way, is not a high-banked track but is pretty racy, especially in the IMCA Stock Cars.

Viking is a track I grew up going to in the late 1980s and into the 1990s. One of the attractive things about it, from a fan standpoint, is the speed. You do not appreciate the true speed of that track until you stand entering turn 3 and see the speed the cars enter that corner in.  I remember a couple of years ago standing by the pit gate off of turn one during a modified heat, and those cars were hauling ass going into turn one.

I think the trap that is easy to fall into in racing is to make every track look the same in racing.  NASCAR did that with all of those 1 1/2-mile ovals on its schedule years ago. It’s not the only reason NASCAR’s popularity has declined but it is a contributing factor.

If you are a fan in Fargo like me, you have a lot of good, vastly different options for racing. I count a dozen tracks within 150 miles of my house, with different banking, surfaces and length. One is a half-mile. Three are 3/8-mile ovals, River Cities  is listed as a 3/10-mile and there are several 1/4-mile ovals. That variety is good, and I really hope none of the tracks decide to downsize.

--While on the subject of downsizing, many small-town tracks struggle with attendance. Yes, there is less interest in racing than before, and yes, car counts are down at a lot of these facilities. But there is another contributing factor for many rural tracks: population loss.

I will use my home-area tracks as example. Madison Speedway is located in Lac Qui Parle County in western Minnesota. According to the 1990 census (from census.gov), Lac Qui Parle County had 8,924 residents in 1990. The 2020 census listed the county’s population at 6,719, or more than 2,200 residents less. Neighboring counties such as Big Stone, Chippewa and Yellow Medicine suffered population losses in that 30-year time period. The problem – there is simply less people to draw from in terms of cars and fans. And that is one trend I don’t know how rural tracks in these small towns can reverse.

Murray County Speedway is in Slayton, Minn. In 1990, according to the census, Murray County had 9,660 people. in 2020 that was 8,174. Neighboring Pipestone and Cottonwood counties lost more than 1,000 residents during that time span. Racing has a lot of challenges right now but for these rural tracks, population loss is a big headwind they are bucking that can’t be controlled. It certainly adds to the challenge of drawing cars and people form your local area. The less local cars you have, the less local fans show up weekly.

--On the opposite of downsizing, the number of weekly classes at tracks keep going up. Most have at least five, and most have six (and some even more). One track that is not is Devils Lake; looking at their schedule they run four classes weekly. I applaud them for that.

I don’t think it is a good trend.  I realize tracks are looking for ways to add to their pit gate, and adding a class or two boosts that. But does it draw more fans (I will be honest; many of the classes being added don’t draw fans at most places)? Does the class being added interest people, or is it adding a class for the sake of adding one?  Those are fair questions to ask.

This blog is written from the standpoint of a fan. Regular readers of this blog know how I feel about the amount of classes in racing. There are too many. I won’t harp on that in every blog but it’s an important discussion tracks have to have and when I t hink it drags a show along unnecessarily, I won't hesitate to call it out. I have no faith in sanctioning bodies like IMCA or Wissota to reduce the number of classes they sanction; they likely are searching for the next class they can sanction so they can collect drivers license fees from this class. Wjen it comes to the amount of classes in racing today, I would support some downsizing.