My thoughts on I-94 EMR Speedway being sold

The big news in area racing this week was the official announcement that I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls has been sold.  Don Shaw made a Facebook post on Monday on the I-94 page making the announcement that James Trantina III has purchased the facility.

Shaw said he will remain co-promoter with Deb Engfer for the 2026 season, still involved with the weekly operations of the track.

In the Facebook post, Shaw mentioned a few reasons for the sale – one, finding someone to keep racing alive at I-94; some health issues he’s facing and the tragic loss of Scott Engfer, a person who did a lot of work at the track for many, many years. 

I will be honest here – aside from a few email exchanges asking about media pit access, I have had one conversation with Don Shaw, and that was a phone interview after he bought the track in 2020.  I recognize him from following racing for many years but I highly doubt he’d know me if he saw me walking across the pit area. That blog story has the most page views of any RaceChaser blog story. So I don’t have a personal interest in this, and frankly who promotes or owns any tracks locally.  I have been treated fair at almost every track I cover and that includes the staff at I-94.

When it comes to promoters, I try to have professional dealings with them and keep some distance personally. I don’t want to get accused of favoring track management in the blog, I like to play it down the middle.  I try to be fair to promoters; if there is something I don’t like about the operation of a track, I’ll mention it but have tried to avoid personal shots in recent years. I must be getting soft.

Truth is, by purchasing the track Shaw ensured there would be racing in Fergus as there was some doubt after the death after long-time owner Dick Johanneck. Shaw spent a good deal of money upgrading the facility (which in some areas was much needed) over the years and it’s one of the better tracks in Wissota.  I appreciate the time and money the Shaw family invested to improve the track.

The honest fact is when a lot of tracks get sold in today’s world, they are sometimes not kept as racetracks. I-94 Speedway in Sauk Centre, a track I attended several times when it was dirt in the early 1990s, is now a big building for Felling Trailers.  East Bay in Florida was sold after 2024 and is no longer a racetrack. I-80 Speedway in Nebraska, one of the top five tracks I’ve been to, is gone. Sometimes the property the track is sitting on is more valuable than the racetrack itself.

By selling to Trantina, a well-known figure in central Minnesota racing who also owns Granite City Motor Park in Sauk Rapids and also owns Collins Brothers Towing which sponsors several cars in that region, it ensures racing should stay at I-94 for the foreseeable future. That is a big positive.  And for the record, I have said hi to Trantina about two times in the pits and don’t know him, either so have no personal opinion about him.

One thing in Shaw’s post caught my attention and it was his first reason on his list for selling – social media. Social media can be a positive thing for racing and tracks but it also can be destructive.  Fans and drivers definitely have the right to voice their opinions as folks who pay to get in each week, and that shouldn’t be lost, especially if it is constructive criticism on something that can be improved. But sometimes the criticism goes beyond that and becomes nasty and personal. And sometimes it’s based on half-truths or in some cases fabricated rumors. It amazes me how a handful of folks can be so ignorant but pretend to be experts. But that’s another blog.

There is no perfect racetrack, never was, or never will be. All tracks have flaws. Some are more correctable than others.

I will be frank: you couldn’t pay me enough to own or run a racetrack in today’s world.

There is the cost of running a track. Finding staff. Finding sponsors. Track prep. Trying to keep a bunch of drivers happy. Dealing with social media criticism or personal attacks which sometimes are totally unfair.  Praying there will be a decent number of fans in the stands. The weather. Inaccurate weather forecasts and apps. There are more but you get the picture. Stress filled, and at a time when the sport is facing a lot of challenges car-count and fan-wise.

My parents ran Fiesta City Speedway while I was in high school.  They weren’t perfect at it but tried and worked hard to make it work. Someone was always bitching about something, and yes, some of that comes with the territory. A few times we had people cuss us out on our answering machine because we canceled races – but that was before the days of social media. I’d hate to see it now.

With Shaw and Deb Engfer, a long-time staple and unsung hero at I-94 co-promoting this year under Trantina’s ownership I don’t see a lot of huge changes at I-94. Many of the staff have worked there several years; I know because I’ve seen them and have been going there since 2012.  I’m hoping the ownership change is a smooth transition, but I am also thankful it means racing will still be at I-94. Shaw could have sold the track to a developer who had no interest in a racetrack and just wanted the property itself. Folks need to remember that.

With the rising gas prices (and no end to the Iran fiasco in sight), it’s going to be a challenging year for tracks across the country. Despite this, I have some optimism it will be a good year racing-wise.  It may take some prayers too.