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[Redhead 18]

Dodge racetrack questions still linger

Officials, others look for ways to increase attendance, revenue

By Tim Vandenack

The Hutchinson News
Dechant Sheer Minerals

tvandenack@hutchnews.com

DODGE CITY - Kevin Kirmer doesn't ask for much - he just wants to see the cars going fast around the oval at Dodge City Raceway Park.

"I'm just a race fan, I go to see good races," he said.

With locals wrestling to pick a new promoter, however, the most intense action these days is off the oval, as racers, elected officials and others debate how best to guide the cash-strapped, city-owned facility into a more stable future. There's discussion over how to draw in more fans and racers, compounded by deliberation over what sort of ties, if any, the raceway should have with a competing oval in nearby Jetmore.

The longstanding topic has prompted plenty of grousing over the years, particularly in light of the local tax revenue pumped into the facility - nearly $1.4 million since 2003. And it's enough of a flashpoint to make Liberal racer John Schwab, among many others, wonder if the issue will ever really be resolved.

Emotions seem to have settled from years past, Schwab said, but, "I believe it'll linger on."

Dodge City Raceway Park, which opened in 2000, cost $6.7 million with funds coming from a special half-cent city and half-cent Ford County sales tax.

It's a state-of-the-art short-track facility, featuring sprint cars, modifieds and other vehicles operated by racers from around the region. Several other dirt ovals dot western Kansas, but none really compare.

"There's none better, there's just none," said C. Ray Hall, a longtime race promoter who operates the 81 Speedway in Park City. "It's the best money can buy."

From the start, however, the facility, which can hold 3,500, has been beset with controversy, and crowds during the spring-through-fall season typically number just in the hundreds.

If you ask Bart Boyd, a racer from Wright, the raceway's future hinges on earning the confidence of drivers. Fans follow the racers, and a promoter selected locally will prompt more drivers to take Dodge City seriously.

Mike Mathis, who stepped down after three years at the end of 2006, was from Colorado.

"They're going to have to bring in somebody local, somebody that the racers trust," Boyd said. "When half of the local racers aren't racing there, I don't think the fans are going to follow."

He also calls for cooperation with the Jetmore Motorplex to minimize overlapping race days, thus increasing the potential pool of racers available to go to either track.

A group of Hodgeman County businessmen and fans built that dirt oval, about 20 miles north of Dodge City, in response to the initial decision to make the track here asphalt, and it has built up a loyal following. Indeed, even though the Dodge City track was converted to dirt in 2004, many still begrudge the initial decision to go with asphalt, which draws from a smaller pool of racers.

For his part, Gary Cline, a Dodge City enthusiast who builds racing motors, says increasing the purse will help bring more competitors here and fill the stands. Contrary to Boyd, though, he says whoever promotes the Dodge City facility needs to focus on it and it alone.

"We need to quit worrying about other racetracks in the area and concentrate on Dodge," Cline said.

Several intangibles also figure in the mix, including personal gripes and resentment among Jetmore backers that the Dodge City oval has a sales tax stream to tap. Hall, the Park City oval operator, says grousing against promoters is typical, but in Dodge City "it seems everybody is unhappy with somebody."

For fans like Kirmer, meanwhile, the discussion seems to lose sight of what the real objective should be - putting on a quality show.

"Me, myself, I just want to see good racing at the racetrack," he said. "That's what makes me happy."

02/02/2007; 02:39:13 AM

[lurker]

Mayhaps they should turn the racetrack into a go-kart track... add some pool tables and video games and we'll be RICH!