7 February 2024
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KSNW) — Hutchinson city leaders want to help make the dirt race track on the Kansas State Fairgrounds successful.
Mel Hambelton Ford’s General Manager Phil Nightingale says he has as many as nine events scheduled for the track this year. On Monday, he asked the Hutchinson City Council for help getting the track ready.
He said the track needs water and maintenance equipment.
“Right now, the track is in a, best way I can say it, is in a mess,” he said. “It’s not been maintained very well, and they have, after the fair, they had a truck or tractor pull there, and they did a bunch of dirt work, and they left piles of dirt everywhere. So I have a lot of work ahead of me to get going.”
He said an event that will probably fill the stands is the Silver Crown of Sprint Cars, scheduled for July 19 and 20. Nightingale thinks 8,500 to 10,000 people will attend.
He said the current contract for the dirt track is for one year. He hopes it is so successful that the next contract will be for three years.
The Hutchinson City Council members said they would need more information before making a definite commitment. They also suggested that Nightingale ask the Reno County Commission for help.