By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
After suffering significant damage during an August storm and canceling two events, major repairs have been made at Rolling Plains Motor Speedway — just in time to host the 12th annual Fall Nationals.
The event is set to kick off Thursday, Oct. 4, and will run through Saturday.
“We’ve got the pit concession building rebuilt and the scale house and Midwest Energy has been working out there getting ready to put up new lights and poles in the infield and behind the grandstand,” said Glenn Unrein, RPM president. “We’ve got the grandstands into position so we can use them at the Fall Nationals and everything is moving forward.”
During an Ellis County Commission meeting on Sept. 3, Jill Pfannenstiel, Ellis County Fair Board president, informed the commission that, with the extent of the damage, a special insurance adjuster was needed in order to process the claim as they organized a cleanup effort for the fairgrounds on which RPM sits.
“We have a lot of damage out there that is going to take a lot of time to repair,” Pfannenstiel said.
But with insurance only covering the damage and not the loss of revenue from canceled events, Unrein said repairs could not wait and began work at the speedway before the claim was settled.
“We’re still waiting it out,” he said. “We don’t know exactly how much they are going to cover and which areas.”
The scale house and winners circle were destroyed in the storm, along with several 80-foot light poles. The grandstand was also moved around a foot.
All three needed to be repaired before events could resume.
With repair costs coming from out of pocket, Unrein remains optimistic insurance will cover the expense.
“We have faith in them and believe they are going to cover the majority of it,” he said.
Either way, Hays will soon hear the rumbling of racing coming from the track.
The Fall Nationals is the richest event on the post-season IMCA schedule, according to RPM, which expects over 200 race teams to participate.
“Pre-entries are already flowing in from drivers from the states of Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, New Mexico, Colorado, North Dakota, Iowa, Wyoming and Canada,” according to an RPM press release for the event. “National, regional, state and local champions, and rookies will be trackside.”
“The Briney Motorsports IMCA Modifieds race for $5,000 to win and a minimum of $400 to start their main event,” they said. “Also on the card for that weekend are the Advantage Glass Plus IMCA Stock Cars racing for $3,000 to win and $250 to start, Walt’s Repair & Machine IMCA Northern SportMods for $2,000 and $175 to start, Golden Plains Trucking IMCA Hobby Stocks for $1,500 and $175 to start, and the Simpson Farm Enterprises IMCA Sport Compacts for $400 and $50 to start. Radke Implement Crazy Cruisers will run for $200 to win.”
On the first day of the event, all classes will have the opportunity to get on the track during an open practice.
Gates are set to open on Friday and Saturday at 3 p.m.
Races will begin at 5 p.m.
Tickets for general admission run $15 each on Friday and Saturday. Children 12 and under enter free with an adult.
Adult pit passes are $25 on Thursday and $30 on Friday and Saturday and passes for children 12 and under are $10.
During the events, pits will open at noon each day, which gives fans an opportunity to get an up-close and personal look at the cars and teams.
Merchandise will also be available throughout the event.
Unrein said he hopes the drivers and crowd come to see the repair efforts made at the track.
“Everybody come out and see the rebuilt facilities, and it should be a great time at Fall Nationals,” he said.
More information about the event can be found at the RPM Speedway website at rpmspeedway.net., or on the tracks Facebook page.
