This is the water truck that...
This is the water truck that Cherokee purchased. The key to its success is the use of large, agricultural tires that provide less pressure on the surface and less packing. This allows the water that is spread onto the track to penetrate deeper into the clay and the track stays moist much longer.
It's attention to details like this that makes or breaks a track. But history and clean air alone can't make any facility successful forever. At some point in time, money must be spent on renovations and upkeep. I would have moved the flag stand to the center of the front straight for no other reason than to allow the spectators to be able to see who won. As it is, the left side of the stands can't tell who crosses the finish line first because it is so far down the track.
The racing is very fast here and unfortunately one lane. One slogan for this track states that, "Where Three Wide Is A Given." What we saw was a fast top groove and no chance for any of the cars to pass down under without losing speed and not being able to complete the pass. After the first couple of laps, the field was frozen and there was no change in the order.
Seth spoke about plans to change and lower the banking angle as a way to slow the speeds and increase the ability to pass. We agree that would be a great way to make the racing more exciting and provide opportunities to drivers who, for whatever reason, end up having to start at the rear, but are fast enough to win. And as we will see with our next track, renovations don't necessarily have to break the bank.
At Dillon Motor Speedway,...
At Dillon Motor Speedway, owner Ron Barfield took over a track that was in deep disrepair and transformed it into one fine facility. In the process of removing trees that had grown there, he took out dirt in the infield to lower it some 4-5 feet. This helps the fans see all of the racing action along the backstretch. Many tracks will disallow race trailers in the infield for that reason. This does help.
We were scheduled to visit Anderson Motor Speedway on our swing through South Carolina for a Friday night race the week after Cherokee, but that race was rained out. We had arrived at the track at 3:30 p.m. and not a soul was there. The next day we traveled down to Dillon, South Carolina, to the race at Dillon Motor Speedway, an ASA Member track. Ron Barfield and family took over this track only four years ago.
Dillon was established in 1964, and then abandoned around 1998. Ron and his gang purchased it in 2006. They did a complete overhaul and it's now a wonderful example of what a short track should be.
Ron told me that when they bought the track, it was completely overgrown and they even had to remove trees from the infield. In the process of doing all of that, he decided it would be a good idea to cut the elevation of the infield by around 4 to 5 feet. This makes the view from the grandstands better and the fans are able to see all of the action down the back straight.
Many of the structures needed...
Many of the structures needed for the track, such as this really nice score board, were purchased used at a deep discount. This added up to much less cost and investment allowing more profitability. If a track can't be profitable, then it will eventually die out.
Ron had run a trucking business before buying the track and had saved up damaged siding and roofing material that had been discarded from some of the loads he carried. When it came time to erect the various buildings that would be needed in the infield, he utilized those materials and saved a ton of money. The units look great, like they were built from new materials.
The timing and scoring sign was another secondhand purchase but again looks like new. The light poles were obtained in the same manner and do the job quite well. All in all, Ron spent a lot less money than would have been required if someone had come in there and purchased all of the amenities new. The key to profitability is to keep a low cost of construction so the note on the property is low or non-existent. Then you need to maintain the property in first-class condition. That way, the fans enjoy coming to visit a clean and well laid out facility and the racers appreciate having a nice place to race. And this track is a racy one. There was plenty of action with passing and fighting for position. As is always true on these types of tracks, the better setup was the one that was more consistent and ended up winning in each class.
When we arrived, it had started...
When we arrived, it had started raining. Not one to be defeated or lose hope, owner Ron Barfield took to working to dry the track. Talk about rubbering up the track. These large tires were smokin'. The rain stopped and the teams put on a very good show.
To complete our 2010 AMSOIL Great American Circle Track Tour, we will be traveling around the westerly portion of the Southeastern U.S., making our way up through Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and winding up at Rockingham Speedway for the season finale of the ARCA series.
We'll take in Eldora for the World 100 Dirt Late Model cars, the Topless 100 in Batesville, Akansas, the USAC Sprint and Midget show at Salem, Indianna, as well as action at many more racetracks across this rich racing region. We will continue to study how each track is run, what the racers are doing, and the general health of our sport within this region. And we will report all of that back to you. Stay tuned.
All of the buildings needed...
All of the buildings needed for tech and storage were constructed out of discarded materials. When Ron got done, they looked like they had been designed for their purpose. All of them looked great and his overall cost of construction was very low.
The Late Model Truck class...
The Late Model Truck class was very popular at this track and across the region in general. I noticed that most of the trucks were tight as evidenced by the steep steering angles used in the middle of the turns. This truck with Coy Beard driving, was one of the better ones, showing signs of soft springs and a large sway bar. Luckily, the track was smooth and accepting of these types of setup. He finished Second out of 16 trucks.
One area we try to evaluate...
One area we try to evaluate at every track is safety. At Dillon, they had a new model, dedicated fire truck outfitted with a quick response crew and the latest in fire fighting equipment along with an ambulance crew standing by. At some other tracks we visited, safety was almost an afterthought. We were not real happy to see that. Let this be an example.