First off, let us start off by apologizing for the amount of dust at the last event. 

The Marion County Fair had ended the weekend prior to our last race, and we did not receive any rainfall between the end of the fair and the August 2nd race.  During the ten day fair, they held garden tractor pulls, horse pulls, truck pulls and tractor pulls on the front straight, and a demolition derby on the infield. 

All of this activity required a major rework of the entire track which unfortunately did not allow enough time to get the surface sufficiently packed.  We started watering Friday evening, and continued watering most of the day on Saturday, but we simply could not get enough water into the surface to make a difference.  To make matters worse, our water tank suffered a flat tire about 10 heats into the adult part of the program. 

Facing an 11:00pm curfew, we had no choice but to continue running while the tire was being repaired.  We even changed the race order slightly in order to allow the smaller classes to run with the idea being that less dust would be created if fewer bikes were on the track.

Now on to the good news, we have come up with an additive that is mixed in with the water which acts as a dust control agent.  During last Tuesday’s practice, we watered one time with this product and dust was not an issue the rest of the night.  The track maintained a dark moist color, and did not develop a “blue groove”.  Because the surface was holding moisture, the surface material did a better job of staying where it belonged instead of being thrown to the top of the track.  Several riders even commented about the amount of grip that the track provided.

We have also been able to secure the services of a different concession stand vendor, and we promise that the food will be better quality and better priced than the previous vendor.

The next event is August 23rd, and is sponsored by Southside Harley-Davidson and Buell.  All spectators entering the stands will receive a ticket for a chance to win a variety of prizes which have been provided by Southside Harley-Davidson and Buell.  Gates will open at 3:00, practice at 5:00, and racing begins at 7:00.

The Staff of Mid-America Motorcycle Speedway.