NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Friday night is championship night at the Kansas State Fairgrounds for Salt City Racing LLC.
"We'll crown some champions Friday night in the A mods, the B mods, and the stock cars," said Phil Nightingale with Salt City Racing. "It's going to be a fun time, then also the URSS sprint cars, they're going to crown their champion too. It should be some exciting racing because some of the points races are pretty tight. It should be fun and exciting."
Nightingale said a long-term deal to keep the racetrack open is on the table.
"The board does have the new contract that we drafted up for a five-year contract," Nightingale said. "They've got it in their hands. We're going to meet here next month to, I hope, make a nice, easy transition and get a contract signed so we can have a multi-year deal and keep this track alive at Hutchinson."
There definitely seems to be a lot more optimism from the fair board now than there was when Nightingale initially came to them about a year ago.
"A year ago when I came back and met with the board, they were very skeptical and I get it," Nightingale said. "I understand why they were skeptical of that thing, and that's why I told them, I said, let's let me get a proposal together. Let's go for a year and let's see how this works. And I think they all are very excited to move forward."
Attendance figures in the grandstand have averaged over 1600, with over 300 per night on average in the pits heading into Friday's races.