HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The 67th Hutchinson Grand National Auto Races will be held at the Kansas State Fairgrounds Grandstand, July 13 through July 15, however this will be the last.
“This is going to be the final one after 67 years,” said long time racetrack announcer Warren Hardy.“They've been racing at the fairgrounds for 115 years and this racetrack in particularly, they've been racing it for 95 years. There's a lot of history at the Kansas State Fairgrounds of auto racing.”
The Hutchinson Nationals came to the fairgrounds back in 1957 when the event was moved from Oklahoma City.
"It's a unique event," Hardy said. "It's a half-mile. Most of these guys during their weekly shows, run on shorter racetracks, either quarter miles or 3/8 mile. The half-mile, the wall up around top has always been a novelty. The speeds that they carry down the straightaways into turn number one and three. We had a little popgun, playing around with it Sunday afternoon and we had a couple of late models out there actually hit 130 miles an hour going into turn three. Now, the backstretch, I've always said, as an announcer. I think it's like 150 feet longer than the front straightaway. It's not really visible to the naked eye, but when you walk it, you can tell it. When they drive those cars into turn number three, it is something to see."
The Kansas State Fair Board approved demolishing the half-mile oval racetrack at their November 2022 meeting.
In the racetrack’s place, a brand-new staging area, grandstand seating area and a dirt event area will be built.
The capacity of the grandstand will not go up significantly. The grandstand seating itself will stay the exact same size but will include a VIP area. Then in front of the stage, there would be a standing room only section.
Overall, the Kansas State Fair Board would be able to increase the number of people that could attend grandstand events during the fair.
While the former area will no longer be a racetrack, it will be able to host other dirt events like monster truck shows, demolition derbies, truck pulls, tractor pulls, and things of that nature. The plan is to create a smaller dirt venue up on the north side of the grandstand area that would allow for those events.
Some of the land where the racetrack was will also be used for different purposes.
Racing kicks off Thursday night and runs through Saturday. Pits open at 4 p.m. each night and the grandstand opens at 5 p.m. for spectators. Hot laps begin at 6 p.m. and races kick off at 7:30 Thursday and Friday then 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Advance tickets are on sale at O’Reilly Auto Parts Stores for $20. Tickets are $25 at the gate. No outside drinks or food will be allowed in the grandstand.
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