A familiar sound will be heard around Fairbury this Saturday night as racing resumes at the Fairbury Speedway following an extended offseason.
“I think we are going to be well prepared and it looks like we’ve done the right things and steps with local officials to make sure we have a safe place to race,” said Matt Curl, owner and promoter of the speedway.
The process to get back to racing wasn’t as easy one as constant communication was involved for the past several weeks. Curl can’t say enough about his team who, in his words, was “pushed to the test” for the past couple of months.
“We just want to try and do our part to get back to normal and put on entertainment for our fans.”
Curl has been working closely with the Livingston County Health Department and other local officials to come up with a plan for 35 percent capacity on the grounds. Recent pit renovations put the track at well over 7,000 available seats and 35 percent gives them a mark of 2,400 people. This is higher than any of the regular nights have been for the past several years.
“I’m very comfortable to say that we are inviting all of our fans and drivers here and I think it will be just about the right number for us to get going for the season,” Curl adds.
This weekend’s FALS Cup race features a $3,000-to-win late model special along with the other weekly divisions of racing. Gates open at 2 p.m. Saturday with hot laps and qualifying at 5:45 and racing at 7.
“We have a really great program in store for all the fans and drivers,” Curl said. “Again this year, general admission is $10 which is really incredible for this day and age.”
Kids 12 and under are always free with a paid adult.
Curl and his crew are taking things day by day so they plan to sit down after opening night and discuss how everything went. A schedule is in place they would like to activate after this weekend with the full schedule possibly released in the coming weeks, however the focus remains on the June 20 and 27 races.
“Things are changing throughout the state and around the country. We want to make sure we don’t get ourselves tied down to something we couldn’t do,” Curl added.
Fans should check www.fairburyspeedway.com for updates on future races, including the bigger shows planned for the summer.
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