MANSFIELD — Call the event at Mansfield Speedway on Thursday more of a re-imagining moment, rather than a ground-breaking ceremony.
It was aided by a smile of Mother Nature on a race track she has not always treated kindly under past owners on the city’s north side for the past six-plus decades.
Bright sunshine and temperatures in the mid 80s greeted 50 or so local dignitaries who turned out to meet new track owners, Matt and Jordan Tifft, and share in their vision for the half-mile oval.
The couple recently purchased the 180-acre property from the Milliron Foundation and have ambitious plans for what they intend to build into a multi-use facility off Crall Road.
(Below are photos from the Mansfield Raceway on Thursday afternoon. The story continues below the photos.)
“The vision for the Mansfield Speedway, of course, is racing. It’s been around here since 1959,” said Matt Tifft, a Medina County native and former NASCAR Cup Series racer and team owner.
“But we want to make it to where we have community events. Where there’s food truck festivals and we have concerts here and we have Christmas lights around the entire property.
“We want to make it to where anybody can access this race track. … We’re going to have all those opportunities here,” said the 28-year-old Tifft, still an active racer who finished fifth Saturday at the Marion Center Raceway.
Tifft officially acquired the property on June 2 for $2.25 million through his Matt Tifft Motorsports LLC, based in North Carolina, according to property records with the Richland County Auditor’s Office.
There’s going to be something for everyone.
Brad McCown, Mansfield Speedway general manager
Execution of the plan will fall on the operations team, which includes new track general manager Brad McCown. McCown raced for 17 years in southern Ohio and owned Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe from 2013 to 2021.
“I’ve been out of it for four years, then I contacted Matt a couple of weeks ago and we were bouncing ideas off each other. The next thing you know, here I am,” McCown said.
“In 2017 when (former promoter) Cody Sommer had the place up and going, I had an Ohio sprint car series and we had a race here. It was a first-class facility back then and it’s going to be 10 times better now.
“Matt and Jordan have a lot of great ideas for this place and they aren’t just drawing from NASCAR. There’s going to be something here for everyone,” McCown said.
Several elected city and county officials, including Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry, turned out to witness the track’s rebirth. The Tiffts hope to bring a Christmas light show to the facility in December and racing back to the venue late next spring.
“We’ve had overwhelming support,” said Jordan Tifft, who stressed the importance of making the facility accessible to all fans.
“Seeing the thousands and thousands of people sharing their memories and giving us so much positivity and support (on social media), we’re grateful. We’ve felt such a warm welcome.
“Mansfield already feels like a second home to us.”
That’s music to Perry’s ears.
“They are making a historic commitment to our community,” Perry said. “They believe the entire community will support them as they give a second life to the track.
“It’s a great day for Mansfield.”
