MANSFIELD — Mother Nature refuses to cooperate, but Mansfield Speedway owner Matt Tifft and his team won’t be deterred.
The dirt oval on the city’s north side will roar back to life in less than three months and Tifft, a former NASCAR driver and team owner who purchased the property last year, can’t wait for the green flag to fly.
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An unusually bitter and snowy February has forced some delays off Crall Road, but Tifft hopes the worst of winter is in the rearview mirror.
“The weather killed us, to be honest. It didn’t take us off schedule, but it just made it that much more of a hustle,” said Tifft, a Medina County native. “We’re doing good, though.”
Speedway personnel have stayed busy despite the weather. The construction crew recently installed new grandstands and is working on catch fencing.
But that’s not the most exciting new addition.
A state-of-the-art jumbotron opposite the grandstands will soon be completed.
“I’m sure people driving on (Ohio) 545 and 13 can see it,” Tifft said. “That will be finished up from the structural part of it (this week). It just comes down to the electrical part.”
The system will include a 70-foot-by-42-foot LED display with a total price tag north of $1 million.
Tifft and his team have gotten some much-needed help from Madison Local School District recently. The operations crew is grateful.
“The Madison schools have a program for carpentry and electrical. They’ve hopped on the last week and they’ve been unbelievably helpful,” Tifft said. “We’ve made insane progress with that.
“Now that they’ve stepped in, we may be right back on schedule. That’s been a big plus.”
Tifft knew reviving the track would be a heavy lift. He just didn’t realize how heavy.
“We didn’t realize how bad of shape this place was in,” Tifft said. “It’s just one of those things where you don’t know until you get to the build process.”
The crew wasn’t prepared for the tenants that moved in after the track went silent in 2019.
“So many of these building had doors that were left open and the critters took over,” he said. “We joked that a raccoon should be our mascot because we’ve had more raccoons in here than just about anything else.”
All the work is in preparation of the season-opening Comeback Classic on May 2. The Night of Destruction is scheduled for the following day.
It’s all part of an ambitious first-year schedule of events.
“I don’t want to set the expectation that opening day is going to be perfect,” Tifft said. “It’s Night One of Year One. That’s unrealistic.
“There are going to be things to fix, there’s no doubt about it. Let’s make sure fans have an incredible experience. Let’s make sure we run a good show and from there we’ll go address the issues afterwards.”
The national spotlight will shine on the track during the 57 Special in late-May.
“Our biggest weekend from a national-exposure standpoint is May 29 to 30. But we also know that from a local excitement perspective it’s opening weekend,” Tifft said. “If we can take care of that part and make sure our race crews are buttoned up on the race side, the rest will take care of itself.”