MANSFIELD — Mansfield Speedway owners Matt and Jordan Tifft are problem solvers.

And the .44-mile oval on the city’s north side had a problem.

The reborn dirt track off Crall Road hosted the World of Outlaws Late Model Series for the Blaster 57 Special a few weeks ago and — aside from back-to-back six-figure paydays thanks to the Niss family — the biggest news coming out of the weekend was the state of the racetrack.

The surface wasn’t suitable for a series Tifft referred to as the “NASCAR of the dirt world.” 

A hole developed in the top of Turn 3 on Friday night that weekend, causing lengthy delays in the show and complaints from drivers racing over the problem area. The track also had a dust problem.

Tifft and his team worked tirelessly overnight and by all accounts the surface was in far better condition for Saturday’s show.

But it still wasn’t to Tifft’s liking.

A natural spring in Turn 3 was a problem long before Tifft purchased the property last year. Drainage issues and improperly laid dirt exacerbated the problem.

“What we found, probably 15 feet into the ground, was the drain tiles had been completely destroyed. All the water was getting trapped,” Tifft said. “You never want to find a big problem like that, but at the same time you’d rather find something than not find anything and be left with big question marks.”

After discovering the underlying problem, Tifft and Co. got to work.

The track has undergone a major facelift since the World of Outlaws teams rolled out of town. About 18 inches of dirt was pulled off the front stretch and re-laid to eradicate the soft spots.

“What we tried to do was go down to the sub-surface and find out what was going on there,” Tifft said. “We pulled off a bunch and basically said we’re starting over.

“We’ll pull everything … and re-apply the surface bit-by-bit. That has been our process so far.”

Tifft said all along the first season wouldn’t be perfect. He knew there was work to be done after the Comeback Classic in mid-May. That event had to be rescheduled because of inclement weather earlier in the month.

“That first race we had, we didn’t really have a full shot to go prep the racetrack,” Tifft said. “The track was rough and that happens when you have torrential downpours and a horrible spring with non-stop rain.”

Mansfield Speedway’s next big show is the Summer Sprint Car Opener on June 26 and 27. The Tiffts and their team intend to be ready.

“We have a host of staff who is just the most dedicated group of individuals you’ve ever met,” Jordan Tifft said. “We’re really, really fortunate to have people who love this just as much as we do.

“We couldn’t do it without them.”

The good news is the Tiffts are in it for the long haul.

“We put our heart and soul into this facility,” Tifft said. “We’re not going to stop until this thing is right.”