Ryan Aho

6.23.2020

 

With the craziness of 2020, many of us are looking at life with a whole new perspective.  It's easy to be frustrated thinking about all of the things we have missed out on this year, but I also believe we should be even more grateful for the things we can still do.

 

In just a couple short weeks, one of those things will be catching some action packed racing at the Dondelinger Ford Grand Rapids Speedway!  We have worked very hard with Itasca County in creating a set of safe opening guidelines so we can officially get underway.  Although we have permission to open right away, we hit a couple small obstacles and feel an extra week or two will give us ample time to be ready to roll.  The official opening night at the Dondelinger Ford Grand Rapids Speedway is set for Thursday, July 9.

 

Bob and the crew were out at the track this past weekend and put in a ton of hours getting some repairs done and working in the new clay that they added to the racing surface.  The racing surface last year provided some incredible side by side action and you have to keep on it if you want to keep having that kind of racing. 

 

We have a few inconveniences to deal with when we open, but at this point we are just excited to be opening.  Due to safety precautions and the executive order that is in place, we are currently limited on the amount of people that can attend the racing events.  Furthermore, we will not be allowed to do some of the fan / driver interaction activities that we had in mind for the upcoming season.  With that aside, fans will still get to see some dirt fly in a couple short weeks with some side by side action packed racing.

 

Marketing Director Ryan Aho says, "We had some amazing things in the works for this season.  Unfortunately, most of those things will be on hold until the 2021 season."  Special events such as the "Rumble in the Pines" World of Outlaws Late Model event have been put on hold.  Aho says, "Our vision of bringing the World of Outlaws to Grand Rapids is going to happen.  This will be great for the track and great for the city, but you can't pull something like that off with a limited fan count.  We had some exciting things in the works to make that event truly special, and it's best that we put it on hold so we can do it right.  Our fans certainly deserve that."

 

The Grand Rapids Speedway board will be discussing the schedule for the shortened season in the coming days.  A practice day will be announced soon, but season opener is officially July 9.  The first action packed enduro is scheduled for July 17.  The 26th Annual WISSOTA Classic is set for Friday, September 4th. "We still have a lot to look forward to this season", says Track President Bob Broking.  Rest assured, the staff at the Dondelinger Ford Grand Rapids Speedway is working very hard to prepare for the upcoming season and we can't wait to hear some thunder in the pines.