Fairbury Speedway doubles down on weekly racing

$22,000 in weekly payouts; Free attendance night and more for the Fairbury Speedway dirt track in 2019

Fairbury Speedway is a 1/4-mile dirt track in Fairbury, Illinois

In 2018, Matt Curl was signed by the World Racing Group. He left his role as the promoter of Fairbury Speedway and spent the season as the World of Outlaws Late Model Series director.

Last month, Matt Curl added the role of track owner to his title. He’s doubled back to Illinois and purchased Fairbury American Legion Speedway, his hometown track.

“This is exciting news for our Series Director,” said World of Outlaws President Tom Deery. “It’s a testament to his ability — the very reason we chose him to lead our Series. He has already played an important role in making Fairbury one of the top tracks in America, and now he will lead that anchor track into the next era.”

They say, ‘Local racing is dead.’

Is it? Or does it just take bold promoters to stand out from the crowd, drawing race fans and racers alike.

FALS LLC now owns the race track. With that, big changes are coming to Fairbury Speedway.

Fals Cup - Fairbury Speedway — Fals Cup – Fairbury Speedway

Fals Cup Weekly Championship

For 2019, the Fals Cup Weekly championship will take place at the 1/4-mile dirt oval. The schedule will bring playoffs to DIRTcar Late Models and UMP Modifieds on a local level.

The lowest payout for Dirt Late Models of all event at the track will be an impressive $2,500.

Fals Cup Weekly Purse
DIRTcar Late Models
$2,500 to win and $300 to start

UMP Modifieds
$1,500 to win and $175 to start

A weekly payout like that is unheard of for local short track racing. As the price of the cars have skyrocketed, the payouts have not.

That’s led to a drop in car counts, despite a booming economy. The problems are compounded as fans aren’t willing to put down their tiny computers, pack the family in the SUV and go watch 8 late models roll around the track.

A weekly payout of $2,500 is a sure why to bring back the car counts. In total, $22,000 in purses are set to be handed out on a weekly basis. With the payout increase, the price on the fans while remain unchanged as admission costs will remain constant.

Fairbury Speedway Ticket Costs
Grandstands: $10
Pit Pass: $25

“It’s time to do all we can for the weekly local racer in every way possible,” Matt Curl explained.

The Future Of Racing ( Shane Walters Photography ) — Jeff Curl at Fairbury Speedway

Free attendance Night

In addition, the track will introduce a Free attendance night. That will take place on June 1st, 2018.

Free admission is something that Florence Speedway has tried as well. And it went well beyond their expectations. Florence expected to lose money when they did it. It was a marketing effort to bring new faces to the track.

It worked. The place was packed from top to bottom as full capacity for a weekly show. At the same time, they didn’t lose a dollar. With the high attendance, they made enough money on concessions to make it in the black at the conclusion of the night.

“One of the things I wanted to do for a long time is to try and reach out to the new race fan in our sport,” Curl continued. “By giving them the opportunity to come and watch what we will have to offer is very exciting for me. There are not too many thing that are free in this world anymore. But, on this one night, there will be.”

Fairbury Speedway is taking things one step further. On August 24th, the track will host their driver appreciation night. All drivers will get a free pit pass into the track.

Fairbury Speedway Photos ( Shane Walters Photography ) — Fairbury Speedway

2019 Fairbury Speedway Schedule

April 27
Test-N-Tune Practice
12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Classes: Open to all 2019 divisions

May 4
Fals Cup Weekly Racing
$2,500 to win DIRTcar Late Models
Classes: DLM | MOD | SS | Sports | Hobby Mod

May 11
Fals Frenzy
$10,000 to win, 50 lap MARS / ALMS Late Model Shootout
Classes: DLM | MOD | Sports

May 25
Memorial Day Weekend Roundup
$3,000 to win DIRTcar Late Models
Classes: DLM | AMS MOD | Crate LM | Sports | SS

June 22
DIRTcar Summer Nationals
$10,000 to win, 50 laps DIRTcar Late Models
Classes: DLM | MOD | Sports

June 29
Fals Cup Weekly Racing
$2,500 to win DIRTcar Late Models
Classes: DLM | MOD | Sports | Hobby Mods

July 6
Fals Weekly Racing, Powri National Midgets, Mowa Sprints
$2,500 to win DIRTcar Late Models
Classes: POWRI | SPRINTS | DLM | MOD

July 26
Prairie Dirt Classic
$2,500 to win World of Outlaws Late Model showdown features
Classes: DLM | MOD

July 27
30th annual Prairie Dirt Classic
$30,000 to win, 100 lap World of Outlaws Late Models
Classes: DLM | MOD

August 15
POWRi Nationals Midget
$1,500 to win DIRTcar Modifieds
Classes: POWRi | MOD | Crate LM

August 31
7th annual Fals Modified Nationals
Twin $5,000 to win, 40 lap AMS Shootouts
$5,000 to win Late Models
Classes: DLM | Mod

Links

Fairbury Speedway