4/16/2020
34 Raceway
April 17, 2020 - COVID-19 Update
Greetings Race Fans!
We hope this finds you all healthy and ready for some racing. Sometimes in life you have to take the good with the bad and that is exactly what we have done over the past few weeks. The first weekend in April we were fortunate to be able to host several private practice sessions for local drivers. We got to hear the roar and smell all the good race track smells so our hearts were certainly happy. We are glad we could share some live videos with our fans so we could share our excitement. Those can be found on Facebook if you would like to revisit them.
Governor Reynolds decided that on Tuesday, April 7th she would mandate additional closures of facilities in Iowa and this time included "Race tracks and Speedways". With that, we ceased practices and headed a different direction. Over the past two years, we have needed to do some major dirt work but have lacked the resources and equipment to do so. This season, with the help of Brad Helmerson of New London and Four Seasons Excavating of West Burlington, we got a good start on that work. We have moved thousands of yards of dirt back into place from turns 1 and 2 and were able to add some new dirt into 3 and 4. We are far from finished but the delay in racing provided us an opportunity to perform the work so, for that we are thankful.
What's happening with the race season? Well, we cancelled / postponed 4/4, 4/11, 4/18 and are now cancelling the event for 4/25. Like you, we don't know what the Governor will say next but we will tell you, we have the right people in our corner. Jessi has spent time reaching out to as many folks as she can to profess how much we need the opportunity to race. She participated in a call in session with Congressman Loebsack, Senator Grassley and Senator Ernst on Wednesday and let them know what kind of challenges racetracks like ours are currently facing among the other small businesses in our area and industry. We are trying so if that counts for anything, you cannot say we did not give it every effort. As of today, 4/17, we plan on racing as soon as possible so May 2nd, 101.7 The Bull night is still a green light as of today. Casebine Community Credit Union Night is still scheduled for May 9th and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Lucky 50 presented by 777 Trucking is still scheduled for May 14th at this time.
As a show of solidarity and in honor of the Slocum 50's original date, we're leaving the lights on at the track from dusk on Saturday, April 18th until 10 PM. The racetrack gates will be close so please carefully drive by on Highway 34 and give us a honk and wave! Please do not stop and do be aware of cars around you as you go by. We can't wait to see everyone.
We hope you remain well and we will continue to update you as time goes on. We hope to see you all soon!
Submitted By: Jessi Mynatt
