Silent speedway: Hartford's history of auto racing

For the first time since 1987, there will be no roar of racing engines on summer Saturday nights just west of Hartford.

I-90 Speedway owner and promoter Lyle Howey III recently accepted a position at Badlands Speedway, where a multi-million dollar renovation of the former Huset’s Speedway is currently in progress. Howey will serve as the assistant general manager of facilities at Badlands. He also signed an agreement with Badlands to not allow racing at I-90 for the next three years.

“This gives me an opportunity to be a part of a number of really big events, something I never could have experienced at my track,” said Howey. “It’ll probably be less stressful, too.”

Howey purchased I-90 in 2006. The track enjoyed early success that it’s recently failed to match.

“The track did really well until the economy went bad in 2008,” he said. “It’s down some lately from those first years, although it hasn’t been a steady decline.It’s more difficult today to operate a successful race track than when I first started. I think one of the major reasons is because there’s been a big increase in entertainment options in Sioux Falls on Saturday nights.”

The track has operated under several names and a number of owners since being built 40 years ago. In its earliest years, it became one of the major tracks in the region.

Open-wheel dirt-track racing in the Midwest was undergoing a change in the 1970s. Many of the top tracks that once featured Super-Modified race cars were replacing them with the faster and more popular sprint cars.

Huset’s Speedway near Brandon was one of the most successful weekly dirt tracks in the nation at that time, hosting large crowds and a bulging infield of cars every Sunday night. But some drivers and fans wanted to see sprint cars replace the Super-Modifieds, which had been its premier division for many years.

Huset’s promoter Fred Buckmiller was against changing the track’s featured class of cars. He had guided Huset’s to its success from a humble beginning in the late 1950’s, governing it with an iron hand and an emphasis on tight rules to help keep costs to participants under control. Buckmiller was primarily against switching to sprint cars due to their higher cost. He saw little reason to change the track’s successful format and feared that switching cars would force some car-owners out of racing.

Another man envisioned a new track for sprint cars near Sioux Falls. Walt Zirpel shared his dream with others in racing and soon an association was formed to construct and operate a new track, with funding coming from sales of shares in the operation.The association leased approximately 60 acres of land about three miles west of Hartford. Many who were enthusiastic about a new racing venue donated their time and talents in building the half-mile track and towards the other work that needed to be done at the new facility to see their dream become a reality.

Hartford Speedway opened its gates for racing in 1976. Following attempts at holding races on different nights of the week, it eventually went head-to-head with Huset’s on Sunday nights with successful results. Throngs of racing fans began heading west from Sioux Falls on Sunday evenings rather than east.

I-90 Speedway near Hartford ceasing operations

Hartford was not only the popular new kid on the block, it was also the one with the best toys, as many of the top drivers who previously raced at Huset’s now competed there. Popular drivers such as Doug Wolfgang, Roger Larson, Bill Mellenberndt, Dave Engebretson, Darryl Dawley, Don Reiners Jr., Roger Mulder and others brought along their legions of fans, making Hartford the place to be.

“We had up to 3,000 fans on a regular Sunday night,” said Kenny Brander of Sioux Falls, who was on the board of directors and deeply involved at the track throughout its existence, “and thousands more for special races like the World of Outlaws. A lot of the money that we took in went right back out to the drivers. We paid them a great purse. Looking back, we probably should’ve paid them a little less and kept that for the track.”

While Hartford thrived, Huset’s drew its fewest fans since its beginning. On some race nights, only a few hundred people could be found scattered throughout its vast bleacher area. But the track remained in operation, primarily due to its sizable coffers that had been bolstered from years of success.

Badlands Speedway promises big bucks, monster trucks

On July 7, 1979, a double-fatality crash at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway sent shockwaves through sprint car racing nationwide, with Hartford feeling the greatest impact of any track from the tragedy. Hartford regulars Darryl Dawley of Sioux Falls and Roger Larson of Madison were killed in the accident.

“Darryl and Roger were two of our most popular drivers,” said Brander. “Darryl was on the board of directors and they both had strongly supported the track since its beginning. Our attendance dropped by about 400 fans a night after that, which represented a significant amount of revenue. Some who quit attending were friends and fans of theirs. Others just lost interest in racing. And many who stayed were less enthusiastic. I think it was the beginning of the end for the track.”

The racing continued on, but the track faced another major issue – a lack of strong leadership. While the track had a number of different managers, they had little input on the major decisions concerning its operation. Those decisions were determined by a board of directors, who were often at odds in their opinions regarding the proper path for the track.

“The board had a difficult time agreeing on a number of things,” said Brander. “I guess you could say it was ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’."

Auto racing historian Tom Savage, who was the track’s announcer for its first three years, viewed its leadership issues from a similar perspective.

“It was a group of racers trying to run a race track, which hardly ever works,” said Savage. “They lacked a strong leader, like Huset’s had with Buckmiller. In my opinion, racers should just race and let the promoters promote.”

Once the interest and attendance began to decline, it had a snowball effect and fans gradually began returning to Huset’s.

“It eventually got to the point that when we (board of directors) would meet on Monday morning, we’d have to get our own checkbooks out to keep the track going for another week,” said Brander.

Hartford Speedway eventually locked its gates for the final time in 1983. Since the property was leased, there were few assets of value to liquidate. In the end, there was nothing left to distribute to its shareholders, including some who had invested tens of thousands of dollars.

The track remained dormant until 1988 when brothers Bill and Jerry Leesch purchased the property. Bill had an extensive background in auto racing, beginning as a car-owner in the early days at Huset’s and serving on its board of directors. He later became the promoter at Huset’s in 1984 following Buckmiller’s death and served in that capacity through 1987 until Clarence Rubin purchased the track.

Major improvements and reconfigurations were made to the track, with Bill Leesch serving as its promoter. It was shortened it to a three-eighths mile oval and a large building for concessions, officiating, spectating and office space was constructed and new bleachers were added. They named it Red Devil Speedway, a reference to a slogan Huset’s used in its early days as “The Home of the Red Devils”.

While the track raced regularly, it wasn’t without its financial struggles. Those issues, along with Bill’s declining health, eventually led to the sale of the track to Sioux Falls businessman Don Elliot following the 1997 season.

Elliot renamed the track I-90 Speedway and it fared well under his guidance. But he eventually chose to pursue a new business venture in Tennessee, and he sold the business and leased the land to Terry Cameron and Rick Wibeto in 2004. Howey had been an interested buyer at that time, and two years later he bought the entire operation from Elliot, Cameron and Wibeto.

About the only thing that appears certain about the future of the track is that there will be no racing there until at least 2019. It’s possible that its eventual fate could be revealed sooner, should it be sold for non-racing use prior to then.

Racing may return to the oval someday, but in an era when more tracks close than open each year nation-wide, it’s not difficult to imagine that the track may have seen the wave of its final checkered flag.

Documented All-Time Feature Winners
Courtesy of Butch Knouse
Hartford Speedway
Sprint Cars
Roger Larson 14
Bill Mellenberndt 14
Don Reiners Jr. 14
Kim Lingenfelter 8
Doug Wolfgang 6
Late Models
Dwaine Hansen 13
Dave Knott 9
Randy Rosenboom 6
Ron Rosenboom 4
Jim Schmidt 4
Denny Selting 4

Red Devil/I-90 Speedway 
Sprint Cars
Micah Schliemann 28
Dusty Ballenger 20
Ryan Bickett 19
Gregg Bakker 18
Butch Hanssen 16
Overall
Craig Hanisch 47
Travis Schreurs 45
Shawn Reed 41
Nick Beyenhof 36
Gary Brown Jr. 36