Grandview Speedway

Look up short-track racing in the dictionary and they'll be a picture of Grandview Speedway next to it. Grandview proves that dirt racing is a contact sport, as the tight confides of the track offers for plenty of bumping and crashing every Saturday night. Despite being a track known for lots of crashes, since the track is so small, it isn't terribly hard on equipment. The small track also allows teams with less-powerful engines or older equipment to be more competitive, and the car count reflects that. The weekly car count for the modified division is between 50-60 cars, the highest of any track that runs modified every weekend.

With the high amount of crashes, tempers often flair, more so off the track than on. The crowd at Grandview has some of the most passionate race fans in all the country. Some are a little more, and also have some of the strangest characters. The big grandstand section in between turns 3 & 4 is the best place to sit, but, that's also where fight break out every once in a while. The "Beer Can Tree" crew sits at the top of that set of bleachers, and are the popular crew of Grandview. They got their name because there's a large tree that rises behind the back of those bleachers, and when they finish a beer, they throw the can into the branches of the tree. By the end of the night, the tree is usually at least 1/2 filled with beer cans.

The facility at Grandview Speedway could use some major upgrades. The walls around the track are uneven, the bleacher's and fences around the track could use fresh paint, as could some of the concession stands. However, the facility is one of few dirt tracks that feature bleachers more than just on the front stretch. A large section of grandstands is located down the front straight, but, a larger, much higher set of bleachers is located in the middle of turns 3 & 4, and another high section is located directly off of turn 4. A lower section of bleachers is located down the entire back stretch as well. The only place on the track that doesn't have stands is in turns 1 & 2, which is where the pits are located. I honestly think with a little tender loving care, Grandview could be one of the premier dirt tracks in the country.

The racing at Grandview truly gets a bad reputation for unwarranted reasons. The track could use some new clay, as the old clay doesn't have a whole lot of bite in it, but, the high banks the track features still make it one of the fastest tracks 1/3 mile tracks around. During qualifying races, the track often has below average racing, where all the drivers try to drive around the inside, and passing is at a premium. However, by the time feature time comes around the track slicks from all the racing that has already happened by that point and offers some great side-by-side racing. I went through a phase where I couldn't stand Grandview Speedway because of all the caution flags and the bumping, however, as I've matured, I've grown to fall in love with that style of racing as much as two guy running side-by-side for 30 laps without touching each other once. The fact that the guys at Grandview see cars three wide in front of them going over 100 mph, know that there physically isn't any room for another car, but attempt to make it 4-wide anyway blows my mind.

My personal favorite moment at Grandview had to be when the Super Dirt Series tour invaded Grandview Speedway in 1999. An obnoxious Billy Pauch fan was sitting behind us. He'd been knocking every driver all night long, was betting everyone he was sitting around that Pauch was going to win the race, and, since Pauch had been one of the fastest cars all night and was starting from the pole, it looked like that could very well happen. When the green flag dropped, instead of Pauch pulling away with the lead, when the pack reached turn 1, Pauch clipped the inside wall and barrel rolled in front of the field. The Pauch fan was pissed. The field was red flagged as they cleaned up the mess, and poor Brett Hearn stopped his car directly in front of where the Pauch fan was sitting. As the engines shut off, the Pauch fan started screaming profanities at Hearn. Brett Hearn is probably the most professional driver in dirt modified history, and probably the best driver ever to run a modified, always thinks about everything before he says it, and never seems to show negative emotions of say anything negative about anyone. Well, Hearn finally showed some emotion after hearing what this guy was yelling to him. Honestly, I don't remember what the fan said, but Hearn started unbuckling from his car, and crawled out with his helmet still on, Hearn was almost always booed because of how dominant he's been over his career, but for those of us who knew why he was getting out of the car, everyone cheered. Hearn looked up into the bleachers trying to find the man who had been screaming at him, who was now shut up. Hearn made waving signals for the man to keep talking, and the crowd started cheering more, Hearn continued to play up the crowd by waving his hand around and holding up to his ear (covered by his helmet). Before Hearn climbed back into his car he climbed up to the roof and pumped his fist as if he'd won the feature. It was awesome seeing a rare show of emotion from Hearn, and even better seeing how fast that obnoxious fan shut his mouth.