Dodge County Speedway gets the Red Flag

Since the Dodge County Speedway closed its gates on a regular schedule in 2015, the venue has seen many attempts to try and get it back on its feet. This summer, promoter Chris Abts was the latest to take a crack at the tall task and rolled out a soft schedule to see what the market for racing was like in the area with a possibility for an expansion down the road.
Unfortunately, the optimism didn’t provide the success needed for that to happen and Abts announced that the remainder of the 2016 season would be suspended.
“It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing we will be suspending racing events for the 2016 season,” Abts wrote on the Speedway’s Facebook page. “We had a rough start with most of our races losing money or almost breaking even.”
The beginning of the year did not go as planned for the speedway as weather and low turnouts were main catalysts heading in this direction. The agreement with the venue also allowed the Fair Board to run the concession stands and keep the profits, making gate admissions the only revenue for the events.
“Over the past two weeks I’ve pondered ways I can sustainably keep the track open,” Abts wrote. “The only way was for the Fair to assume financial responsibility since they have had concession profits.”
While the attendance in the stands wasn’t what the Speedway anticipated, the driver turnout for the handful of races was phenomenal. The track averaged 80 cars per night and drew 115