Madera Speedway will go dark
Saturday’s season opening Madera Speedway race card was postponed to follow the recommendations of the Madera County Health Department and the California State Health Department.
The future date for the season opener featuring the Nut Up Pro Late Model and 51FIFFTY Jr Late Model Series Race 2B Drug Free Big3 televised event will be announced as soon as it is possible.
“We examined every angle and looked for all opportunities to operate this event but came to the conclusion it is in the best interest of our sport to follow the recommendations of the state and county,” speedway owner Kenny Shepherd said. “We have a small club race for the next two weeks. We are preparing to shut down until April 4 and run minimal operations like tire testing for that time.”
Shepherd said he had about 75 people from out-of-town race teams in Madera at the time he postponed Saturday’s race, but he also had more that he told to be on stand-by mode.
“The number of people that would have come to Madera would have grown exponentially,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure to run, but we didn’t want to bring more people into the town. On one hand, we need to shut down. However, we have about 800 people that depend on the speedway running. There are people all over the place that count on us. Every hotel room in Madera was sold out.”
Although disappointed he wasn’t able to get the season started, Shepherd said he is working closely with the agencies involved to see when he could get back onto the track.
“We plan on fitting this into the schedule mid-to-late summer,” he said. “We are working with the fairgrounds and the Madera County Health departments and the state. We are just taking direction. We will get more information for more guidelines in the next week. We will then remodel and adjust what we are doing.”
Shepherd is optimistic about the April date, but as the days go on, he feels the need to plan for more serious situations that push the season back even further into the summer.
“We have another plan that shuts us down until May and June 1,” he said. “I am working on a contigency plan to shut down until the late summer. I’m working on a plan for the numerous scenarios.”
For information about Madera Racing on MAVTV, visit www.racemadera.com or www.mavtv.com. For information on Nut Up Industries, visit www.nutupindustries.com and for information about 51FIFTY Energy Drink, visit www.51fiftyenergydrink.com
Madera Speedway is presented by major partners Nut Up Industries, 51FIFTY Energy Drink, iPull-uPull, and Color Fast Industries. Contingency sponsors include Five Star Bodies, Maita Motorsports, RaceFace Brand Development, Competition Carburetor, and StopTech Brakes.
Madera Racing on MAVTV airs Thursdays every week. The show airs at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. and is also available on the Lucas Oil Racing TV app. The Donnie Large, Sr. tribute race with Super Modifieds vs. Sprint Cars airs March 19.
