FAST TIMES: RACETRACK;S NEW OWNERS EMBRACE AMBITIOUS PLANS

BENTON, Mo. -- The traffic through the front door of the 77 Market told store owner David Flynn what he's waited to hear for three years.

The racetrack across the road was open again.

"Our shelves were pretty much picked clean the weekend they opened," Flynn said. "My wife didn't even think the track would have an impact on us, but it's been good. It's good for a lot of us here."

The new owners of the Auto Tire and Parts Racepark want to make it even better.

Doug Friese, the head of a five-person group that bought the former Missouri International Racepark and renamed it in December, already has laid out big plans that could transform the 3/8-mile circle track and 1/8-mile drag strip into a 59-acre motorsports complex. Construction of a motocross track up to two miles long could start as early as July, followed by work on camping facilities and even fishing and swimming access on an existing four-acre lake.

"The ultimate goal is to make this the place to go if you want to see any form of racing," Friese said. "We're in it for the long haul. For now we just want to get the basics going smoothly."

And for many area fans and drivers accustomed to a local auto racing venue, that's enough.

The track, tucked behind a row of trees at State Highway 77 and County Road 505 east of Benton, opened in 1991 to sellout crowds of more than 5,000 fans. Construction company owners Earl and Keith Simpson had built "the crown jewel of Midwest auto racing," one sanctioning group's president said, marveling at the track's ample lighting, spacious concession areas and towering aluminum grandstand seating. Crowds and cars poured in from surrounding states each weekend from April to October.

But when the Simpson family decided in 1996 to sell the complex and devote more time to their construction business, the facility's future became unclear. A lease agreement to a local promoter for the 1997 season fell through after that year, and the oval track and drag strip have sat quietly since.

"We'd talked about buying it several years ago when it first came on the market, but the timing wasn't good for us," said Friese, whose ownership group includes Auto Tire and Parts chain owner John Tlapek and other unnamed investors. "The timing is right now."

Friese and Simpson declined to reveal the track's selling price, but Friese said it was less than the rumored $1 million list price.

Winning the fans

Because the facility has gone unused so long, Friese said one of his biggest challenges now is to win back local fans. Despite a weekly total race payout of $12,000, the number of race entries had dropped from about 70 for opening night May 5 to about 50 on Saturday. Total attendance both weeks was about 2,000.

Friese's goal by the end of the racing season is to average more than 100 race cars and about 3,500 fans a week.

Attracting fans now accustomed to other weekend entertainment won't be easy, says another area racetrack owner who took on a similar task six years ago.

"It's an ongoing battle to get sponsorship, attendance and community participation," said Ron Fisher, who purchased Paducah (Ky.) Raceway in 1995 after it was closed for eight years. "It's coming back little by little."

Fisher's track reopened to less than 2,000 fans. The search for customers has become so intense that he's hired a marketing expert for help.

His dirt oval track competes each Friday.

Other options

"Fans have so many other things to do, and now you can watch a lot of racing on TV," Fisher said. "It seems like a lot of people turned to auto racing back in the early '90s when Major League Baseball went on strike, but now a lot of them have turned back to other pro sports.

"The good news for us is that when people discovered grass-roots auto racing back then, they realized it's not the redneck sport they thought it was. Now we as promoters have to go out and rejuvenate that interest."

But some fans rushed back to Benton with the racetrack's reopening, including Joel and Sheila Crutchley of nearby New Hamburg, Mo. They were regulars before the track's closing.

"It's better than ever before," said Joel Crutchley, 45. "We can't believe how smooth it's running."

To attract more fans and drivers, Friese said he's firming up plans to hold special events in conjunction with Malden Speedway, a dirt oval track north of Malden, Mo., that competes each Friday with many of the same racing divisions as Auto Tire and Parts Racepark.

There's also potential for bigger-paying special events later this year, plus special attractions like the music-charged Extreme Moto Music Madness in July and races for dwarf cars.

As word spreads about the track's reopening, Friese said, more drivers will likely give it a chance and become regulars.

"There are people waiting, just feeling us out to see how we'll do," he said. "We think they'll come."

Want to go?

WHAT: Weekly circle track and drag strip racing.

WHERE: Auto Tire and Parts Racepark, Highway 77 and County Road 505 east of Benton.

INFORMATION: (573) 545-9366.

WEB: www.autotireandpartsracepark.com

OVAL DIRT TRACK

CLASSES: Sprint, modified and pure street stock racing with cruiser and limited late model divisions alternating weekly.

WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturdays through Sept. 29.

HOW MUCH: $10 adults, $4 ages 6-12, free ages 5-under. Pit admission $20.

PAVED DRAG STRIP

CLASSES: Super pro, pro, pro-bikes and E.T. racing.

WHEN: 6 p.m. Fridays.

HOW MUCH: $10 adult, free ages 11-under.