Humboldt Speedway gears up for busy season

It may be challenging to find a motel room anywhere in the area over the next two weeks. Humboldt Speedway will be hosting some of its biggest racing series, bringing drivers and fans from across the country.
On Saturday, the USMTS and Iron Man series will be taking over the track. There will be 30-40 B-Modified drivers and 10-20 stock car drivers racing in the Iron Man series alone.
“The Iron Man Challenge will bring drivers from four different states to compete,” Ryan Whitworth said. Rhenda, his mother, owns the track and runs it with Ryan.
The gates will open at 5 p.m., while racing starts at 7:30 p.m. General admission is $17 and kids ages 6-12 cost $5. Children under 6 are free.

THE SPEEDWAY’S tentpole races are March 26-28 for the “King of America Races.” The track will also be open on March 25 for practice. This year’s “Battle at the Bullring” was March 11-14.
The “King of America Races” could possibly be the largest series in the track’s recent history. For the first time, each race will be shown on MAVTV on a 10-day delay. MAVTV is offered by DirecTV, Dish Network and Verizon FIOS. Investors helped get the races on television.
“They just love our facility and how we treat it,” Whitworth said. “That’s helped us get to where we are.”
The series has averaged 90-100 cars over the last five years and brings in many spectators.
“You can’t really compare it to the combine derby or school buses because it’s a completely different crowd of people,” Whitworth said. “The TV deal should help draw a few more people in the stands because everyone wants to be seen on TV.”
The “King of America Races” has also filled up local hotels.
“Before the (Crossroads Motel) in Iola opened back up, every motel was sold out this whole weekend by this time last year,” Whitworth said. “Motels in all of Iola and all of Chanute were sold out. Just like last week’s race (Battle at the Bullring) — we had 14 states represented and one guy from Canada — there will be more out of state drivers.”
Expect to see close races.
“These are the best drivers in the country. There’s no doubt about that,” Whitworth said. “These guys go to Florida and win, Arizona and win, everywhere these guys go and race they win. There’s probably about 50 of them in that field that can win the race. All 90 of them have won races all over the country, it’s just a matter of if they have a good night.”