Written by one of our local Fairburians…
To Racing Fans and Anyone looking for some exciting entertainment –
For those of you who follow the stock car dirt track racing programs you’ll remember that back on Saturday, June 21st, the UMP Summer Nationals circuit had an event scheduled here at the Fairbury American Legion Speedway – it had a $10,000 purse for the winner and the competition on that circuit has a lot of top talent from the sport following the money trail. Unfortunately Mother Nature was not kind to the area on that date and that particular high caliber race was postponed. Well, its back and its back with a vengeance.
If you fans can handle the action, and this is a doozy, you’re going to get a week-end of unforgettable excitement because the Summer Nationals race is going to run in tandem with the Prairie Dirt Classic which is the event buster of the season with its $25,000 purse. For dirt track ovals, this is the Granddaddy of two nights of non-stop chills and thrills with the big names joining the local heroes of the sport to give us the “whoopee cushion” of racings “lust in the dust”!
It’s going to happen on Friday, July 25th, for the Summer Nationals race and Saturday, July 26th, for the Prairie Dirt Classic and, of course, the under cards for both nights will be filled with every kind of thrill and spill that comes from going pedal to the metal around this quarter mile semi banked oval dirt race track. You’ll see the various versions of today’s mechanized chariots (sometimes known literally as “chariots of fire”) slamming and banging their way through traffic in an attempt to be at the head of the pack when their race is done so bring your enthusiasm and leave your nerves at home and get your piece of the excitement. For racing this side of Indianapolis it doesn’t get any better than this.
The home of the Speedway is at the Fairbury Fair Grounds which is located on the south edge of town with gate entrances on Third Street and First Street. The Fairgrounds will be full of campers but there is ample parking around the facility with the most accommodating area being adjutant to the First Street Entrance. There is plenty of seating around the entire track and there are vendors on site to provide you with the refreshments of your choice. The Speedway has an experienced and energetic staff to make sure things work just like they’re supposed to and you, the fan, will get your money’s worth from an adventure in stock car racing that provides entertainment for the whole family so, bring them along and enjoy the magic of the ride.
Footnote for the week-end of July 25th & 26th – In addition to this mind busting race program Fairbury has some other things going on over the course of these two days – the Specialty Shops and Businesses of Fairbury are engineering a “Race to Fairbury” theme and each of them will be doing their own special thing to help entertain you race fans with the energy to investigate “outside the box” (but, everyone can do this) – the establishments involved are all listed on the brochures available just about everywhere or online at fairburyattractions.com. And, just to spice the mix up a little bit more the GFWC is sponsoring an all-town garage sale for both days that is loaded with anticipation and participation so you in-house and in-bound folks have got plenty to fill the bill and drain the battery with but, you can take Sunday off. Fairbury will be loaded for all you bargain hunters, fun seekers, and race enthusiasts so don’t miss out, come on and make it your week-end too.