“We had a great turnout and everybody had a good time,” said track operator Marvin “Frogg” Rogers. “Kids were playing and the track was good for being open for the first time. Everybody was so happy it was back open.”
The last test-and-tune was in July before Rogers and his wife, Tessa, took over the first of September. Since then, they’ve been hard at it, getting the facility 15 miles north of Birmingham in shape. This week alone, they’ve been painting, working on the track surface and getting everything brightened up.
“We had a lot of upkeep to get caught up on,” Tessa said. “The grass was about four feet tall. We’re working on 52 acres so it’s not a little patch of grass here and there. We had a little housekeeping with the concession stand cleaned out. We’re getting new equipment, which takes time, but we’re doing everything we can to get the track back right.”
No major events have been held at the track in three years, but they has an ambitious plan for 2024 being a part of the IHRA Summit SuperSeries program, the most prestigious championship in all of bracket racing. For the immediate, there is another test-and-tune scheduled for Sunday.
“We hope to have the same crowd, a good family-oriented time,” Marvin said. “Then in 2024, we’re going to do some bracket racing for cars and motorcycles. We’re opening it up to the public to see what comes our way.”
Rogers has multiple cars and motorcycles he races. He believes that helps when he’s doing the track prep and getting the track ready. It extends to the other things racers appreciate like having nice concessions and restroom facilities.
“I know the things I want as a racer so I try to give them to my racers,” he said. “Sometimes I’ve gone to grudge races where they just drag the track and say, ‘Go at it.’ I know what these guys want so 30 minutes before the last grudge race, I sprayed the track with the glue, drug the track prepped and ready. They appreciated that.”
Click here to check out the track’s Facebook page with this Sunday’s test-and-tune and more news about 2024 coming soon.
