New race series at fairgrounds off to a flying start
Grand Opening of a new race series at the Kansas Fairgrounds is new lease on racing life
Salt City Racing, LLC will be hosting its first racing event Friday at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson.
Nic Baalman, an employee of Mel Hambleton auto dealership and Promoter of Salt City Racing, summarized how it all started.
He said that in November 2022, the Kansas State Fair Board voted to end auto racing at the fairgrounds and demolish the 110-year-old dirt race track. The vote garnered people’s attention to the issues the fairgrounds faced in keeping the track. Race fans gathered together to support bringing racing back to Hutchinson and keep the track open.
Baalman and Phil Nightingale, the general manager at Mel Hambleton, saw an opportunity to help the racing community. Both men have been involved in racing most of their lives and Mel Hambleton Racing sells race car parts and tires. They asked the fair Board if they would be willing to accept proposals to bring racing back to Hutchinson. The Board agreed and it was off to the races to present viable proposals. They and others only had a month to come up with a workable plan.
Their proposal included nine races in a year and meticulous accounting practices to be able to present the most accurate data possible.