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Ever since April, when local entrepreneur Chuck Brennan announced the purchase of Huset's Speedway at Brandon as the latest addition to his entertainment empire, rumors have been swirling about his plans.
At a press conference this afternoon, Brennan dispelled those stories by answering questions from drivers, fans, track employees, sponsors and owners of area racetracks and making an announcement or two of his own.
First among them: Badlands Motor Speedway will expand to Saturday night races, using its traditional Sunday night slot as a time for lower-tier racing and a back-up for rained-out events. Brennan described it as a revolutionary change.
"One of the biggest complaints I've heard is people drive all the way to Sioux Falls, have a rainout and go back to where they came from," Brennan said. "Now, if it rains out Saturday night, it will move to Sunday night, and tickets will still be good. We'll have a back-up night every night of the season."
Saturday night races will involve 410 sprint cars, 360 sprints and street stocks, with 305s, micro-sprint cars, B modifieds and hobby stocks on Sundays.
More updates: Parking, pricing, purses
Other changes planned for the 62-year-old track, which is operating under its old management for this final year, include a massive update to its infrastructure, expanded parking, a new pricing system and increased purses for drivers.
"The facility's going to be unbelievable, incredible," said Tom Savage, who started Monday as the track's assistant general manager for marketing, branding and sales.
Brennan scheduled the press conference for Thursday because Huset's hosts one of its biggest annual events this Sunday, the World of Outlaws sprint car tour.
"I want to dispel what I would say has been an onslaught of rumors of things that are happening at Huset's Speedway that no one could possibly know about because I haven't told anyone," Brennan said. "It spawns from excitement."
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Brennan is the founder of the Badlands Pawn, an entertainment complex that is scheduled to open at Thanksgiving. In 1998 the Sioux Falls native established the signature loan firm Dollar Loan Center and is a former rock concert promoter.
He plans to spend $5 million over the next three to four years at the racetrack, Brennan said, and those plans dispel one rumor he has heard, that he purchased the track only to already sell it for use as a housing development.
Instead, he will close next week on a 26-acre parcel of farmland next to the track. Half of that will be used for a new parking area, Brennan said.
The track's old infrastructure will be torn out over the next two years with modern restrooms, stadium lighting, parking lot lighting, a new sound system and two giant electronic billboard signs.
Live and robotic cameras at races
"For the first time ever we're going to be filming," Brennan said, "with four live and four robotic cameras. That's never been done in 60 years. It will be mixed professionally and put up on a giant board."
Fans will begin to see changes this summer, Brennan said. Plans include filling the infield with concrete and drainage so it no longer floods.
Tickets to Huset's currently sell for $15 per race with $30 admission for the World of Outlaws, Savage said. Current plans are to establish a price range that will run from $10 to $100. With that comes an end to the one-size-fits-all seating now at the racetrack.
"There will be reserve seating," Brennan said. "For the first time ever fans will be able to buy a ticket and sit in the same seat all season, like a football game. They can own it for 30 years. There will be luxury boxes and new suites and better seating for the fans."
Sunday night races will be half-price seating. With the lower classes of sprint cars racing on Sundays, it will become a family night, Brennan said, and give those drivers a chance to race more often.
Four-day festival and $200,000 purse
Drivers themselves will see a benefit, too. Huset's now pays out an average of $20,000 a week, and Brennan expects purses to go up as attendance increases. He predicts purses to increase 50 to 100 percent.
Along with that comes a four-day festival with a $200,000 purse. Brennan calls that amount unprecedented in the racing industry for an event of that length. It will begin with a Thursday night concert, followed by three days of racing with $50,000 prize money for the top finisher.
Concerts will take place at the racetrack as often as six times a summer, said Brennan, who promises to bring in performers of Sanford Premier Event Center quality. Four concerts already have been scheduled for the summer of 2016.
Non-winged sprint cars also will participate on the festival weekend, named the Badlands Motor Speedway $200,000 Rock & Roll Gold Cup. In addition, events such as monster trucks, tractor pulls and demolition derbies will return to the track.
"There's a lot going on," Savage said. "I've been to every short track in the country, and this will be without question the premier sprint car track in the country."
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