This summer’s Prairie Dirt Classic race in Fairbury brought in 7,500 fans on a Saturday night in July.
That is 100 more people than last year but below the 2021 record of almost 8,000.
An extra weeknight race was added this year, which Fairbury Speedway owner and promoter Matt Curl calls an “instant success.”
“People rolled in another 18 hours early,” Curl told members of the Fairbury Rotary on Tuesday during a presentation.
The event had the second highest car count ever at 136 and 280 golf carts were registered. Driver payouts totaled $432,000. A second 30-yard dumpster was added this year and the firework tradition continued.
“The city of Fairbury does a great job of helping us out,” noted Curl.
Curl said they had 325 campers on site or nearby PDC-controlled sites such as the school, plus they estimate another 250 camping units were on outside lots – meaning around 600 campers were in Fairbury that weekend which is a record.
Attendees also stayed at hotels in Chenoa, Pontiac, Bloomington, Gilman and El Paso, plus 32 vendors were on the grounds as they had $1.1 million in sales brought in from those vendors it is estimated.
The track had medical personnel ready to respond in case of an emergency and they had a couple of health-related issues and a wreck occur outside of town all within a few minutes.
“Not many tracks in the country have what SELCAS brings to the speedway,” stated Curl, referring to the local ambulance service in southern Livingston County.
You may have seen coverage of the PDC on national TV recently as CBS Sports Network aired highlights of the race last weekend.
The Fairbury Speedway’s 2024 “Dancin’ on the Dirt” concert with country star Cole Swindell had 3,800 people, up about 400 from a year ago. Curl is looking at doing the concert again in 2025.
“It’s pretty cool to do that stuff – especially in Fairbury.”
Curl also briefly reviewed the Fairbury Fair and noted the Sara Evans concert was the biggest concert crowd they had since 2019 and the number of exhibitors grew as well.
“We can’t do it without our community and you guys have been fantastic,” Curl concluded.
Race fans can enjoy one more weekend of racing in early October for the annual FALS Frenzy event.
