Jamie and Judith Jent will take over Mudlick Valley Raceway. They hope to revitalize the Wallingford, Kentucky, dirt oval, which is about an hour and a half southeast of Cincinnati.
“Our two daughters, Jamie Ann and Amanda, their husbands, and our eight grandchildren are ready to jump in and get busy,” Jamie Jent said. “We are a family that loves and supports dirt-track racing.”
Their first items on the agenda will include installing new LED lighting and galvanized steel guardrails around the track.
“We’re going to upgrade the facility, which hasn’t been done in more than 15 years,” said Jamie. “The lighting will improve safety with better visibility. The guardrail will be two sections high, with posts every eight feet. The guardrail will be backed by dirt so it will give upon impact, minimizing the damage to cars and making the drivers safer.”
The Jents will start work immediately. Jamie owns Jent Logging as well as a cattle ranch, and he comes to the track project well equipped.
“I own three dozers and an excavator,” Jamie said. “We have good cash flow and we’re going to make this a modern, successful racetrack. The track will be about 200-feet wide, and will easily accommodate three-wide racing. The shape and banking will be similar to Volusia Speedway Park in Florida.”
Other improvements are coming, too.
“We’re upgrading the food concessions — Judith will be in charge of them,” said Jamie. “We’re adding a food concession in the infield. We will build bleachers on the infield and park cars there.
“The track is in a rural area, where it is hard to get internet. We’re already talking to HughesNet Communications about installing satellite internet for the track.”
Mudlick Valley Raceway will host its first practice sessions on March 19. They will hold three weeks of practices before opening the season in mid-April. Their Saturday-night weekly program will consist of super late models, modifieds, KDRA super stocks, and front-wheel-drive cars.
“Everyone is tickled to death that we bought the place,” Jamie said. “Volunteers have been calling nonstop since Monday to offer us help.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
