This weekend, Beckley Motor Speedway holds a $20,000-to-win UBB Miners Memorial Race. It’ll be sanctioned by the Dirt2Media American All-Star Series Presented by PPM Racing Products. The event represents a turnaround story for the West Virginia dirt track led by its owner Randy Kinder.
(For more on the race’s history, read “UBB Miners Memorial Race to Pay $20K to Win”.)
When Kinder took over the reins last year, he knew the track needed work to shed its rough-and-tumble reputation. However, he didn’t realize how deep-rooted its problems were.
“The water and sewage bill, with nobody running any water, would run up to $2,300 to $2,700 a month,” said Kinder. “We couldn’t figure it out until Modley’s Plumbing came out, and we started looking at the property. We realized, ‘Why is it always wet there?’ We would dig down and there would be a pipe that was either not put together right or broken.”
Other infrastructure problems included redoing the cement foundation for the grandstands. Then, came the creature comforts for fans. Concessions. Bathrooms. Cleanliness. Kinder focused on these basics.
“It’s cleaner, the food’s better, and the bathrooms are clean and they work,” Kinder said. “We mow the grass and we pick up trash. We put in a new catch fence in turns one and two, and a new tech building, with scales inside.”
The clean-up and rehabilitation extended beyond the structure and to the attendees as well.
“We ran off all the riffraff,” said Kinder. “Our fan quality is better. It is families. You can see dad and mom … kids are here now. Our saying is, ‘Fast, family fun.’ We will not stand one second for anybody who abuse anybody verbally and definitely physically.”
Kinder notes that fast, family fun also extends to a campground with hookups and a fishing pond on premises. However, as with any track, the action is the attraction.
“It’s a 3/8-mile, and I’ve raced it and I’ve seen it, and it’s a true, four-wide,” Kinder said. “It’s insane the passing and the way drivers maneuver around this place.”
The Dirt2Media American All-Star Series Presented by PPM Racing Products heads to Beckley Motor Speedway this weekend. On Thursday, May 18, the track will hold an open practice. The next day, Friday, May 19, the series races its prelims. The weekend rounds out on Saturday, May 20, with B-mains and the feature.
Outside Groove Note of Transparency: Outside Groove is a sponsor of the American All-Star Series. The American All-Star Series paid for the production of this article. The content is not subject to the approval of the American All-Star Series.
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
