ANALYSIS: Mansfield Speedway purchase should stir regional racing energy

I am not a racing fan. For years, the joke was on me at the Mansfield News Journal.

One of my first assignments at the newspaper in the summer of 1990 was to help cover the IndyCar race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. I interviewed drivers Teo Fabi and Emerson Fittipaldi for features that week — then fell asleep in the track tower on race day.

I simply couldn’t keep my eyes open.

But my energy was renewed by a one-on-one with NASCAR racing legend Richard Petty a couple of years later at a dirt oval on the far north side of Mansfield. Even a racing neophyte like myself understood the aura of someone like Petty.

The King was just passing through the area, but I met him at what was then a dirt track and he reflected on his early racing days at a very similar venue in North Carolina. The potential oozed at this location, he observed.

It still does.

The half-mile oval on Crall Road is in for yet another restoration project. This one, albeit in the very early stages of the process, brings a shot of optimism to the facility.

Former NASCAR driver Matt Tifft announced on June 1 that he and his wife, Jordan, purchased Mansfield Speedway with some big plans in mind. Curt Conrad’s Richland Source story on June 2 detailed a number of the Tiffts’ ideas, and a track-side press conference on June 12 explained their plans further.

The new owners also went into detail at the YouTube video below.

But one quote in Curt’s story got my attention, because it showed an inherent understanding of Mansfield that so many are unable to take advantage of or perhaps fully grasp — and it has nothing to do with racing.

“First off, it’s the location. You’re within an hour or an hour-and-a-half of Cleveland and Columbus,” the 28-year-old Tifft said. “It’s the history there, too. They put on successful races for many years. Before that, it was a popular local track for 40 or 50 years (dating to 1959 in fact). The possibilities are endless there.

“Sitting on almost 180 acres, there’s so many things we can do with this property.”

Tifft is correct.

Located at the intersection of U.S. 30 and I-71, Mansfield offers convenient access to the northern half of Ohio. Tifft mentioned Cleveland and Columbus, but Akron and Canton are an hour away, too, while Toledo and Youngstown are a maximum two-hour drive.

The evolution of the facility has run the route from dirt track to paved oval to dirt again. There was also talk of adding a dragstrip in 2006, but it failed to materialize.

Even the name has undergone multiple rebranding attempts from Mansfield Raceway, to Mansfield Motorsports Speedway, to Mansfield Motorsports Park, to Mansfield Speedway, to Spitzer Motor Speedway.

It’s history included owner Dean Bolton, who purchased the track in 1998. When money got tight, Bolton took on a new partner in Mike Dzurilla, and the track enjoyed its most exciting era ever thanks to a $20 million makeover.

At its zenith, Mansfield Motorsports Park hosted a NASCAR Craftsman Truck series race on Memorial Day Weekend from 2004 to 2008. A sellout crowd of 20,000 was in attendance for that initial Craftsman Truck Series race, despite miserable weather.

But Dzurilla ran out of cash, and the track’s signature event was constantly blitzed by foul weather. At one point, a tornado wiped out a section of bleachers.

It seemed Mother Nature had an axe to grind on the poor oval.

Local businessman Grant Milliron stepped in to purchase the place for $800,000 at a sheriff’s auction in 2013. But he had no background in racing and the facility languished.

Much of the track has been stripped and sold for spare parts over the past six years — and previous plans were to finish the demolition and make it a site for industrial development.

Hence what the Tiffts are taking on includes a tremendous reclamation project — yet one Matt thinks can host a racing card by 2026.

Tifft has a couple of things going for him. The Medina native has racing in his blood and a regional stake. His professional career includes a NASCAR tie-in and he clearly understands his newest purchase wields potential.

“This track has so much history, and we couldn’t stand to see it waste away,” Tifft told the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development. “Jordan and I are building something that’s way more than a racetrack.

“This is about community horsepower and unforgettable events all year long.”

Renovation plans are already underway, including grandstand repairs, facility upgrades, and new infrastructure to support a wide variety of events.

The couple’s vision focuses on fan-first experiences, content creation, and turning Mansfield Speedway into a true destination for Ohio and beyond.

The chamber reports the Tiffts are actively collaborating with brands, creators, and local businesses to bring the project to life. Simonson Construction Services will lead the reconstruction end of things.

The first wave of events could launch later this year, with a full-scale reopening slated for spring 2026.

Can the Tiffts successfully knit together money, racing, location and moxie?

If so, they just bought a winning lottery ticket.

Race fans all over northern Ohio are certainly rooting for them — and they will be watching with a keen eye, too.