HUMBOLDT — Humboldt Speedway, which has entertained race fans for generations, is for sale.
The dirt track and surrounding 33-plus acres just east of Humboldt on Georgia Road was put on the market earlier this year by FOE Enterprises, which purchased Humboldt Speedway from the Whitworth family in 2022.
“I’m just spread too thin,” said John Allen of Chanute, who has managed the speedway since FOE bought the venue. Allen also manages FOE’s other race facility, 81 Speedway in suburban Wichita. He also runs Allen’s Automotive, one of the leading regional supplier of racing parts.
“There are just enough hours in the day” to run all three, he said.
The track will remain open while it’s for sale, Allen said.
“We’re hoping to sell to somebody to keep it open as a speedway,” Allen said. “That’s our intention.
“We’ve had some pretty good inquiries so far,” he added.
On top of the three-eighth-mile dirt track, the sale would include the surrounding grounds and facilities, as well as a nearby house.
All of the track equipment such as graders and tractors is included as well, Allen noted.
“It’ll be a turn-key deal,” he said.
AFFECTIONATELY known as “The Hummer” among local racing enthusiasts, Humboldt Speedway opened in 1968 and quickly became a Friday night staple for race fans.
One of the early racers, the late Ron Whitworth, bought the track in the late 1980s, and steadily improved the track, from added seating, upgraded pit areas and even construction of a luxury suite.
The centerpiece was the dirt track itself, as the speedway attracted drivers from miles around to compete on the pristine racing surface.
Ron Whitworth’s wife Katie and son Ryan kept possession for another 10 years after Ron died in 2012 before Ryan’s Chanute-based construction company grew to the point he needed to sell the track to FOE.
THE SPEEDWAY remains open most every Friday night, although rainy weather has been a headache, washing away two weeks of racing, plus last weekend’s demolition derby to benefit the Allen County Fair. (It has been rescheduled for Sept. 19.)
The race season runs through August.
