HUMBOLDT — With new owners in town, John Allen has big plans for Humboldt Speedway.
Now, if the weather would just cooperate. Rainy weather washed out one of the season’s big events, the Battle of the Bullring, in early March, and almost did the same thing with a truncated King of America race a week later.
Since then, two other weekends have been rained out, and a third had to close up about halfway through the evening.
“So far, Mother Nature hasn’t been playing real nice, but we’ll just keep digging,” Allen said. “We’ve got a lot of excitement, a lot of good plans.”
Allen, known locally for his racing exploits across the region for more than 30 years, hung up his helmet a few years back to focus on his other business ventures.
He continues to run Allen’s Automotive in Chanute, and since 2019 has been affiliated with F.O.E. Enterprises, a company out of Newton that acquired 81 Speedway in Park City that year.
Now, Allen is front and center as the general manager/promoter at Humboldt Speedway, which was acquired by F.O.E.’s husband-and-wife team of J.R. and Kati Surtain earlier this year.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be a part of Friday’s pre-race festivities to celebrate the track’s new ownership group.
IF THERE’S any doubt about the atmosphere Allen is looking to maintain at the speedway, one need look no further than the ownership group’s name. (The F.O.E. stands for “Family Over Everything.)
Allen spoke briefly about the company’s philosophy, and how it was founded by the Surtains.
“I got started with them when they were wanting to build a speedway in Wichita,” Allen said. “They contacted me about running it.”
Instead of building anew, the Surtains ended up buying 81 Speedway in northern Sedgwick County, one of the state’s prominent dirt tracks, due to the aforementioned family-friendly atmosphere generated by the Hall family for more than 50 years.
“It’s kind of a cool story,” Allen said. “That speedway was where they had gone on their first date 30 years ago.”
There are many similarities between 81 Speedway and Humboldt, Allen noted.
“That’s what makes this so fun,” he said. “People can come out and watch their neighbors race, and cheer them on. It’s just a really good atmosphere
Since then, F.O.E. has overseen a number of improvements to the track, including expanded seating and other physical improvements, on top of bringing in USRA A-Modified racers to the 81 Speedway racing circuit.
