Wednesday, August 14, 2013
 
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City approves motorcycle races at Lincoln Speedway in September

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[August 14, 2013]  The Lincoln City Council voted Aug. 5 on a motion to permit Lincoln Speedway to host a special motorcycle event in September. The motion passed 7-0, with Alderman Bruce Carmitchel being absent for the evening.

The vote came as a result of a visit to the council from speedway owner Norm Horn in July.

Horn addressed the council that evening, saying he had been approached to do a two-day event in partnership with the Spoon River Speedway at Canton. He said the first step for considering the event would be for the council to give permission. He also noted that even with their permission, he was at that time undecided as to whether or not he would go forward.

In talking about this, he shared a brief overview of the speedway's first attempt at hosting a motorcycle event, which occurred on Mother's Day this year. That daylong event was scheduled to take place in Lincoln when the Peoria Speedway was severely damaged by flooding.

Horn said the May event had not been profitable for the Lincoln track in the end because the number of entries in the race had fallen dramatically over what he was told to expect. He said that particular race was not one where they expected to draw a large audience, so they were depending on entry fees to make a profit, and that didn't happen.

In contrast, he said the proposed September races would be more likely to bring spectators as well as participants, so the event could end up being profitable. He said the experience in May was what was now causing him to ponder whether or not to move forward with another event. He also told the council that if he did go ahead with it and it was not profitable, it would be the last time he would consider motorcycle racing in Lincoln.

Horn told the council that if the races took place in Lincoln, he felt there would be a good opportunity to put "heads in beds" in the community.

He told the council that the races that weekend would begin in Canton on Friday night. He said that, speaking from experience, he knows that once a race is over, it takes a while for folks to settle down and get to the point where they can actually sleep. He noted there are not all that many motels in the Canton area, so he would hope people would use their winding-down time to pack up and come to Lincoln to spend the night and be ready for the Saturday event.

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During the discussion portion of the meeting, Jonie Tibbs said she thought that having races in Lincoln offered great exposure of the city to visitors, and she was in favor of continuing to support the speedway in their efforts.

Kathy Horn also talked about the May event, saying she lived close by and had not heard nearly as much noise with the motorcycles as she hears with the cars.

Jeff Hoinacki asked if the track would need extra time for the races.

Horn said the curfew for Saturday is 11 p.m., and he does not believe the races will go that long.

In addition to talking about the September races, Horn gave the council an update on how many times the track had used curfew extensions.

This year the council agreed to a total of 90 minutes of extensions for the track events, to be used in no more than 30-minute increments.

Horn said the speedway had used only 22 minutes of extensions thus far. He noted that the time had been used mostly at the Summer Nationals. He also told the council that the event was the largest draw the racetrack had ever had. He said the grandstands were full of spectators, and 107 cars competed.

Horn also told the council that he had asked for and they had approved a total of nine Sunday rain dates, to be used as needed when Friday night events were rained out. He said to date, the track has had to use only two of those dates.

According to the Lincoln Speedway website, the motorcycle races will take place on Sept. 21. Gates will open at 3 p.m., with practice starting at 5 p.m. The races are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Classes will be Expert Singles, Pro Singles, 250 Amt., 450 Amt., 450 Open Singles Amateur, Vet 30+, Open Vintage and Open Quad.

[By NILA SMITH]

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