Ground was broken tonight for a new dirt oval at the Dubuque Fairgrounds. The track is located west of turn 3 of the big car track. If all goes well, first laps will be run by July 1 and racing program starting shortly after.

Jim , Craig or Dan ,How's it coming along? I'm sure you have a mud bog after yesterdays rain.

Just to give an update:
It is going slower than we thought it would on building this track. Once we got down into the hill side we found some heavy, wet clay which is great for racing on but it is hard to move with a bobcat. And with the rain that we got this week, things keep getting pushed back. Weather permitting, we will be working on getting the track into shape next week. I will also have a set of rules done by the end of next week - hopefully. That is all I know for now - be back later with more info.

Craig

Here is the racing schedule for the rest of the year for the Dubuque dirt oval track.

DIRT
DUBUQUE IOWA RACE TRACK

-DOING IT IN THE DIRT-

DIRT RACE SCHEDULE - 2009

THURSDAY – SEPTEMBER 24TH

SATURDAY – SEPTEMBER 26TH

THURSDAY – OCTOBER 1ST

THURSDAY – OCTOBER 8TH

SATURDAY – OCTOBER 10TH

-DAY BY DAY AFTER THE 10TH-

just to let you know we are also working on the dirt oval in monroe!!! I will have to come check this track out!!

Dan's getting pretty good with that bobcat, and I don't think he's been upside down yet! General outline of the track is now in place.

Just another update-
Worked some more on the track this week, it is starting to take shape. You can start to see the oval in the dirt now. We have clay on the track now and we need to groom it in. We started to locate where we are going to put all of our tile down and once we get that in under the track, we will start to groom in the track, build the wall, put up the railing for the drivers stand and level off a couple of areas for us to pit. The electricity and water are just one step away from being done. Things are looking good despite all the heat and rain, things are still moving forward. That is all I know for now - be back later with more info.

Craig

Got to see the track tonight. It's coming along well. When it's done, it's gonna be one fast, high bank dirt track! Grip it and rip it!!

Gonna go dig the ol sprint car out now!! :woohoo:

Another update -
Dan and I have worked on the track the last two nights and if it doesn't rain, we should be able to get a golf cart on the track tonight to start to groom the racing surface in. We have the track tiled so hopefully there isn't a water problem. The infield is pretty low and with the high banks, the track should be fine. We are also building a on/off ramp for a golf cart near turn one to get thru and we will be able to drive our cars and trucks on and off at this point, too. We will level off an area for a drivers stand which will be about 3'-0" above the outside of the straights and about 4'-6 +/- above the infield. Also, if you have raced at Storm Steel - this place will look similar to it, just a smaller version of it. The catwalk around the outside of the track is a little rough right now but it is in place so you can corner marshall from any point on the outside of the track. Like I mentioned before, we are one step away from getting water and electricity to track side, once that is done we will be asking the fairgrounds about getting lights for the track. Overall things are going pretty good, we are learning as we are building and we will be improving the track as the summer goes on so that next years outdoor racing season will run more smoothly.

Craig

I get to run my lawn tractor on the track tonight!

I get to run my lawn tractor on the track tonight!

So what's the current track record set at Jim?! :hat:

Sounds nice, who is gonna post some pics for us all to see:)?

Here is your daily update:
We finally did it last night - we were able to get some equipment on the track and made some laps with a riding lawn mower and a golf cart. It took a while but it starting to come around. We still need to fill the low spots and knock down the high spots but Larry got his E-Revo out on the track and turned some laps. Next we will be getting the wall in place and then start smoothing out the track. The dimensions of the track are as follows:

Outside dimensions are 84'-0" X 40'-0", 12'-0" lanes and banking is 18 degrees (might try to get a little more :thumbsup:) in the corners with the front shoot at 5 degrees and the back shoot at 10 degrees.

After we get the wall in place, I'll post some info about some "free" practice days and a race day schedule.
Thanks to all the guys who came out to help last night to help: Jim Good, Jim Nesteby (with his riding lawn mower), Larry, Dakota (turned some laps, with the golf cart), Denny (extra weight on golf cart, passenger) and Tony Mitchell (turned alot of laps with the golf cart).

Dan and I would like to thank everyone that has helped us with this project. From the guys working on the track to the board members of the Dubuque County Fairgrounds believing that we can make this work. It isn't as easy and some people may think, especially with the high banks that we wanted.

Well, until my next update: keep the belly side down and keep your tires in the dirt! :thumbsup:

Craig

Craig, have taken any pictures that you can post?

Dan took some pics last night - not sure when he will get them here???

Craig, you can have him email the pics he wants posted to me and i can post em for him if he'd like? Talked to Tony and sounds like track is gonna be alot of fun.

Mark - Craig turned a 12 second lap with the golf cart on Sunday.

Then it needs a bigger motor or some fancy suspension parts. LOL

Here is an update on the track:
The wall is up! Now we need to do some more grooming of the track to get things into shape. The track is still rough but it is drivable. A big "Thank You" goes out to the Dubuque County Fairgrounds, they came thru with some more dirt for the outside of the track. Now the catwalk will be nice and wide. We also have water at trackside now. It is raining as I post this message which is a great thing for all of the new clay. We watered the track the other night and the water only soaked in about 1/2"-3/4". This rain is just what the track needs. We will be having a few "FREE" practice days in the near future. I will let you all know as soon as we get the track ready. I will try to give everyone a couple days/ week notice. We are still one step from having electricity at the track and I'm getting closer to getting the rules hammered out. As for now, let it rain, let it rain, let it rain - we need it.

Also - I know you guys want to see pics - we will get them on here.

Until next time...

Craig

Must.......see........pictures..........of........ ...track.........:)

i seen it jason, sunday night on my way into the pits. high banked and hairpin turns. Tight tight tight!

Look like fun Murf? Wish you would have been down at the Harris Clash at Knoxville last wednesday, I would have stuck around after tuesday's mod show was rained out and stayed for wed night. I think some guy over in your neck of the woods won, i'm sure you whoop up on him on a regular basis too:)

Ok guys - this is what you have been waiting for - FREE PRACTICE ON SATURDAY, JULY 18. Tomorrow starting at 2:00 in the afternoon, no earlier, we will open up the track to a free practice section. Things are not totally completed but we want to get you guys on the track and turn some laps.

We are still working on the outside wall as far as supporting it on the back side but we feel that getting everyone on the track will show us if we need to do some more track work. We feel that we have a good base to work with but the racing surface is the main question. So, we need cars, trucks and buggies out on the track for a FREE PRACTICE DAY.

If all goes well, we plan on having another FREE PRACTICE DAY/NIGHT next week - details on that as we know more ourselves. Maybe a wednesday or thursday night starting at 5 or 6 until dark.

Hope to see you tomorrow and sorry about the short notice. I know some guys will be going to M-Town this weekend, hope to see those guys next week.

That is all for now,

Craig

Craig you need to get a thread started on D.O.D.C. , that would catch a lot more racers attention - - as well:wave:

I'll second that. I know there are some guys in the rockford area that are itching for a dirtoval and might be able to pull some of the Brinks guys down your way as well.

Post practice track report - Yeaaaahhhhh!!!!!!! Once they got the right moisture in the track there was bite all around despite some of the expected bumps and dips. This won't be a one line track for sure.

There is much yet to be done, most of the work as usual is done by only a few. The track is in a great setting and will draw from a good area eventually - to go full blown DODC at this stage may be a little early knowing how vocal and critical some folks can be.

Meanwhile - Craig will be updating for official race information. See you all soon!

I understand, keep up the good work , hopefully I can make it up there soon.:wave:

Fun Fun Fun!!

I had a blast running my sprinter car and mini late model yesterday! The track is lots of fun with the banking, and yes, two, and even 3 different grooves of racing will be able to be used! Should make it very exciting! Can't wait till everything is ironed out, and we get some organized racing going! Kenny, AJ, Jason, Tim everyone with some dirt cars..you'll have to come up and race when they do!! :thumbsup:

Looking forward to it.

Here is your weekend update. We finally got some guys on the track saturday. Roger and Denny brought out their nitro and elec. trucks. They could run their trucks anywhere on the track, sometimes outside the track (Denny). Dan and Jim Good brought their EDM's and were able to get around pretty good. Mark and Brandon(spelling?) brought out their 1/10 scale sprint cars and 1/18 scale late models. After everyone was done running, we now know we have a couple areas to work on to smooth out the track, we also learned about how much water it takes to get the track good and tacky.

We send out a big thanks to everyone who brought out their cars and trucks to help us learn more about this track. Hope you all had fun. I was able to stay on the inside of the track with the broom, keeping the track clean and learning more about the track. The track will be better next time we open it up for a free practice.

I would like to thank the guys who let me run their cars and trucks around the track. It was a great time and I learned even more about the track as far as what needs to be done to prep the track for some great racing.

Also, we are in the process to purchase a tarp to cover the track so the rain doesn't ruin the racing surface.

I will let everyone know when we are planning another free practice.

Until next post, keep your tires in the dirt and shiny side to the sky.

Craig Schmal

Here is another update:

We were able to get the tarp on the track last night so that should save the racing surface for us. As for racing/ working on the track, kind of depends on the weather. Wednesday night is the stock car races at Dubuque, so we won't have any practice that night, we will be watching the races. If the weather is good on thursday, we are planning on having another "FREE PRACTICE" from about 5:30 or 6:00 until you can't see your cars. We were able to talk to the fair board president and he told us that we should have electricity either next week or the week after, possibly lights for the track, too. I'll keep everyone posted.

Until next post, keep your tires in the dirt and shiny side to the sky.

Craig Schmal

Great timing on that tarp! We've had lots of rain today, hope you put a hole in the middle to drain down through the pipe. Will try to make it over Thursday.

Have you had a lot of people showing up for the practices? Has there been a lot of interest in running on the oval? We run over in Leighton, IA and have struggled to get people out to the track consistantly. Just curious how things have been over your way.

Thanks.

Well guys - we are going to give it another shot and have another "FREE PRACTICE" day tomorrow night from about 5:30 or so until we can't see our cars (the fair is going on so maybe some of that light will shine down on the track).

This will be our last "FREE PRACTICE" day until we start with our racing schedule. We will have classes posted here shortly, no real big surprises as far as the rules. We just want to get the ground rules in place and fix all of the bugs that might have been missed this year so we can have a great and long racing season next year.

So bring out your nitro or electric trucks, EDMs, Sprint cars, Late Models and have some fun tomorrow night. There is no charge to get to the track, we are outside of the fair, so that is why it is a "FREE PRACTICE".

drpeffers - as for car count - we just opened the "door" to the new track. We had 10 cars and trucks hit the track last saturday for a test and tune. We are just getting started, but we have had a lot of phone calls and people stopping at the track asking how they can get invovled.

Until next post, keep your tires in the dirt and shiny side to the sky.

Craig Schmal

drpeffers - we also have an established indoor (carpet) oval program in the winter. Dirt Oval has a lot of regional support - tracks in Quad Cities, Decorah and Rochester, MN have drawn racers from this area for years. Nice to have someplace close to home.

UPDATE

After the huge storm last night - the tarp did it's good. 95% of the track is in great shape.

We were told by the Dubuque County Fairgrounds that we could have our electrial issues taken care of either next week or the following week. Maybe, if we are lucky enough, we might even have lights for the track and the pit area.

I would like to give out a big thanks to Jim Good and Dan Morgan for helping me in getting the tarp. With out the tarp, we would have lost the track from the storm last night.

That is all I know right now. I will be giving more updates on the track and racing next week.

Until next post, keep your tires in the dirt and shiny side to the sky. :thumbsup:

Craig Schmal

Post some pics Craig....

I would come up to fling a little dirt on those no good Steiner Bros.:tongue:

I would come up to fling a little dirt on those no good Steiner Bros.:tongue:


Bring it!! :hat:

Three weeks and still no pics? Come on guys, you want us to come and visit before that white crap starts flying correct?

Three weeks and still no pics? Come on guys, you want us to come and visit before that white crap starts flying correct?

I got the camera packed for tonight Jason!! :wave:

What type of surface, hard packed or loose? tires?

Surface is clay, medium packed and sort of "crumbly" as the surface wears. The track stays moist under a tarp, but a little water brings the up the bite big time after sweeping. 1/10 scale classes run rubber tires, rules will be similar to DODC. Don't see foam as an option for a while, if ever. Had the scoring system hooked up tonight, so far 13.5 MDM/EDM cars running mid 5's with CW spec tires, can see 5.0's coming as the track gets better and we get the cars figured out.

Steiner had the camera going - Brandon also had a video cam in his sprint car - should see something on YouTube.

Took some pictures from tonight. The track is lots of fun to race on. As you can see in the pictures, there still needs some fill work around the track and the outside wall (I believe) is temporary for the rest of this year. It is a GREAT base in place for some great racing!

They are racing this Saturday. I believe track will open at 11:00 with racing to start at 1:00. 3 heats and a Main. $10. I'm sure Craig will post all of the details on here shortly. Wish I could be there, but I will be at the big track..Cedar Lake for the USA Nationals!

Hopefully some more guys can make it up for a Thursday Night or Saturday race!! :thumbsup:

Here are some pics.

http://www.marks-collectibles.com/30JULY0015.JPG
http://www.marks-collectibles.com/30JULY0012.JPG
http://www.marks-collectibles.com/30JULY0016.JPG
http://www.marks-collectibles.com/30JULY0001.JPG

More pics:

http://www.marks-collectibles.com/30JULY0013.JPG
http://www.marks-collectibles.com/30JULY0014.JPG
http://www.marks-collectibles.com/30JULY0003.JPG
http://www.marks-collectibles.com/30JULY0007.JPG
http://www.marks-collectibles.com/30JULY0011.JPG

Some more:

http://www.marks-collectibles.com/30JULY0008.JPG
http://www.marks-collectibles.com/30JULY0009.JPG


http://www.marks-collectibles.com/30JULY0004.JPGhttp://www.marks-collectibles.com/30JULY0010.JPG

Track looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for the pictures. The group of us from Leighton Speedway (basically, Pella) were curious as to how the track was configured. Just a suggestion. Get on www.iowarctracks.com and have them list your track as well as keeping dirtoval.com up to date. Lots of viewers for both sites.

Looks great. Can't make it this Saturday, but keep us posted as to the schedule. Should be fun.

Looks like a bigger version of Maryville. I like it. :thumbsup:

The red 10 car is going down.

Hello everyone – we were able to turn some laps last night with the AMB scoring system in place. It worked great. We are going to re-do spots of the loop so the whole thing is about 2 inches below the racing surface. Thanks to the guys who came out last night to burn up some dirt and check the scoring system with us. Also, a big thanks goes out to the guys who donated to the track last night – you know who you are. Also, thanks goes out to Steiner for bringing out his camera to take some pics and posting them for us.

We are planning a scheduled race on this Saturday, the track will open up at 11:00am and we will start racing at 1:00pm. The cost to race is $10 and it will stay at this price thru the end of the 2010 racing season, maybe longer. I know this is a little early but we are doing this because the Taste of Dubuque is also going on this Saturday and we know that some people have plans for that. We will try to stay with 1 hour rounds, depends the car count and the track condition. We will run (3) qualifiers and then the mains. Bring your personal transponders since we only have 3 to “rent out”.

The following is a generic set of rules. I will have a full set of rules for us to follow here soon, we just want to have fun this year and learn more about the track, we will have more structured class racing for next year.

We will have 2 classes of late models, sprint cars and EDM (MDM). There will be a spec class and a pro class for each. The classes will be as follows:

Spec classes:
13.5 brushless motor max.
3200mah / 28C 2 cell lipo (hardcase)
CW street trac tires
Any ESC
50oz. minimum for late models and EDM’s / 52 oz. minimum for sprint cars

Pro classes:
10.5 brushless motor max.
5000mah / 40C 2 cell lipo (hardcase)
Pin tires, buggy tires allowed
Any ESC
50oz. minimum for late models and EDM’s / 52 oz. minimum for sprint cars

For a more in depth set of rules, go to www.dirtoval.com/rules/index.html

If the interest is there, we could run a modified class in any of the car classes. This opens up everything, motor, battery, tires, 4 wheel drive…etc.

Also, our electrical issue has not been resolved as of last night yet. We are waiting for the fairgrounds to get this problem resolved and possibly even getting lights on the track at the same time. If and when this happens, we will then schedule racing on every Thursday night – Thursday night Thunder (right Steiner). :thumbsup:

Hope to see some of you on Saturday. By the way Sonny, Steiner was talking some smack about you not being able to race on dirt.

Until next post, keep your tires in the dirt and shiny side to the sky. :thumbsup:

Craig Schmal

Looks great guys!!!! Thanks for posting some pics Mark:)

So do you have power for the power supplies or our you using your car batts for charging?