By Jim Foose – Speedway Action Magazine
The Silence is Broken
For nearly seven years, the 180-acre property at 400 Crall Road East in Mansfield, Ohio, was a ghost yard. The grandstands that once shook with the thunder of NASCAR Craftsman Trucks and elite dirt late models lay partially dismantled, donated to local schools or sold off for scrap. The concrete walls were gone, the fences toppled, and weeds claimed the clay where legends once traded paint.
For the racing faithful of North Central Ohio, it was a slow, agonizing funeral for a track that had defined generations since it first opened in 1959.
But on the night of Friday, May 15, 2026, the silence didn’t just break—it was shattered.
Under a crisp, clear 57-degree Ohio sky, the heavy aroma of high-octane race fuel and fried track food hung thick in the air. A near-capacity crowd packed the newly rebuilt grandstands, spilling onto the grassy hillsides. The roar of 410 Sprint Cars and Super Late Models bounced off the aluminum stands, a familiar, beautiful echo that many in attendance feared they would never hear again.
Mansfield Speedway was back. And if the action on the track during the rescheduled “Comeback Classic” was any indication, this historic oval isn’t just surviving—it’s poised to dominate the dirt-track landscape once more.
"A MANSFIELD BOY GETTING IT DONE.
IT’S PRETTY COOL. FIRST RACE BACK. HOW ABOUT THAT?"
— Track Owner Matt Tifft
A Million-Dollar Miracle
The savior of Mansfield Speedway is a name familiar to motorsports fans: former NASCAR Cup Series driver and Ohio native Matt Tifft. Having spotted the dilapidated facility while traveling to nearby Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in early 2025, Tifft refused to let the historic venue rot. He purchased the property and immediately began pumping millions of dollars into a comprehensive, top-to-bottom renovation.
The results of that labor were on full display for opening night. Fans were greeted by a state-of-the-art giant LED jumbotron, a premium synced sound system, and pristine, comfortable grandstands. More importantly for the racers, the 0.44-mile track was treated to fresh, meticulously graded clay and a widened racing surface designed to promote multi-lane, side-by-side racing.
“We know across the dirt-racing world, tonight the eyes are upon us,” Tifft remarked as he looked over the bustling pit area, which hosted nearly 70 cars across three divisions. “Just keep in mind that this is Night One. I am so incredibly proud of the effort our team has put into this.”
Though mother nature tried to play spoiler—forcing a two-week postponement from the original May 2nd date due to torrential spring rains—the delay only seemed to heighten the anticipation. By the time hot laps rolled around on Friday, the energy on the hillside was electric.
Intermission Illumination: “Fire & Fury”
Following the hard-nosed transfer battles of the heat races and the high-stakes drama of the Late Model B-Main, fans were treated to an intermission spectacle that rivaled the on-track action.
To celebrate the grand reopening, Mansfield Speedway unleashed “Fire & Fury”—a 15-minute pyrotechnic extravaganza. Several ground-level fireballs lined the backstretch, synchronized with massive aerial shells bursting overhead, all choreographed to a high-decibel music soundtrack pumped through the state-of-the-art new sound system.
It was a sensory-overload display that left the near capacity crowd buzzing, fully primed for the main events to come.
Moore Steals the Show: The $5,000 Late Model Feature
With the smoke still clearing from the sky, the stage was set for the crown jewel of the Comeback Classic: the 30-lap, $5,000-to-win feature sanctioned by the Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series.
From the drop of the green flag, it looked to be a dominant showcase for veteran driver Rusty Schlenk. Hailing from Jackson, Michigan, Schlenk had laid down a blistering 17.648-second lap in time trials to secure the pole position. When the feature began, Schlenk jumped out to an immediate lead, utilizing the high side of the freshly prepped Mansfield clay to build a massive 3.5-second lead over second-running Eric Wilson and R.J. Conley.
But deep in the field, a storm was brewing.
Mansfield’s own Kyle Moore had qualified a disappointing 12th, starting on the inside of the sixth row. When the green flag waved, Moore began an unbelievable charge. Armed with a Longhorn Chassis powered by a screaming Malcuit Race Engine, Moore sliced through the field with surgical precision.
By lap seven, Moore was in the top five. By lap twelve, as Schlenk began battling heavy lapped traffic, Moore claimed fourth from Conley. On lap fifteen, he slipped past Colten Burdette for third.
The turning point came on lap 16. The final caution of the night flew when an infield tire barrier was knocked onto the track in Turn 2. On the ensuing restart, Moore caught Eric Wilson sleeping, diving low to seize the runner-up spot.
What followed was a duel for the ages. Schlenk tried to assert his dominance, but Moore stayed glued to his rear bumper. On lap 25, the break Moore needed materialized. Negotiating a lapped car in Turn 1, Schlenk got momentarily crossed up, breaking his momentum.
Moore didn’t hesitate. He hammered the throttle, got a massive run down the backstretch, and surged past Schlenk on the exit of Turn 4 to take the lead.
Schlenk threw everything he had at the hometown hero over the final five laps, but Moore held his line perfectly. Crossing the stripe just 0.394 seconds ahead of Schlenk, Moore secured the victory, sending the local crowd into absolute pandemonium.
“I just kept picking them off one at a time, and suddenly I looked up and I was in second,” an ecstatic, mud-splattered Moore said in victory lane. “Rusty was probably a little better than me, but I capitalized on his mistake. It’s wild. I can’t believe this track is back. It’s only going to get better.”
Open-Wheel Royalty & Modified Magic: Henry and Markham Dominate
While the late models provided late-race suspense, the support divisions brought raw horsepower and open-wheel intensity to the freshly re-sculpted track.
In the FAST on Dirt 410 Winged Sprint Car feature, open-wheel star Cap Henry put on an absolute clinic. Taming the lightning-fast cushion and high-banking turns of the 0.44-mile oval, Henry sliced through lapped traffic with masterful precision. He held off furious charges from the regional elite, showcasing the track’s wide lanes and proving that Tifft’s redesigned surface is a dream come true for high-horsepower wing cars.
Meanwhile, local late model standout “Flyin'” Ryan Markham proved why he is one of the most respected wheelmen in Ohio. Pulling double-duty on the night, the Ashland native not only secured a stellar 8th-place finish in the grueling Late Model A-Main, but he also completely dominated the DirtCar UMP Modified feature. Markham found speed where others couldn’t, rim-riding his way to victory lane in the Modified main event to a thunderous ovation from the hometown crowd.
A Community Reclaimed
For older fans in the crowd, the night was deeply emotional. Generations of families who had watched races at Mansfield in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s sat shoulder-to-shoulder with children experiencing the track for the very first time.
The “Comeback Classic” was more than just a successful reopening; it was the resurrection of a community’s identity. And with the massive, $57,000-to-win World of Outlaws “57 Special” looming on the horizon at the end of May, the next chapter of Mansfield Speedway has only just begun.
The Home of Horsepower is officially back.
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