YORK COUNTY, Pa. — Racing was green lit at McGrewBid Motoplex at BAPS Motor Speedway for the first-time on Friday evening. It's the first dirt track built in Central Pennsylvania in more than 30 years.
"New racetracks don't come in very often, so to have a brand new one, especially a premiere one, like this [to] open up is a game changer for the industry," said Michael Dicely, owner of Hyper Racing, a big partner in the formation of the new race track.
BAPS Motor Speedway announced its plans to build the new race track last December. After months of hard work, determination and collaboration with the racing community, it was finally ready just in time for the Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek.
"These are the days that you kind of live for. You get to tell your grandkids and your kids kids that 'I remember when that place was built or when I was there.' So in the racing world [it] is definitely pretty cool," said Kolten Gouse, the general manager at BAPS Motor Speedway. "There's a lot of guys that worked a normal eight hour day, and then they came here and worked five or six hours at the track every night to make this happen. So that's what makes this even more special. You see these people sharing that passion, it makes it worth it."
On Friday evening, 105 drivers were in the lineup, a high for the speedweek, and all of whom were anxiously waiting for their first opportunity on the new track.
"It's only 15 minutes away from home. So to have this open up, it means a lot to us," said Garyd Smith, driver for S&S Motorsports.
"If you're on social media, you know about this track," said Connor Gross, driver for CBG Motorsports and the evening's winner for the 600 class. "Central Pennsylvania loves the racing, it's awesome to have another place different different layout just to hone their craft."
It’s a completed project that reflects just how dedicated the area is to dirt track racing and the development of its next generation of drivers.
"[It's another place] to bring the kid[s] up from a young age, develop [their] passion and skills for racing all the way through," said Dicely. "[We want to promote] driver development, put on great racing for the fans and expose the sport to the sprint car world here in central Pennsylvania."
More information and schedule details for the McGrewBid Motoplex can be found on BAPS Motor Speedway's website.