MACON — The 46th annual running of the Herald & Review 100 is slated for Sunday night at Macon Speedway as part of DIRTcar Summer Nationals with Super Late Models and Modifiers leading the action.
Here’s what to know about the race and how the speedway is faring in its third year under new ownership.
Track reinvestment
Instability was never an issue for Macon Speedway under the ownership of Bob Sargent, who spent 37 years running the track before selling in November 2022. That’s when ownership changed hands again within 18 months of Sargent’s sale, as Chris Kearns sold the speedway to the Brown and Turner families.
In their third year running things, the families are pouring resources into the speedway. It won’t be long before the effects are visualized.
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Trey Mills crosses the finish line first, with Brandon Sheppard in second, during the late model feature of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals at the Herald & Review 100 at the Macon Speedway on Thursday, June 26. The difference between first and second place was just 0.118 seconds.
“Any profit we make, we’re reinvesting it into the track,” co-owner Kenny Brown said. “The upgrades can’t be seen right now — we put in a new loop, we updated the transponder, the racing system, we did the tower, we’ve done a lot of structural stuff that can’t be seen. After this year, you’ll start to see the changes.”
Brown said the ownership group is coming around after it took a while to understand the “demographics of the racetrack,” explaining the unknowns under the dirt and water and creeks that run below the speedway, but that support has been present. That support, not only from the community but even the racers, is integral to keep the track running, he said.
H&R 100 on Sunday
One of the biggest races of the year is Sunday with the Herald & Review 100, which is being sponsored by Pepsi. Pits open at 3 p.m., grandstands at 5 p.m. and hot laps will start at 6. The Modifieds are vying for $1,500 to win, and the Super Late Models have $7,500 on the line. Trey Mills narrowly beat out Brandon Sheppard in last year’s Late Model running.
Trey Mills celebrates winning the late model feature of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals at the Herald & Review 100 at the Macon Speedway on Thursday, June 26.
Brown said they anticipate a great crowd to show, especially with earlier showings and only the two classes running, with the expectation with the racing to be done by 9 p.m. An additional factor to the race’s intrigue is that multiple DIRTcar Summer Nationals events have been rained out recently.
Regular racing
Looking ahead to the rest of this year’s schedule and beyond, Brown laid out the reality of where Macon Speedway and racing in general are headed.
“We still want to continue to do regular racing. I wouldn’t call it weekly racing, because I don’t think tracks can run weekly anymore,” Brown said. “It’s getting tougher and tougher. The racers, they work for a living... we know the economy that we’re living in right now cannot support it.”
Including the Herald & Review 100, there are seven more scheduled events at Macon Speedway this year.
