Desoto Speedway hopes to reopen in January

For months, mystery has surrounded Desoto Speedway.

Not about who would win a race, but rather if they would have one.

After the track hosted its final race of last season on May 27, it was supposed to reopen for the fall schedule. That didn't happen.

On Sept. 26, Desoto Speedway's website issued a message stating the track had been damaged by Hurricane Irma but would reopen “very soon.”

No other news has been posted since. The track’s Facebook page has been deleted, and its phone line is dead. A locked gate greets drivers at the speedway’s entrance.

The track's fans became concerned.

Rachelle Rudolph, a Modified Mini racer from Tampa, called Desoto Speedway her “favorite track” in a Facebook post on Dec. 2, and hoped it would reopen. She won a Modified Mini race at Desoto Speedway May 21, 2016, and raced there six times last season.

Desoto Speedway owner Dennis Meyer last week attempted to reassure fans the track will, indeed open soon.

“We’re almost there,” Meyer said. “Probably by the first of January we’ll be opening up (again). That’s the hope.”

The delay, Meyer said, is indeed due to Hurricane Irma.

“We’re almost there,” Meyer said. “Probably by the first of January we’ll be opening up (again). That’s the hope.”

Meyer said the roofs of two buildings need repairs, among other things, due to the storm. The biggest problem is the asphalt, which has been compromised because water seeped underneath it from Irma’s rains.

Travis Barfield, a Street Stock driver from Myakka City, said he saw the track's problems and he wanted to help, but there wasn’t much he could do by himself.

Meyer will have to hire professionals to fix the track and the repairs will cost approximately $350,000. Meyer said he simply doesn’t have the money at the moment.

“If I had $35 today, I’d be somebody,” he said with a laugh.

Meyer is currently looking for sponsors to raise the necessary repair funds. He is confident that will happen and the track will open again.

In the meantime, with no racing at the track, Meyer has shut everything concerning the track down. That’s why the phone has stopped working and its social media presence has halted. He said he simply has nothing to promote at the current time.

Meyer purchased the three-eighths mile asphalt track in April 2014 for $1.08 million, and returned it to its original Desoto Speedway name (previous owners changed the name to Full Throttle Speedway). It seats 5,000 fans, and has hosted everything from traditional Street Stock car races to the “Tour of Destruction,” a traveling showcase of monster trucks, school bus races and games of “car soccer.”

Barfield said he personally loves the track and will be back to race when it reopens.

“It’s a fun track to drive," Barfield said. "It’s a big track and it isn’t one of those beaten tracks. You have room to race without tearing up your (car).”