— Daily Freeman-Journal photo by Tyler Anderson. On Saturday, it'll get loud at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds, as the historic Hamilton County Speedway revs up on its 2023 season.

The roar of the engines, the thrill of the chase and the eternal struggle for a spot on victory lane. The oldest speedway in Iowa — with its semi-banked, half-mile of dirt track — has it all.

Its season runs from April to October, with events ranging from modifieds and stock cars to b-mods, hobby stocks, trailer races and dirt trucks.

This weekend, racing is back at the Karl Chevrolet Hamilton County Speedway.

Its first night of the 2023 season, which is dedicated to all of the kids out there, will see the pits open at 4 p.m. followed by the grandstand’s opening at 5 p.m.

An extra happy hour stretches from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., before the racing revs up at 6 p.m.

According to Todd Staley, the promoter for the racetrack, there are some changes that the drivers and spectators will notice right off of the bat.

“We took the walls out on one and two, along with third and four,” Staley said. “We wanted to see if that would make the racing better. We experimented with it in our final race last year, and the racing was phenomenal.”

“We moved our tech area, and lowered our prices on the grandstand a little bit with some specials coming,” Staley added. “It’s going to be a fabulous year.”

Next weekend, the speedway will host the Second Annual Spring Showdown. The showdown will also feature a classic staple of Americana — the demolition derby.

“We’re going to have a great field of cars, because nobody is really racing just yet,” Staley said. “There was plenty of snow up north, so we’ll have plenty of Minnesota cars and northern Iowa cars.”

According to Staley, there will be more than 160 cars engaged in the demo derby.

“It’ll technically be our third year, but it got rained out last year,” Staley said of the derby. “Our first derby had about 170 participants. So, we’re looking forward to it.”

On April 22, the track will see weekly racing from the United States Racing Association’s Summit Racing Equipment Weekly Racing Series. The final weekend of the month will see racing on three straight nights — April 27, April 28 and April 29.

Notable dates through the season include the Flaws Memorial Race on June 3, the Summer Shootout on June 21, the Hamilton County Fair on July 27, July 28, July 29 and July 30, the Season Championship on Sept. 2 and lastly, the Fall Futurity twinbill on Oct. 20 and Oct. 21.

So, what places the Hamilton County Speedway into a class of its own?

Staley has an answer for that — which is its lineage and the ability to keep improving the grounds.

“It’s a historic place — with its track down on the river bottom and its unique set-up,” Staley said. “It’s a cool deal. We’re working on projects to allow people to see the track better, and we’re talking about moving our catwalk to a different spot. We’re also in the process of applying for a hotel-motel tax grant that will allow us to shorten up the track a little bit. We’ll see if we can conquer that.”

Staley, who also promotes the Mason City Motor Speedway, had shortened up the northern track with strong results.

“We have sprint car races and a bunch of cool stuff,” Staley said. “We really want to bring that to Webster City. We want to try everything we can to keep it going.”

Being around the renowned track since he was six years old, the Hamiton County Speedway holds a place in Staley’s heart. It’s why he’s doing everything in his power to renovate, restore and upgrade the facility.

“We’ve done a lot of updates to the place to make it look nice,” Staley said.

Lastly, Staley would love to see you at the track.

“There’s nothing like racing live,” Staley said. “A lot of races are television and streamed, but there’s nothing like the fumes of the fuel, the noise and just watching it live. We run a fast, efficient program. So, come out and see some great racing action with a lot of good cars.”