Mansfield Speedway
Tifft navigates 'blur' of Mansfield's reopening
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
Tyler Erb in victory lane with Dan and Brenda Niss. (Jack Reitz)
MANSFIELD, Ohio (May 29) — There wasn't a moment Friday when Mansfield Speedway owner Matt Tifft could step back and fully appreciate what he and his team have accomplished over the last year.
Instead, the 29-year-old found himself caught in a whirlwind of problem-solving and putting out fires while trying to get a racetrack — one that sat dormant for seven years before he purchased the 180-acre property last June — off the ground. | RaceWire
Friday’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series event, Mansfield's second race since reopening May 15, was far from smooth. Two lengthy track-prep delays bogged down the program, while rough, dusty track conditions drew criticism throughout the evening.
“It was kind of a blur,” Tifft admitted afterward. “Today’s a tough day just because it's a problem left, right, here, there, up, down, sideways and left. But that comes with the territory, and that's what I signed up for.”
There’s one thing, however, that keeps him pushing through the growing pains.
“I still enjoy every minute of it and seeing it come to life,” Tifft said.
Tifft isn’t shying away from the reality that the racetrack he poured $8 million into still needs refinement before it becomes the showplace he believes it can be. The racing surface, in particular, remains a work in progress — something Tifft experienced firsthand Friday.
The former NASCAR driver climbed aboard Ryan Markham's Club 29 Race Car in an effort to “get a feel” for the racetrack from the driver's seat. Between hot laps, qualifying and his heat race, Tifft got three opportunities to sample the surface and evaluate where things stand.
He bypassed his B-main because that's when the Niss family called to tell him they were adding $88,000 to the winner’s share, boosting the originally scheduled $12,000-to-win feature to $100,000.
“Super cool of Dan Niss and his family,” Tifft said. “Ten minutes before the race, he called me and said, ‘Hey, we're going to put up 100-grand and do this.’ So that was super cool.”
The surprise announcement briefly shifted the focus away from the evening's challenges and toward the possibilities Mansfield hopes to create moving forward.
“I felt that it's got some potential. I felt like there's some weaknesses, and ultimately, I felt like there’s a lot of potential here,” Tifft said. “Just need to, again, work in a few things, but I feel that we are able to dial this place in. I’m really excited for year two, to see what this place will be.”
Tifft believes Mansfield made significant progress from its May 15 reopening event, which was hampered by heavy rainfall in the days leading up to the facility's first race in seven years.
“Racetrack wise, we were a ton better than we were last time,” Tifft said. “But still a ways to go. Last time we just had torrential rain, couldn’t get away from it. This was the first time we had four or five days in a row to where it wasn't pouring down rain. So, we've still got some springs and stuff to work through.”
Among the challenges was a reappearing rut entering turn three. It forced the second delay of the program — between qualifying and heat races — as track officials spent more than 45 minutes working on the surface. The rut resurfaced again late in the feature, leaving Tifft thinking of solutions.
“Trying to figure out, can we do some different drainage stuff out there to stop maybe some of those holes popping up?” Tifft said.
Dust was another issue Tifft acknowledged.
“Unfortunately, I hate to say it, but it's night two on a racing surface, so we’re just in a bit of a learning pattern,” Tifft said. “I didn’t like as much dust as we had out there, so whether it’s additives or things like that, we’ve got to look at to calm that stuff down. Some of those things we just got to work through.”
The scrutiny that accompanies hosting a national touring event only magnified those issues.
“Obviously when you go on the national stage like this, you’re just going to fight some of that stuff on a bigger scale and when you throw yourself out in the limelight like we have, it’s going to be on a bigger stage,” Tifft said. “But, hey, that happens. So, all in all, good night.”
While the racing surface generated most of the criticism, the facility itself drew praise from many who attended Mansfield’s biggest event since the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned Dirt Million in August 2019, including Brandon Overton.
“The thing about it is, as rough as it was and as s— as it is, it shows a lot of promise,” Overton said. “If they can get it right, this is a badass place. ... This is one of the nicest places you can go to. They’ve just got to get the track figured out.”
Despite the challenges, Tifft left the speedway viewing the night as another step forward rather than a setback.
“Definitely a good night. Not a great night, not a bad night,” Tifft said. “One that we go take some marks and have a notebook from. I wouldn’t say anything was detrimental. We’re going the right direction. We just gotta keep on working on it.”
Since purchasing Mansfield, Tifft and his staff have worked to establish the property as more than a racetrack. The facility’s schedule includes concerts, monster truck shows, motocross races, motorcycle gatherings, camping weekends, family entertainment events and community activities throughout the year.
Ironically, Tifft says dirt racing remains the most difficult event to host.
“I’ll be honest with you, the hardest thing we do is dirt racing,” Tifft said. “The easy events are monster trucks. The easy events are 5Ks and things like that. The hardest thing we do is dirt racing. There’s the biggest upside and the biggest risk when it comes to dirt racing. You can make people the happiest and the maddest when it comes to it.
“So your reputation will live and die by it. It makes it tough as a venue owner when it comes to dirt racing because people will put you on a pitchfork. I'm going through that right now. You’ve seen people swarming around me during this interview of people who certainly aren’t happy with me. But at the same time, we're still a young operation.”
For all the adversity Mansfield faced Friday, Tifft continues to remind himself how far the facility has come in such a short period of time.
“Everybody loves to complain about things,” Tifft said. “And there’s still this place, we have to remember, was not here 12 months ago. Sometimes I like to remind people that, hey, this place wasn’t here. No matter how big your problem might be, you weren’t coming here before. I don't mean that in an arrogant way, but we will figure out the solution.”
Overall, Tifft remains unwavering in his vision for Mansfield.
"We're gonna get there, I can promise you that," Tifft said. "But again, it's tough because this is event number two. We can't compare ourselves to Wayne County (Speedway in Orrville, Ohio), to Fairbury (Speedway in Illinois), to wherever. They're in year 40. We're on day two.
“We have to keep that in perspective and at the same time, that's not an excuse. We have to hold ourselves to a standard. But it’s a very fast learning curve.”
