Fairgrounds back in action

CALHAN - The grit could be tasted as the dust and white exhaust clouded the air. The throaty roar of engines drowned out any hope of conversation.

And the smiles from the spectators in the stands couldn’t have been wider.

Yet for nearby residents used to the evening silence of the eastern El Paso County prairie, the frowns couldn’t have been harder.

Auto racing returned to the El Paso County Fairgrounds for the first time in years Saturday night with the inaugural dirt-track races of the newly finished El Paso County Speedway at the Fairgrounds. Hundreds of fans poured into the usually sleepy fairgrounds, a hopeful sign for organizers and supporters who see auto racing as a revenue-generating savior for the property. But nearby neighbors who fought the plan because of noise found the first night to be as bad as or worse than expected, and they hoped a night of incessant engines would rally more neighbors to their cause.

At the race, throngs of families, from grandparents to toddlers, seemed to relish every decibel as hobby trucks, stock cars and other racing machines roared by the stands in clouds of dirt. People toted hot dogs and slurped bottled beer in a crowd speckled with cowboy hats and racing ballcaps.

“It’s dirt and it’s racing,” said Patrick Bernard of Colorado Springs, about why he was there. The drivers are “always on the ragged edge.”

For die-hard fans — some are known to drive more than four hours one way for an event — the excitement of now having a close-to-home venue was palpable.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had any racing,” the announcer said from the public address system, “and now Calhan is becoming the hot seat for dirt-track racing.”

Larry and Joni Chester live 42 miles from Calhan and were thrilled by the short drive to Saturday night’s races. “This is nothing. We’re 30 miles to the nearest gallon of milk.”

Ted and Bev Schubert turned out to watch their grandson, 16, race the No. 44 car they sponsored. Mr. Schubert believed the return of racing was going to save the fairgrounds. “If we don’t work to make it (the fairgrounds) pay, it’s going to go away.”

For all the buzz beneath the lights, however, the mood for many nearby was grim.

Calhan resident Carol Lawson, standing on her front porch, said the sound was twice as loud as she had feared.

“This is my life now,” she said, holding up her telephone, where the sound of race cars filled the line. “It stinks.”

Larry Hanks said the noise kept his 8-year-old daughter awake past her bedtime.

Tamara Dayley said the noise wasn’t so bad — from her basement. She said the noise prompted her to close the windows and doors and retreat downstairs.

Rob Custer and others believed Saturday’s race might draw previously silent neighbors to speak up against future races.

Event organizers said they were pleased with the turnout.