Commerce City – A year ago, Rocky Mountain National Speedway owner Mike Mathis feared his dirt track was in its final season.
“But we got a one-year permit from Commerce City – with a prerequisite that we wouldn’t ask for another extension,” Mathis said.
Sadly for Denver-area dirt-track enthusiasts, 2005 will be the finale for the popular 3/8-mile oval that has hosted some of the state’s best sprint car, midgets, late model and modified races since the early 1960s.
North Carolina-based National Dirt Digest editor Brian McLeod once referred to “Rumble in the Rockies” at RMNS as the best late-model race in the United States. RMNS also introduced the sprint-car challenge between the American Sprint Car Series and National Championship Racing Association and served as the home for the Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association.
“From where we started and where we ended up, there’s been a lot of successes – some real huge ones,” Mathis said.
Mathis owns RMNS’ infrastructure but not its land. Denver’s Dottie Broncucia is the landowner and has a contract to sell to developer Buffalo Highlands.
The city supports the deal and Mathis said RMNS’ days would have been numbered anyway. He said the city wasn’t going to give him another multiyear race permit as housing developments closed in on the 50-acre facility.
“It’s a typical problem that catches up with local race tracks,” said Jerry Van Dyke, founder and president of the Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame. “When they’re built, they’re quite a ways away from everything. But growth catches up with them with golf course, parks and home development. They simply got caught up with urban development.”
Mathis won’t be out of work. He commutes to Dodge City, Kan., where he runs the city-funded Dodge City Raceway Park, a $7 million facility.
Mathis still wants to keep RMNS alive at another location and model it after the Dodge City track.
“We’d love to have someone help us relocate,” he said. “Otherwise, we’ll just auction off the equipment.”
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
