Hinckley Township racer Matt Tifft buys Mansfield racetrack

Hinckley Township native Matt Tifft purchased the previously dormant Mansfield Motor Speedway property with the idea that he was buying more than a racetrack. Tifft's vision is to present racing and car culture in new ways that will attract more people. He likened his vision to something akin to the Savannah Bananas phenomenon in minor league baseball. "We really want to expand as we go with this and look at it as more than just a racetrack," Tifft said Monday. "I don't think in 2025 you can look at it as just a racetrack and be successful. In order to make this a thriving business, we're looking at it as a motorsports complex, but also an entertainment complex." While racing events will be a piece of the track's future, Tifft also envisions a future concert venue, car shows, Christmas light shows and a variety of other ideas he plans to explore as his new venture gains traction. What Tifft was most excited about for the 178-acre property was the chance to take things he has seen from places like Cleetus McFarland's Freedom Factory in Bradenton, Fla., as well as borrowing from other sports to modernize the way racing is presented. From crowd interaction to jumbotrons, games and autograph sessions, Tifft is investing in a way to market individual cars and drivers and bring fans closer to the experience — not unlike the way Monster Jam has for monster trucks. "We want to be able to create live events for people that are fun to go to," he said. "One of the biggest gripes I have about going to a race now, it feels like you're either a race fan or you're not. It's hard to bring people in that aren't race fans but are curious and really give them a good experience unless you're at the top national level. "There are things that other sports and other series are doing that we can take examples or pages out of their book and bring it to racing." Mansfield Motor Speedway opened in 1959 as a dirt track, was paved in 1999, previously held the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ohio 250 before returning to a dirt track in 2017 and then closed for racing in 2019. At that point, the property seemed destined to become an industrial park until that deal fell through, which led to Tifft finding the property while he was looking to acquire something where he could have what he called "outdoorsy fun." After running into zoning and permit problems in the Cleveland area, Tifft decided to start looking to acquire an existing track and built his business model. "I guess it was the right time, right place for us to come in," he said. "The Millirons, who owned it, have been awesome people. They wanted to see the property come back to be something good for the community." The road back to functionality for the track won't be easy, as most of the track was demolished when it was going to become an industrial park, as was half of the grandstand and the walls for the track. The lights and the catchfence were sold. If all goes according to plan, Tifft hopes to be able to run a Christmas lights show this holiday season and open for racing events, which will initially include sprint and late model dirt racing, in May. "First off, it's going to be a lot of repairs for the first year," he said. "Right now, just to get it back to what it once was and out of disrepair, it's going to cost about $2 million just to get it back running, and that doesn't include the price of the property." The reason Tifft is eyeing the chance to present racing in a different way is simple. With as many local tracks as there are in the nearby area, he knows he needs to come up with something that will set his apart. "We want to make it so we're not oversaturating the traditional racing models, because we do have so many tracks in the area," he said. "There's so many in a close area that if you're trying to run 10, 20 nights a year and compete with them, you're going to be in trouble and that doesn't help anyone." After working his way up to the Cup Series before becoming the youngest NASCAR team owner to returning to racing in a number of series, Tifft believes the time is right for him to make this move into owning a racetrack. "I think there's been a natural progression," he said. "From owning a NASCAR team and managing people to coming back to racing and going to 30 or 40 short tracks across the country to see how different series run, I've kind of gotten a taste of everything and what works and what doesn't." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.