Just before the 60th season of racing at Elko Speedway long-time owner Tom Ryan has sold the ELKO racetrack to MEGA corp (Make Elko Great Again).
The new management and ownership includes 2009 Elko Speedway Great North Legends Champion driver Jaycen Brockhouse (son of Great North Legends owner Tim Brockhouse), Pat Flynn the owner of Eternity Homes (grandfather of Bando driver Christopher Flynn), and Wade from Rack Shack Barbecue (his two kids will be racing in the Bando's in 2025). Tim Brockhouse (owner of Tomah WI Speedway) (photo below) will be heavily involved with management and Robin Anderson will continue her role as facility manager.
The 2025 race schedule has been set and will not change. It includes 10 Eve of Destruction nights, 1 ARCA race June 21st and 1 ASA Midwest Tour race night Thunderstruck on September 20th.
Fans can expect some improvements including updated signage, added food options featuring Rack Shack Barbecue, a video and pinball arcade inside the Champions lounge on the West side, new carpet and Wainscoting, updated TV monitors and updates to the Luxury Suites above the grandstand.
New management said they are open to listening to the racers ideas on improving the racing, increasing car count and adding more purse money in the near future and adding more events in 2026. Pit Pay is the new mobile pit pass app used at the track. My Race Pass will also be used for lineups.
It was mentioned that the Eve of Destruction entertainment would continue including School Bus races, Monster Trucks, ATV Big air jumps, petting zoo's, drifters, spectator drags, LIVE music etc.
Other idea's they brought up include: Enduro's, Flag pole races, figure 8 events, music concerts, a rodeo, snowmobile racing in the winter, a drifter event etc. Overnight camping returning was also discussed also Classic car shows at the track.
The idea of racing both heat races and feature events on a nightly basis was discussed (instead of just double features) and moving up the Opening Ceremony to 6pm. The importance of keeping the "Little Elko" quarter midget program strong was emphasized. On-track interviews will return in some fashion and an End of the year Championship banquet will be held. Thursday night practice will return in 2025.
If you have interest in being an Automobile Race Track Public Address Announcer, here is some advice. By Jason D Searcy
#1 - Don't be annoying, Don't be the reason that people dislike a race track. Remember the show is not about you, your job is to enhance the race fans experience, not take away from it.
#2- Preparation is the key, do your homework on the drivers and their stats before arriving at the track, then walk the pits when you get to the track, make yourself available in case a race team has something special that they want communicated to the audience. Also make sure you know how to pronounce each drivers name properly, if you don't know, just ask them.
#3- Don't mess up the starting lineups. Clearly state the car number, drivers name and hometown BEFORE EACH RACE. Not every driver will be mentioned during the race call but every drivers name should be heard by the crowd before the race. For a Mom, a fan, or a sponsor, that moment might be the only opportunity they have the entire night to cheer for their favorite driver.
#4- Do a majority of your talking when the crowd can actually hear you. Inflection means a lot and talking when loud cars are screaming past the crowd is just pointless, timing is important, talk between the races more than during the races.
#5 Be authentic with your enthusiasm. Faking excitement is insulting to the audience. Race fans don't like to be fooled or tricked and they can see through being fake. If you say "this is the greatest thing that has ever happened in the history of Motorsports" and it is clearly not, they won't trust anything you say from that point onward.
#6 The Opening Ceremony is very important. This is the only time the entire evening where you have everyone's attention. This CAN BE an emotionally shared memorable experience for the crowd if it is done right. So be concise and intentional with your wording and respectfulness of the flag and the anthem. Encourage the audience to be proud of our nation without being heavy handed, preachy or long winded, that alone might ruin an otherwise special moment.
#7 Sometimes less words are better, if your thoughts are not organized it is less impactful to be wandering. A dramatic pause can be just as impactful as an inflection change.
#8 Separate your personal opinion from the decisions made by race control. Questioning track personnel decisions looks bad for the track, so just state the facts and more forward, even if you don't personally agree with the decision. You have enough to keep track of, don't try to also do their job.
#9 Try to help the audience anticipate upcoming drama, if you can focus the race fans attention on the building drama of a situation that they might not be aware of, then when that drama finally does happen, it becomes more of a shared experience and might become that memorable LIVE moment that we all strive for.
#10 Have Fun, enjoy the show. There is nothing more cool than the sound of race cars at the track, so add your voice to that atmosphere with relevant information and entertainment. Don't let your voice take away from that awesome atmosphere.
Just my 2 cents, I hope that gives you some insight into how to do the job of a Race Track Announcer. It can be a very rewarding and fun occupation.
Jason D Searcy. Over 30 years experience announcing at various tracks in Minnesota, the last 14 at Elko Speedway in Elko but also at I-94 Raceway Sauk Centre, I-94 Speedway Fergus Falls and Viking Speedway in Alexandria.
NOTE- This article was shared on social media and numerous announcers commented on it and added their own interesting insight, here are a few examples
Jason Searcy Great Job. A couple of other things. Sometimes you have to explain the rules. Keep it short, but explain why things are happening. Rules vary from track to track and it can be a little confusing to the casual fan. And be sure to mention car numbers not just the names during the race. Fans can quickly identify what car you are talking about especially when there is a good battle behind the leaders. And Finally, work the car color into your race call. This is helpful when there are more than 1 car with the same number in the same race.
We do this for fun, so don't forget to HAVE FUN!Eric Huenefeld
Jason Searcy as an announcer, I don’t know if I can bring anyone to the track, but I know I can drive them away.
Also…calling races is one thing. That’s what gets on YouTube and all that. But I think where announcer make their money is what they do when the yellow is out or when there’s no racing. Be good background music and be entertaining and knowledgeable. Have fun. Take a breath. You don’t need to talk ALL the time.
Preparation and pre-event homework is key. It's something a lot of announcers do not do as good of a job as they should. It's ultra important so you can be as prepared as possible. If you save it all for race-day, you will undoubtedly run out of time and not have all your bases covered.
Everyone has their own style, which is cool and is what makes everyone unique, but an announcer not being prepared is something that shouldn't be acceptable to anyone, especially the paying fans.
Mis-pronouncing drivers names, hometowns etc. is never, I repeat NEVER, acceptable. Do your homework.
Personally, I make a point to walk the pits every day and talk to racers to get updates, new storyline etc. Even during multi-day events where the drivers are probably the same as the night before, there are always new pieces of info. to gather. I made sure to walk the pits 15 straight days at Volusia last month to be sure I had all my stuff in order.
Lastly, remember that a majority of events are live streamed these days, so unlike years past when it was 'just' the people in the stands listening to announcers, these days everyone at home can hear every word an announcer says, so it's even more important to have your info correct and be prepared.
William Sawalich wins an epic race in the ARCA Menards series at Elko Speedway, he won an exciting 3 way battle for the top spot. The margin of victory was 0.011 seconds, the second closest race in ARCA History.
Jason and Dean did a new episode of Speed Talk discussing this race and adding some insider info, also included local racing at ELKO and IndyCar racing at Iowa Speedway.
Race Announcers Jason Searcy and Dean Reller have worked together doing a Motor Sports themed radio show since 2001, they now have returned with an on-line version of their classic show Speed Talk.
Here is Episode 4 of the Speed Talk show in 2024.. Jason and Dean talk about the amazing Thunderstruck93 ASA Midwest tour race and the season championship at ELKO. Click on the image below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na_2WDVgf0Q
Here is Episode 3 of the Speed Talk show as we discuss the exciting ARCA race at ELKO
The racers organized an awards banquet celebrating the 2023 race season, the 58th year of racing at Elko Speedway. It took place at Turtles bar and grill in Shakopee (MN) on Feb 17th, 2024 with 11 year veteran track announcer Jason Searcy as the MC, Jess and Ryan Rose hosted the party.
The big news of the evening came from Jacob Goede #72 Late Model, he announced that he will not be racing full-time in 2024. He has been the premier division Champion at Elko Speedway for 10 consecutive years. Here is the video of his speech.
Dillon Sellner #07 was a first-time Champion in the Thunder Cars division, he announced that his race team will be moving up to the Late Model division in 2024. Here is his speech.
Julie Jorgenson #83 won her first Power Stock Championship at Elko Speedway, she also won the Women in Motorsports North America Championship. Here is her speech where she announced she will be racing full-time in the Thunder Car division in 2024 at Elko Speedway.
Colin Stocker #8 won his second Legends division Championship, his speech was short and sweet but it was heard that his race team is also moving up to the Late Model division next year.
Jackson Kottschade #07 was a first-time Bandolero Champion at Elko Speedway. Here is his speech.
An award was given out to former Power Stock Champion and current Thunder Car driver Taylor Goldman. Here is the presentation of the Inspiration award.
The 2024 Race season begins at Elko Speedway Saturday night of Memorial weekend. Get more information at ElkoSpeedway.com
After a pandemic induced hiatus, Jason and Dean have reunited for a possible return of the long time Motorsports show Speed Talk. Here is a recently posted video on YouTube.
Speed Talk on 1360 Radio was a fixture Saturday mornings on KRWC AM 1360 in Buffalo MN from 2009-2019. 50+ drivers and motorsports personalities were interviewed each year by Jason and Dean, Dan Plan from the Midwest Racing Connection and Jordan Bianchi who is now employed as a National NASCAR reporter on the Athletic joined the show weekly.
Previously Jason and Dean also co-hosted a radio and TV show from I-94 Raceway in Sauk Centre (MN) from 2001-2009 on various stations including KASM, KMSR and 1390 "the Fan" in St Cloud (MN).
Before that Jason hosted the Speedway Show on KMSR radio from 1991-1997.
Detail will be released soon, as they say, Stay Tuned!
