The 54th season of racing at Grundy County Speedway‘s 0.333-mile paved oval will take place under the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series banner.
Nestled in the small town of Morris, Illinois, Grundy County boasts a proud racing culture that now encompasses 10 divisions. Those local competitors will have the chance to compete for a NASCAR Weekly Series championship starting with Grundy County’s season-opening Spring Classic on April 26.
When NASCAR officials contacted Grundy County general manager Joseph DeBello about a potential partnership, he immediately jumped at the opportunity. DeBello emphasized the importance of NASCAR having a presence in the state of Illinois, especially at the short-track level.
“Rockford Speedway had closed, so there were no more NASCAR weekly tracks in the state of Illinois,” DeBello said. “I had thought about [a NASCAR partnership] for a long time. With the presentation [shown] to me [by NASCAR], I couldn’t figure out a way not to do it.”
Grundy County’s history technically extends beyond its opening year in 1971. The facility is a successor to the Mazon Speedbowl, a quarter-mile oval in neighboring Mazon that operated for more than 50 years before the track’s management elected to relocate and construct a new track in Morris.
As the main attraction of the Grundy County Fairgrounds, the track has welcomed competitors from different facets of motorsports throughout its long history. Among the drivers who have a Grundy County win on their resume are Dick Trickle, Rusty Wallace, Jim Sauter, Butch Miller and Ty Majeski.
For DeBello, the key to sustaining Grundy County’s history involves catering to both competitors and spectators. During the past year, DeBello moved the start of each program back to 7:30 p.m. so children could meet competitors, all while organizing shorter, quicker shows allowing spectators to depart at a reasonable hour.
Race-day schedules may be shorter at Grundy County, but there is still a plethora of events for fans to enjoy throughout a given year. The most prestigious of these dates is the Bettenhausen Memorial 100, a Super Late Model event Grundy County has hosted since the race’s original site, Illiana Motor Speedway, ceased operations in 2015.
Steve Bechtel, who works as both a promoter and announcer for Grundy County, has enjoyed seeing the facility become a hub for pavement short-track racing in Illinois. Bechtel envisions that growth continuing as more competitors flock to Grundy County.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to make a lot of improvements that have made [Grundy County] better,” Bechtel said. “We’ve taken in so many divisions, as we only had four when I started. With Rockford Speedway closing a couple of years ago, we wanted to give a home to some of those drivers, so it’s a pretty busy schedule throughout the course of the summer.”
The renovations at Grundy County also encompass the amenities. DeBello successfully installed LED lights in his first year at Grundy County before building a Figure 8 track ahead of the 2024 season, which allowed the facility to host profitable events like crash fests, camper races and bus races.
DeBello’s paramount objective with Grundy County was to maintain and refine the track’s appearance. It took DeBello time to accomplish all his goals, but he believes Grundy County is in impeccable condition heading into its first year of NASCAR sanctioning.
“When I took [Grundy County] over, they [previously] didn’t have the manpower or resources [to keep the place up],” DeBello said. “Now in my sixth season, all we’ve done is continually dump money back in it that the speedway is now making. I addressed it as a business instead of a county fairgrounds.”
LED lights and the Figure 8 track are only a small part of the changes at Grundy County under DeBello’s tenure, who has also led renovations on the grandstands and bathrooms while helping introduce an improve food menu headlined by the ribeye steak sandwich.
With Grundy County now a NASCAR Weekly Series track, Bechtel is confident the facility’s best years are ahead. He looks forward to seeing more people get introduced to everything Grundy County has to offer, from improved accommodations to the thrilling on-track action.
“We’ve got to keep the sport alive in Illinois,” Bechtel said. “We want to grow it, keep it strong and try to cross over with NASCAR fans coming to us and some of our fans going to NASCAR. A lot of people who follow NASCAR don’t realize there’s a short track right in our backyard, so this is one of those things that’s beneficial to both of us.”
DeBello said Grundy County becoming NASCAR-sanctioned is a culmination of the hard work he and his staff have exerted to modernize the historic track. All the perks of the deal are why DeBello believes Grundy County and NASCAR together can elevate racing not only in Illinois but the surrounding states.
“Visibility with NASCAR is going to help us,” DeBello said. “Any kind of publicity helps you. Four of our divisions are sanctioned and those [drivers] can go race at all the other NASCAR tracks. I’ve gotten calls from Super Late Model drivers in Wisconsin who are coming down to race with us because we’re a NASCAR track.
“I’ve seen the positivity already.”
A new era for Grundy County begins April 26th with a full night of competition. Grandstands open to the public at 3 p.m. CT before the first green flag waves at 5 p.m. CT.