By Gary
Jacobson
Rochester,
Minn. (August 13, 1975) – Don’t ever accuse Floyd Lenoch of having grandiose
delusions. His goals, though sometimes difficult, are all within the realm of
possibility.
Currently,
Lenoch’s No. 1 priority is making stock car racing at the Howard County
Fairgrounds in Cresco, Iowa, a viable and profitable operation. Nothing would
make the Austin, Minn., promoter happier than standing by the scoring tower on
the field of the 3/8-mile dirt track and seeing 2,000 smiling spectators
smiling back at him from the grandstand.
“It’s the
culmination of all my desires,” Lenoch said. “My main goal is to see if a guy
can go down there in the middle of nowhere and make a race track go.”
“If you’re
running a track in a population center, it’s almost a guarantee that you’re
going to make some money. But out in the country away from the cities is a
whole different story.”
Cresco is a
northern Iowa community of some 3,000 residents located 60 miles south of
Rochester, Minn., and 50 miles northeast of Waterloo, Iowa.
Lenocch and his partner in the Inside Pole
Racing Association, Clem Weber, also of Austin, began promoting races in Cresco
three years ago. They sustained losses of about $6,000 each of the first two
years of operation, according to Lenoch, but are getting close to breakeven
this season.
Lenoch says
the average attendance at the regular Friday night cards featuring late models
and hobby stock competition is up between 500-600 over last season, falling in
the 1,500-2,000 range.
“I would say
that up until last Friday night, we were turning things around at Cresco this
year,” Lenoch said. “However, we drew only 1,100 people then. We probably
shouldn’t even have had a show. It rained during the heat races.”
The largest
crowd of the year at the track this season was 2,385.
Lenoch, 50,
has been in the race promoting business for seven years, operating Minnesota
tracks in Lansing and Austin before moving to Cresco. This year Inside Pole
Racing Association is also handling the races at North Iowa Speedway in Mason
City, Iowa.
“Things have
been better at Mason City,” Lenoch admits. “We’ve been averaging between 2,500
and 2,700 people and paying an average purse of $3,000.
But no
matter how successful Mason City is, Lenoch will constantly be plagued by the
challenge of making Cresco go.
“I honestly
think it’s the best track around,” said of the Howard County facility. “If we
could just get 2,000 people out every Friday night. Maybe I’m so interested in
it go I because it’s such a challenge.”
Lenoch is
always trying new ways to boost interest in the Cresco operation. Last year he
brought in Wisconsin asphalt ace Dick Trickle to take on the hometown pilots.
His first season at the track began the Ole Brua Memorial card. Late this
August he plans on a bicentennial celebration with a special card feature twin
38-lap features and the overall winner could collect a potential $1,500 of the
$5,000 purse.
Cresco area
merchants have also shown a desire to help make the track succeed, The Ford
dealership in Cresco and Austin each contributed $500 to bring in Trickle. And
now several Cresco businesses have pooled $1,000 to bolster the Twin 38’s
purse.
“You can
tell the real race fan,” Lenoch says. “He comes up with a big donation and then
doesn’t ask for a free pass. We do have some of them in Cresco.”
Lenoch
doesn’t plan any changes in the Cresco operation, but does point out some
alteration may be made next season if he loses money again this year.
“But I don’t
look to lose money,” he quickly added.
For Lenoch,
optimism is not a delusion.
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