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As I was driving through southern Minnesota, headed towards Sioux Falls, I thought to myself, what makes up a crown jewel event in dirt racing? I figured the event needed to have at least 3 things: a great prize pool, prestige and phenomenal facilities. Even though this wasn't going to be my first time at Huset's, I really wanted to focus on the atmosphere of the track and the event as a whole.
It may look unassuming at first, but as soon as you turn off Highway 11 and into the track, it's as if the gates to sprint car heaven open up. A sea of cars and trucks cover the grassy plain that is used as the parking lot for the speedway. Sandwiched between the north and south lots is the pit row packed with sprint car haulers. After heading down the surprisingly steep hill and finding a parking spot, I started walking towards the huge hillside-embedded grandstand as it began to hide the sun. Heading towards the souvenir alley, I got a taste of what the stands would look like later in the night as fans in multicolor hats and shirts wove their way through trailers, vans, and their t-shirt racks, all looking for a new piece of merchandise that caught their eyes.
As I walked around souvenir alley, I received some high-fives and compliments from race fans who were wearing merchandise from our same favorite driver. After grabbing an ice cold can of NOS and walking through the ticket gate, I really got a real sense of the grand scale of this facility. Rows of seats go back and up over the horizon, while the suites tower over turns one and four. The frontstretch acts as castle walls guarding the inside. Even though I'm sitting ten rows from the top, I still feel like I'm on top of the action.
Just as heat races were set to start, I heard my name called from a few rows back. It turned out to be a pair of familiar faces whom I sat next to during last year's High Bank Nationals. Upper midwest race fans are some of the nicest and most personable people I have ever met. That's the thing about race fans, you can make lifelong friends just by sitting next to someone or rooting for the same driver. It doesn't matter who you root for, where you come from, or how you were brought up. We all congregate to the outskirts and small towns dotted across the country for the same thing: our passion for dirt track racing.
Back on the action, it is hard to think there is a bad seat at Huset's; every seat has a clear few of the entire track. As one of the heat races on Thursday night turned into a five car battle for second, I could hear the roar of the crowd over the cars on track and over the slight reverb off of the suite tower behind me. After a thriller of an A-main, I headed down to the pits to meet the stars of the sport.
Pulling up to the track on Saturday for the $250k finale, you could tell something special was going to happen that night. Souvenir alley and the main concourse were packed and cars were filling into the parking lots up until the first qualifier of the night. From where I was sitting, there wasn't an empty seat in sight. In only its second year, the High Banks Nationals broke the Huset's Speedway attendance record. I’m sure this won't be the last time this event breaks records either. After the rain delay, I grabbed some food (I highly recommend a cheese burger or the loaded fries from the turn four concession stand) and wandered around the concourse as the track was being prepped. As the A-Main rolled out of the back pit gate, you could feel the tension thicken in the air as everyone in attendance was getting ready to witness history. Just before the green flag dropped, as the cars were about to roar to life, there was silence. Every living breathing human and machine took in one last breath and let history unfold.
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DID YOU KNOW: Anthony Macri hasn't finished outside the top ten in a feature with the All Star Circuit of Champions since Sharon Speedway in September of 2022. It's a stretch of 17 races, that includes three wins, nine podiums, and 14 top tens.
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