The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 42

10NW Thursday, March 25, 2004 LIFE IN NEWTON The Des Moines Register newt low Pasture Raceway ives (Iraq-racers a rus the month and quads race on every third Sunday. When the mud's not flying, cows still graze the grassy pasture surrounding the track. Trucks race in four classes: stock, super stock, modified and open class. The rules are first one to the finish line wins, and everyone races twice, said Troy Hammer, the raceway's promoter and announcer. The guidelines for the first three classes are more strict, while vehicles of all sorts are allowed in the open class.

"The open class is what people really stick around for," Hammer said. "Sometimes people who have never raced before will get excited and pull their vehicle in there to race." The raceway got its start five years ago when a group of central Iowa mud drag-racing enthusiasts needed a bigger place to hold their races. About 12 years ago, a group of about 20 enthusiasts began racing all-terrain vehicles behind a rural Kellogg home on the weekends. The group swelled to as many as 100 racers and enthusiasts. The plot of land in rural Kellogg became too small, so a retired farmer told the group they could set up a raceway in his pasture near Newton, Hammer said.

Racers pay a flat registration fee for the entire season. The raceway is popular among Iowans as well as people from Missouri, Hammer said. At times, 120 racers have been there, he said. On race Sundays, car washes in Newton reserve at least one stall for racers to wash the mud off their vehicles, Hammer said. Tague's son, who is now 23, got him enthused about racing at this unusual Iowa venue.

Among the changes Tague's truck underwent when he took on racing was a new paint job. The once modestly colored vehicle is now yellow, blue and panther pink. And don't forget the blue flames. The vehicle looks "a little wild," Tague concedes. "The little kids love it and I love doing it," Tague said.

"We just have a riot." By ADAM MORRIS REGISTER STAFF WRITER Just how does the thrill of racing a souped-up pickup truck through the mud of a rural Iowa cow pasture compare to driving a car on an urban street? "It's exciting," said Ken Tague, 53. "It's a pure adrenaline rush when you turn loose. The exhaust is spitting, the mud is flying, the engine's hollering, and the truck's bucking every which way." Tague had driven cars and trucks for years. But last year, he modified his Ford Ranger to become the "Power Ranger." And it has been full speed ahead ever since. On the first Sunday of each month between May and October, Tague and dozens of other mud drag-racers converge on a cow pasture in the countryside near Newton.

It's called the Cow Pasture Raceway. Two Sundays a month, trucks and all-terrain vehicles race down two muddy pits in the pasture. Trucks race on the first Sunday of Sodexho -CORPORATE SERVICES Newton 's Finest Banquet and Meeting Facility AV Equipment Satellite downlink Banquet menu whether festive or formal 325 seat state-of-the-art auditorium 4800 sq. ft. banquet room Banquet seating for 5 to 325 DMACCNewton Conference Center 600 N.

2nd Ave. Newton Ph 641-792-1850 www.dmaccconferencecenter.org For Free Visitors Information call 1-800-798-0299 Racetrack By JILL SEDERSTR0M REGISTER STAFF WRITER Newton residents are eager for work to begin on a motor-sports racetrack that could bring jobs and revenue to their city. "We are looking forward to it," said AJ. "Jim" Greve, a Newton City Council member. 'We expect great things from it." While the US.

Motorspott En tertainment Corporation has not broken ground for the project, they plan to be open for business in 2005. "We would like to hold in 2005 five race weekends that would begin in June," said Paul Schlaack, US. Motorsport Entertainment Corp. president and chairman. Schlaack said it takes 14 months to build a motor-sport racetrack; if a racetrack cannot be built during that time schedule, the project is drawn into question.

He said at this time he has no IS (m mm ft set for 2005 reason to believe the Newton track will not meet the schedule. Schlaack said they are waiting to finalize all aspects of the financial plan before they break ground to begin to build the complex. "We have to have to every single dotted and crossed," he said. Schlaack and David Watson, chief financial officer of the project, said they believe the motor-sport racetrack will draw people from all over the Midwest. "It's an unbelievable economic stimulus," Watson said.

The US. Microspore Entertainment Corp. has already had season-ticket requests from people as far as Minnesota and Missouri. Aside from added revenue for the city, the complex is also expected to provide jobs. During the racing season, there will be an estimated 50 to 75 full-time jobs and 500 part-time jobs on race Dixio-Narcoli) 'J i- i a opening weekends.

"Any town would welcome those kind of jobs and we are no exception," said Jean Morgan, a Newton City Council member. The racetrack is expected to be a seven-eighths-mile oval track with seating capacity of 25,000 permanent seats. NASCAR Nextel Cup series driver Rusty Wallace has helped design the track. The U.S. Motorsport Entertainment Corp, will petition the NASCAR sanctioning bodies for a Craftsman truck event and a Busch event.

The corporation has already had substantial discussion with four other sanctioning bodies for races in 2005, Watson said. Morgan said most residents seem supportive, although they realize there some risk involved. "We are excited to be a part of it and hoping it will be a success," she said. JADE WA r1 'Li iJ 1 MS-, UjzJ rim ana in I 4 -J- Providing innovative products that ease the work of life and enhance the joy of living. MAYTAG HJENN-AIR..