Ransomville Speedway

The track is a member of DIRT Motorsports, a group of at least 16 New York State tracks that race with the same rules for Pro Stock, 358 Modified and Sportsman classes, providing racers with a variety of venues on any given weekend. Other shows at Ransomville include Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks/Pro 4 Trucks and the occasional demolition derby. Thursday nights the track runs a Go-Kart program, and it occasionally hosts a Rollover Contest, which Joel describes as hilarious.

Each New Year's Day the track runs the Hangover 150 Enduro. Unseasonably warm (46 degrees) weather in 2007 brought out a standing-room-only crowd and 244 entrants. Classes for four-, six- and eight-cylinder cars run 50 laps each.

"It's the 'funnest' day of the year," says Trish Friesen, Joel's wife. "We don't charge admission, just a food donation for the food bank. The food bank says we stock them for four months. Our concession stands are open but there are so many people we can't feed them all. They bring leftover Christmas food and tailgate. It's pure joy."

Jim Mullen of Performance Video tapes the races and sells the videos at the track. His daughter, Alyssa, runs in the Go-Kart program which he calls "Little League for racers."

"It brings in young drivers," he says, and points out that five kids in the Karting program moved up to Street Stocks recently. One such graduate of the Go-Kart program is Joel's nephew, Stewart Friesen, who won the New Yorker 200 at Utica-Rome in September 2007 and took home a check for $10,000.

The latest class at Ransomville is the Fire Hall Enduro. The brainchild of Dave Rinker, a pit steward at the track, the class pits local fire companies against each other five times a season. Teams that claim the three top positions in points split $1,000 for their fire halls and $1,000 for the charities of their choice. The real prize, of course, is bragging rights. The rules prohibit anyone who has raced in the last two years from entering, so it has brought a lot of new visitors to Ransomville, with 26 drivers and the fan following they bring with them.

"The crowds fall off after Labor Day," Joel says. That's when each division has its championship. Each subsequent weekend is the finale for a different series, ending with a 100-lap Enduro on the last weekend.

Weather in Western New York is legendary, with winters that are long, snowy, and bitterly cold, followed by hot, humid summers. But weather was surprisingly not a big problem for the dirt track last season. "We only had two dates we couldn't run this year," Joel says. "It's been 10 (lost dates) other years. I don't even like to talk about it."

This is where sponsorship comes in. Ransomville Speedway's help includes a sponsored coloring contest and a year-end banquet. Joel points out that when the weather is a factor and attendance is down, sponsorship money can smooth out the economic bumps.

Joel is proud that the track has run successfully for the last 35 years. "A lot of tracks are being bought by big businesses that plow money from their businesses into the track," he says. Ransomville, meanwhile, is self-supporting. "Of course, we don't pay ourselves (wages). If we did, we'd probably be working for about 35 cents an hour." If there's anything left at the end of the year the family splits a dividend.

The track employs 55 people on race day, with three full-time employees, including an office staffer in charge of PR and marketing, and two grounds-keepers. "If a sponsor calls on a Tuesday and wants to talk, somebody needs to be there to answer his questions," Joel says. "It's just good business."

Even though he says he's at the track almost every day but Sunday, Joel and most of his family have "day" jobs, coming to the track after work from St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada. "It takes about 45 minutes," Joel says, "including the border crossing." Working a full day, driving 45 minutes each way, and showing up six days a week makes for some very long days.