The Vault
GRAVITY PARK USA – 2018
Posted on: Thursday February 11, 2021
For this week’s edition of “The Vault” we go back to a 2018 column I penned for the Appleton Post Crescent.
Bob Schneider carved this oval out for stock car races after hosting motocross races for several years at his Chilton race track. Read on about Gravity Park USA.
Bob Schneider poses next to his wife Jackie along the frontstretch wall of Gravity Park USA in Chilton. (Appleton Post Crescent photo)
Bob Schneider always wanted desperately to bring full sized stock car racing back to Chilton.
That’s because at the end of the 2009 racing season the Calumet County Racing Association (CCRA), which promoted weekly, Friday night racing at the Calumet County Fairgrounds in Chilton dissolved and weekly racing ceased at the quarter-mile, clay oval. Schneider, a local farmer and former racer, promoted a few late season specials with different partners at the fairgrounds for a few years following the absence of weekly racing.
Ironically Schneider also owned his own go kart and motocross track – Gravity Park USA – on the north side of town. Gravity Park is a privately owned and operated facility on 80 acers he owned. “We started with a go kart track in 1999 and it expanded from there,” Schneider said. “I built it initially as a place where kids could learn how to race. We just expanded everything from there. The whole time though I had the idea in the back of my head to expand to a full sized race track for stock cars.”
In 2012 Schneider put a frontstretch wall in. “I considered expanding the track then but at the time there were just too many race tracks up and and running,” Schneider pointed out. “Bob Cullen and I were promoting those specials at the fairgrounds and it was simply too labor intensive to try to run two different businesses. Plus the track needed new clay and fencing. We couldn’t justify spending all that money on a facility that we won’t own.”
From 2012 on Schneider and a loyal corps of family members kept burning the midnight oil, running Gravity Park USA’s motocross course and building a bigger third-mile, clay oval. “It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears and I won’t lie sometimes I even asked myself “Why?” during the tough times building it,” said Schneider. “And there were some bumps in the road along the way.”
A couple of things happened a few years later that prompted Schneider to push forward with his dream.
In 2016 the Manitowoc County Expo Speedway, operated by the club Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car (EWSC) closed up after Manitowoc County leaders opted to eliminate the dirt track to pave the way for a Meijer Foods store. One year later Oshkosh Speedzone, a three-eighths mile, clay oval located at Sunnyview Expo in Oshkosh closed up as Winnebago County leaders decided upon a permanent entertainment stage for a festival called Lifefest.
Two northeastern Wisconsin dirt tracks bit the dust within two years. Schneider offered a proposal to his family members. “My wife Jackie Schneider, my son Jesse Schneider and his wife Kim and Jeff Propson and his wife Kelly were my main people with this track,” Schneider said. “I said to them basically “it’s now or never” if we were ever to expand to hosting weekly stock car racing. They all agreed and said “let’s get it done.”
Running a race track in this day and age presents many more obstacles than race track promoters did 10 or 15 years ago. The base of hardcore race fans has shrunk considerably as the younger kids by and large are more content playing with their mobile devices than they are building a race car from scratch and racing it. “I am aware of that and I wouldn’t even have attempted to do this had I not raced prior,” Schneider admitted. “To be a racing promoter you need to know the business otherwise you’ll get eaten alive.”
Jackie Schneider takes care of the track’s finances while daughter Kelly is in charge of concessions. “Jesse is going to be my race director on Friday nights although he may not know that yet,” Schneider joked. Bob Schneider will handle track preparation himself while juggling many other responsibilities not only during the week but on race day as well.
Despite sub-par weather Gravity Park USA is one of the only area tracks to be able to host three practice sessions so far this year. “The feedback honestly has been very positive,” Schneider said. “They are saying (the track is) fast and smooth, and it will be exciting and will be a handful to drive. They are excited to come back to Chilton. One of the biggest reasons was to bring racing back to Chilton because we do have a big racing following in this city.” The size of the track is a third-mile on the “outside groove” according to Schneider.
One local racer who’s happy to have a track in his backyard again is Chilton’s Steve Schneider. Schneider was one of many area drivers who’ve taken part in some practice sessions at the track recently. Schneider was also a regular at the quarter-mile oval at the Calumet County Fairgrounds when it was open. “I thought the shakedown at Gravity Park went real well,” said Schneider. “I was able to race side-by-side with my brother Tom in my modified for several laps. I’d say the track itself is pretty comparable to Plymouth. Bob (Schneider) has really been working his tail off on this facility and he’s widened the track and banked the corners nicely. There were quite a few cars at the practices we were at.”
Drivers towed from as far south as Milwaukee and as far north as Wausau for the mid-week practices, which is encouraging to Schneider.
The track will host stock car races weekly Friday nights beginning May 4. There’s an interesting twist though – the track will host motocross races at the same time as the stock car races on Friday nights. “It will be a challenge splitting them up,” Schneider admitted. “We’ll have to work on things like getting the flow of parking to work. That will be huge.”
Also located on the property is the Speedway Bar and Grill with a full bar menu of food including Friday night fish fries is on tap. “Actually the public can come and dine in our club house without paying to watch the motocross,” Schneider said. “It’s relatively new but we’re working hard to get the word out.”
GRAVITY PARK NOTEBOOK – The gates open at 4 p.m. with racing getting underway at 7 p.m. The divisions that will be run weekly include modifieds, sportmods, stock cars, grand nationals, street stocks and four cylinders. Among the highlights on the track’s schedule this year are an Impact Survival Series endure May 27, a Cowbell Street Stock Tour event July 20 and The Fall Classic September 21 and 22. For more information check out the track’s website gravityparkusa.com. The GPS address is W2571 Hickory Hills Road, Chilton, Wisconsin 53014.
OUTAGAMIE OPENS – Outagamie Speedway in Seymour is looking to kick their season off Sunday May 6. The racing surface received a new surface of clay during the off season. The track’s defending champions include Seymour’s Brian Mullen (IMCA modified), Appleton’s Chas Van Ooyen (IMCA stock car), Brillion’s Travis Hansen (IMCA sportmod), Freedom’s Paul Ambrosius (street stock) and Chilton’s Mitch Meier (sport compacts). Racing gets underway at 6 p.m. at the Outagamie County Fairgrounds.
LAMBERIES WINS – Third-generation racer Lucas Lamberies of Clintonville captured the IMCA northern sportmod feature at Independence Speedway in Independence, Iowa Saturday. With the local tracks weathered out last weekend several teams traveled to ovals south to get some racing in. Defending 141 Speedway IMCA modified champion Johnny Whitman finished 2nd at Sycamore (Il.) Speedway Saturday. Menasha’s TJ Smith took third 3rd with Hortonville’s Chase Parker placing 6th
SHAWANO TOO WET– For three straight weeks the scheduled season opener for Shawano Speedway has been postponed due to weather. Shawano will try again on Saturday, May 5 at 6:30 p.m. to get their season started.
WIR PRACTICE – The annual Fox River Racing Club tech and practice day will take place Saturday at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The practice is open to cars in any division and is free to the public.
WIR TUNDRA ENTRIES – Although it’s not “Thursday Night Thunder” WIR will host its first race of the year with the TUNDRA/Krolls West super late model series under the lights Saturday, May 12. The number of entries from super late model teams continues to grow daily and a field of close to 40 teams is realistic. “Our WIR race has always been very well attended, but this year we’re hoping to see it hit the next level,” said TUNDRA’s Matt Panure, who also doubles as WIR’s track announcer. “We moved to the night race for a few reasons. The biggest reason is because it’s what the weekly fans are used to, and there isn’t much quite like a race under the lights at WIR.” Adult admission remains at $12. The late model class will also be in action. Most of the Thursday night WIR regulars will be in action for this race, including former WIR champions from Appleton Andy Monday and Jeff Van Oudenhoven along with former Red, White and Blue champions Bobby Kendall of Montello and Casey Johnson of Edgerton. Qualifying gets underway at 5:45 p.m. with the first green flag of the year flying at 7 p.m.
$10,000 REASONS – A $10,000 payday awaits the winner of the Joe Shear Classic at Madison International Speedway May 6. A handful of super late model regulars that run WIR weekly are entered in that event. Among them is dMonday, Freedom’s Kyle Calmes, Van Oudenhoven, Kendall, Seymour’s Ty Majeski and Johnson. The event signals the season opening race for the ARCA Midwest Tour. The traditional “Tuesday Biggie” Dixieland 250 will be run at WIR August 7. The Midwest Truck Series will also be in action and De Pere’s Reagan May will be competing in the Mackville Motorsports entry.
PLOVER LEFTOVERS – Appleton’s Jordan Thiel took fourth in the Thaw 101 super late model special at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover Saturday. Green Bay’s Chad Butz finished 9th, Kendall took 13th, Mackville’s Chad Devine placed 21st and Dale’s Brandon Selle finished 22nd. The race was won by Amherst’s Wyatt Brooks