thought he wanted a round track ,” Humphrey remembers . Not surprisingly , the Humphreys built it themselves using various subcontractors and held three races in 1999 , which were home runs from a business standpoint . They opened the track the following year and experienced moderate success while running a regular schedule .
Eventually , the track was shut down and it has sat idle in recent years , although plans are in place to reopen the oval track in 2021 . “ I ’ ve got some new team members who have a lot of energy and that ’ s what I need for that track ,” says Humphrey , who ’ s hopeful that the oval track will experience plenty of success in the coming years .
In addition to their racing involvement , the Humphrey family represents a significant portion of the local economy , and employs several hundred people across eight different businesses ranging from heating and air , metal manufacturing , plumbing , to home building and rental property .
“ People ask me what I do and I always tell them I haven ’ t got it figured out yet ! All I know is I wear a round hat and it ’ s constantly turning ,” laughs Humphrey , who along with his sister , Wanda Flood , oversees the various businesses within their team .
As their dragstrip involvement is rapidly approaching the 50-year mark , Humphrey hardly contemplates retirement . “ Life is a journey and my goal is to keep marching forward ,” he concludes . DI
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