BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — Start your engines – the second full season of racing at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds is underway.
Drivers hit the track for the first races of the year on Thursday night.
While many residents say they’re happy to see the events return, some neighbors are worried about another season of dust.
Don Groninger doesn’t mind the races but said the cleanup is annoying.
"Why is everything so dirty?" he asked. "It does suck; it just travels. Especially how the wind blows too, that makes it worse."
"We have dust all over our cars, dust all over our house," added Dana Zajac, whose property backs up to the fairgrounds. "I have a Yorkie, who’s a fluffy dog. He comes in after the races, sneezing. We had to replace two air conditioners because the dust gets in them."
Zajac is concerned about the noise, saying weeknight races keep her family up.
"Races during the week are miserable because once again, I have to get my kids to bed, and I have to get to bed because I work," she said.
Bloomsburg Fair Grandstand Superintendent Brian Wawroski said it’s been a learning process.
"We came out last year, brand new. So, we’ve changed a lot of things," he said. "We’re in town here, so we want to be good stewards of keeping the dust down and trying to get the show over with at a reasonable time."
Wawroski said this season is going to be different; fairgrounds officials are making changes to address some of the issues brought up by the townspeople.
That includes making changes to the race track; bringing in an expert to help keep the dust down.
"We did add some new clay to it, and track prep is the key that we’re learning," Wawroski said. "We’re actually working with a dirt guy."
This year, race officials are enforcing muffler regulations on all sprint cars, hoping to reduce the rumble.
"We did have a car out on a test one night this week, and it went down by 20%," Wawroski said. "We’re hoping that’s what we’re going to see again."
Racing continues throughout the spring and summer, with nine more events scheduled for the 2022 season.
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