Brownstown Speedway
Price ready to move on from Brownstown promotion
By Bryan Ault
DirtonDirt contributing writer
Brownstown promoter Jim Price. (Ryan Roberts photo)
BROWNSTOWN, Ind. (Sept. 25) — Jim Price will step down as Brownstown Speedway’s promoter at the end of the 2026 racing season at the quarter-mile oval situated on the Jackson County Fairgrounds, and he looks back during his 13-year run with no regrets.
Price’s greatest source of pride during his tenure is providing an anchor track for weekend warriors in southern Indiana to turn laps in an era when several tracks are closing their gates. | RaceWire
“I would say keeping the Late Models alive is basically the main thing,” Price said before Friday’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned C.J. Rayburn Memorial won by home-track favorite Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind. “Of course, it’s always been a Late Model track. That was handed to me, but just to try to finesse that and keep them alive. Believe it or not, I think it’s starting to grow back a little bit.”
Matt Boknecht, a member of the Jackson County Fair Board and former Modified ace who now races regularly in the full-fendered division, credits Price for doing just that.
“You know, what’s most impressive about Jim when he took this job as the promoter, he didn’t have an (extensive) dirt background, but he always provides a smooth racetrack for us,” Boknecht said. “Sometimes it might be faster than some people want or whatever, but it’s always been smooth. That’s been the most impressive thing I found.”
That doesn’t mean promotional duties at the famed oval have been easy. Price likens promoting to riding a volatile rollercoaster, with several ups and downs.
“It’s tough when you first start, but, after three or four years, you don’t care,” Price said. “That’s just part of it. But when you first start, boy, it’s butterflies in your stomach because you can’t take a (financial) hit. But luckily, we’ve not had too many, and thats good.”
Price is a 58-year-old native of Salem, Ind., who spent five seasons racing at tracks like Brownstown and Florence Speedway in Union, Ky. He started off in the mini-stock division in 2007, then purchased a Crate Late Model and advanced to Super Late Models before hanging up the helmet in 2012. He took over Brownstown’s promotional duties in the middle of 2013 as a way to fix his racing habit.
“I knew I was gonna go broke racing,” Price said with a grin. “I was probably gonna go broke promoting, but that's the reason I switched. And it scratches the itch. You know, there's no way to just quit racing, I don't think. And doing this, I don't even think it completely cured my habit.”
In addition to purchasing new track-prep equipment, Price oversaw installation of fresh clay, which created banking in the bullring’s turns. Brownstown’s corners were much flatter than they are today, providing a slower surface during heat races and time trials. The new banking quickened the pace, with most divisions lowering track records significantly in 2021; Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., now holds the Super Late Model record of 12.509.
“They would get upset if it wasn’t banked,” Price said. “Every year I hear somebody, ‘Did you take some banking out?’ Yeah. Don’t look like it wasn’t. No, it’s pretty much the way it was.”
Price and Brownstown developed a special bond with the Lucas Oil Series and its officials, stepping up when the series needed it. In 2024, the Jackson 100’s late-September date rained out, but Hurricane Helene brought heavy rains to East Bay Raceway Park’s finale in October, a race on the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship, so the series needed an extra race to run ahead of the season-ending Dirt Track World Championship at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Brownstown filled the gap, putting the Jackson 100 back on the schedule on Oct. 12 and taking a significant risk for a $50,000-to-win show.
For his efforts, Lucas Oil Series race director Rick Schwallie recognized Price during the tour’s annual banquet in Indianapolis in December, naming him the tour’s Promoter of the Year.
“It’s been great,” Price said, his eyes lighting up when mentioning the Lucas Oil crew. “There’s nothing easier than Rick and his bunch. I mean, he didn’t know me from Adam, and I didn’t know him. This is our biggest race of our year. That’s been the easiest thing, probably in the whole ordeal. I love them guys. I mean, I love working with them. There’s never a disagreement of any kind.”
Along with a new promoter next year, Brownstown will receive a bit of a facelift at the end of the 2027 season. The covered grandstands will be completely renovated following the 48th annual running of the Jackson 100 in September, and it’s a move Boknecht says has been the highest priority.
“The No. 1 thing is the grandstands,” said Boknecht, who is the grandstands president on the fair board. “Tear that grandstands down and build a new grandstands, and that’s a big project, which it needs it. You know, that one’s been there since the mid-‘50s, and time has definitely shown its wear to it. Yeah, so we’re ready for it.
“But that's a huge undertaking. We’re just putting all our effort concentration on the grandstands, trying to come up with something that’s really nice and still somewhat affordable. I mean, we got the County helping us, we’ve got some grant money, we’ve got some donors lined up. It takes everybody to do something like that.”
Boteknecht said Mike Knight of Brownstown is verbally committed to being the new promoter starting in 2027. While Price said he plans to “do absolutely nothing” for six months and take a much-needed breather, he’ll be around at the track next season to give Knight a soft landing.
“I come in here, jumped in with both feet, no help or nothing,” Price said. “And it’s all self-taught. I mean, I had one, maybe two races of instruction from (former promoter) Tim (Keithley). And then when he left, it was just me and the guys I brought in. It was my crew members from the Late Model team.
“And I learned it all myself, but I won’t do Mike that way. I’ll be here as long as he needs me. I’m not gonna be here and get in his way, for sure. If he needs something, I’ll be here to help him.”
