Tim Grunhard to build racetrack in River Bend...

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Race track planned

Would be major boost for River Bend

By James Dornbrook
The Examiner
In a historic move for the tiny village, officials of River Bend in northern Jackson County made a major league deal resulting in the construction of a brand new race track.

River Bend Raceway Park will be built on the northwest corner of Missouri 291 and Missouri 210, right across the street from River Bend Mayor Ron Wheeler's house.

The raceway will have a 3/8 mile asphalt track with a 16-degree bank. There will be races for late models, modified and street models on Saturdays, with super truck, pony stock and legends cars on Wednesdays.

Seating in the grand stand will hold 4,500. There will be a total capacity of about 10,000, once berm seating is included.

The major shareholder in the project is Tim Grunhard, former Pro Bowl center for the Kansas City Chiefs and an avid racing fan. He has formed a partnership with Scott Pennington of Liberty, who formerly handled events and promotions at the I-70 Speedway near Odessa. Pennington will be the operations manager at the new River Bend Raceway.

"After Tim retired from football and I separated my ties with I-70 Speedway, he asked me what I was going to do now. I said jokingly that I was going to build a racetrack," Pennington said. "He asked if I was serious, because if I was, he wanted to be a part of it. I thought about it for a little while and said yes. We've been working on this for about two years now, doing all the research and planning that's involved with building a racetrack."

Planning is still ongoing, but the finish line appears to be getting closer. They are shooting for a groundbreaking sometime this coming spring. The projected opening for the track is currently March 2005.

"We feel like we've got a great location. There's been a lot of interest from fans, business people, drivers, and car owners in this area," Pennington said. "Everybody has been excited about this project and trying to keep tabs on what's going on. I think it is because right now there's only one place for the asphalt guys to race and that is I-70 Speedway."

Pennington said the whole planning process has been exciting, but tedious.

"It's taking a long time, but we wanted to be sure everything is done right," he said.

To reach James Dornbrook e-mail james.dornbrook@examiner.net or call (816) 350-6322.

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