Brothers Klint and Kalvin Lewis have been part of the Tri City Motor Speedway family for more than a decade, so when they had the chance to own the business, they knew they wanted to take it.
For some time, the Lewis brothers knew that Mike Blackmer was looking to possibly sell the Auburn speedway. At the end of last season, Blackmer told the Lewis brothers he wouldn’t re-open in the spring.
The pair quickly approached Blackmer and came up with an agreement for Klint and Kalvin to take over the business.
In February, the sale was finalized. The Lewis brothers quickly set an opening race day of May 2 and started making plans for growth.
Tri City Motor Speedway, located at 85 W. Wheeler Road in Auburn, is a 3/8-mile oval dirt track stock-car raceway.
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Graphic courtesy of Tri City Motor SpeedwayFor the 2025 season, many drivers are returning to the race roster. The May 2 opener includes well-known racers
Eric Spangler and Bay County’s Nick Putnam.
Along with setting the racing schedule and roster, the brothers have been working on plans for increasing interactions for and with fans.
“Our plan is to get some crowd interaction back going. I think that’s a big deal,” Lewis says.
Keeping fans interested and invested is crucial, especially to getting the younger generation involved in the sport. They’re planning kids night at the tracks, including a pedal bike race.
“What they’ll do is they’ll bring their bike to the track on that night and they’ll literally race one lap around the track on their bike.”
The evening’s events won’t just be a pedal race. Lewis also promises a bike giveaway that night.
“This is going to be a boy and a girl bike, but we’re going grab a couple of kids out of the stand and we’re going to give them a bike to go ahead and race with the kids when they race,” he says.
Classes also are in the works. Lewis is working to set up a 4- to 6-cylinder car class to get younger drivers behind the wheel.
“It is supposed to be a beginner class,” he says, and then “we’ll move up to the street stock class.”
It all begins with getting kids into the stands.
“Getting kids involved at the track is what will get them into the cars,” Lewis says, and that’s what the racing community needs. “You need the younger generation in these cars. If you don’t get the younger generation in the car at a young age, they’re never going to get interested in it.”
The brothers also are focused on growing sponsorship opportunities. Lewis is looking for local sponsors to fund prizes and sponsor the track itself.
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