Toby Kruse content at Marshalltown Speedway

I spoke with Toby Kruse this morning on the phone. He was very gracious and professional as expected. He did not want to make a statement or comment about leaving the Knoxville Raceway. Toby resigned, he learned a lot, has no regrets, but only he knows what those reasons are.

Right now his plan is to continue growing the Marshalltown Speedway where he still has seven years left on his contract there and he intends to fulfill that contract to the best of his ability. Marshalltown is home for Toby Kruse and I look for that track and facility to grow, and over the past decade it has grown by leaps and bounds thanks to Toby and a few other racers in town that pitched in (I think Ken and David Hesmer helped tremendously to keep it open years ago.) And Marshalltown Speedway will host their last event of the season this Friday and Saturday, the 6th Annual Havoc on the Highbanks.

This conversation went as expected. Toby is always willing to communicate but he isn’t going to say anything negative or open the doors to speculate. He said he has heard a lot of rumors himself and we had a laugh about that. He has no plans of leaving for another job anywhere else, but he does help promote the IMCA Modified event at Las Vegas each year in November and this will be his twelfth year there. He is also looking to possibly add 305 sprints to the Marshalltown schedule in 2013 for just one or two shows.

I honestly think Toby is content with running Marshalltown and growing that facility and running his restaurant, Toby K’s Hideway in Boone which is his hometown. So sad to see him leave Knoxville. Looking forward I think Knoxville will be fine and now it’s time to turn the page and support the next person in those big shoes at Knoxville. And I will for sure continue to support the Marshalltown Speedway, which is the best little quarter-mile (high banked) dirt track in Iowa.