FORT WAYNE, Ind. — “Returning indoor racing to prominence at the Memorial Coliseum” was the goal that Ohio native Tony Barhorst announced when he and Jack Calabrase joined forces to present their first Rumble in Fort Wayne in 1998.
This weekend, Dec. 29-30, will mark the Silver Anniversary of that venture that has kept the Memorial Coliseum in the forefront of offseason indoor racing.
“Jack and I were aware of the history of indoor racing on the hockey rink floor of the coliseum, which came to an end in 1989 as construction began on the adjoining Expo Center,” Barhorst said. “He owned the popular NAMARS midget group and I came from a promotionally oriented family, so the two of us got together after seeing the completion of the Expo Center and agreed that it was time to get the wheels back turning during the winter in Fort Wayne.”
It took several weeks of banter between the two before it was finally determined that the duo would tackle the venture which has turned into a welcome and anticipated mid-winter event for starved race fans.
It was a challenge, for sure.
“The biggest obstacle for me was literally constructing a race track on an empty concrete floor inside of a massive building. Concrete barriers and fencing with posts and cable had to be obtained and trucked in,” recalled Barhorst.
Russ Gamester won the final event on the hockey floor in 1989 and Tony Ellliott captured the first race inside the Expo Center in 1998.
“Special moments that stand out are when Tony Stewart came in to observe and ended up competing when John Heydenreich let him borrow his Wild Goose midget,” remembered Barhorst. “We started Tony as a promoter’s option at the rear of the field. The feature was 100 laps back then and Tony sliced his way through traffic to take the lead. The exhibition brought a tear to the eye of many a veteran driver watching. However, he hit an infield tire and flipped the car on lap 64. Tony Elliott went on to win his second in a row of the first two races in 1998 and 1999.”
Barhorst sold his dream to Larry Boos in 2015. Boos continues the Ft. Wayne tradition into this year’s 25th round with two full days and nights of action presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales on the purpose-built sixth-mile concrete oval inside of the Expo Center.
Tickets for the race may be purchased on race days at the Coliseum and the event will be broadcast live by SPEED SPORT affiliate Pit Row TV.