DIALED IN
HOOSIER STATE HIT
the track. “In the eyes of the sponsors and the
racers, I knew I had to get the perception back
that we were going to do what we say we’re going
to do,” states Daniels, who also embarked on an
aggressive plan to provide his racers with a clean,
fair and fun place to race. They also hired Rodney
Williams as marketing and operations manager,
which has proven to be a great asset in helping
the Daniels achieve their goals for Muncie.
Although Daniels is an avid drag racer him-
self, buying a drag strip wasn’t exactly a lifelong
dream, but more of a business opportunity that
he and Dawn decided to grab by the horns and see
what they could do with it. “Dawn is very hands
on and handles the books, gate and concessions
and I handle the track,” Daniels says. They live
roughly 50 miles north of the track in the town
of Huntington, where Scott owns and operates
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an auto repair shop and tire store. “We stay very
busy between the track and the shop.”
He’s not too busy, however, to entertain the fans
at Muncie by climbing into his monkey costume
and throwing prizes into the stands. It’s part of
the family-friendly atmosphere that he has suc-
cessfully brought back to Muncie.
“The way the whole monkey costume happened
was when we went to have t-shirts made right af-
ter we bought the track, the guy we dealt with had
previously handled marketing for a major busi-
ness and he told us that every successful business
has a mascot, so we came up with the ‘Muncie
Monkey!’” Daniels laughs. He also installed a nice
playground for the kids, giving them something
safer to do than cruising the pits and return road
on a scooter.
The one thing Daniels says surprised him the
most about owning a drag strip is the amount of
time that’s required to make it successful. “There’s
a lot of racers that have the perception that all you
do is swing open the gate and start taking money,
but let me tell you, that’s not it at all! There’s
constantly work to be done and improvements
to be made and sponsors to talk to.”
After five years of ownership, the Daniels are
pleased with the successful turnaround that’s
taken place at their local track. Muncie Drag-
way is in operation three times per week, be-
ginning with a Wednesday night test-and-tune
session. “We also do trophy racing on that night
with three different classes: Slick Tire, Street
and Motorcycle. It’s a dial-in-style race that we
hold every Wednesday, so that the racers can get
some competition instead of just going down the
track side by side,” Daniels says. Wednesday’s