Travis Kissinger joins Pulaski County Motorsports Park as track manager By Nate Van Wagnen

In early May , Motor Mile Speedway & Dragway announced a new name for the balance of the 2023 season , Pulaski County Motorsports Park . As a post on the Shelor Motor Mile Facebook page noted , the track ’ s ownership didn ’ t change , and Mark Ebert ’ s Speedway Management LLC still holds the lease through the end of the 2023 season . But one change that did go along with the new name was the addition of Kissinger as the Dragway Track Manager .

“ The inspiration behind becoming the track manager for the newly named Pulaski County Motorsports Park was to give my fellow racers a safe place that they would enjoy spending their

time at ,” Kissinger says . “ The future of the track was uncertain if someone didn ’ t take it on . This track is home to me and these racers are my family . Of course , I would love to be out there racing with them battling for a third track championship , but I had to see beyond that . I was willing to sacrifice my racing so that everyone else would be able to .”

Track management is an entirely new venture for Kissinger , who ’ s worked at Volvo Trucks North America for the last 10 years . He ’ s currently a robotics engineer in the paint department at Volvo ’ s Virginia assembly plant , though he ’ s also held management-type positions there that could play into his new role .

Kissinger will also lean on his experience as a local racer to inform his decisions as the new track manager .

“ My ultimate goal as the track manager is to bring the track back to the life that it originally had ,” Kissinger says . “ Of course , it is going to be an uphill battle – there is so much work that goes into it that most people don ’ t see . A lot of hours are put into this to make it right for everyone . At the end of the day , safety is my No . 1 priority . If I can get the racers back to their families at the end of an event , I feel as if I have succeeded .

“ I also look forward to working directly with the IHRA to bring sanctioned events back to the track ,” Kissinger adds . “ Pulaski County Motorsports Park will be hosting the IHRA Division 1 Bracket Finals later this year . We look forward to having all of the local tracks come together to compete for a spot in the World Finals .”

As much as Kissinger would like to be racing in the Bracket Finals himself , he ’ s willing to sit this one out to make an impact in a different capacity .

“ In this role I won ’ t be able to race as much as I would like ,” Kissinger admits , “ but as I mentioned before , that was a sacrifice that I was willing to make for the benefit of the other racers . I may still try to make it to a few bigmoney Footbrake races if my schedule allows for it , though .”

While he ’ s just about a month into his new role , Kissinger has already received support from the local racing community , as well as from his family and friends .

“ Thank you to the racers that have supported and believed in me taking on this role ,” Kissinger says . “ I would also like to thank my wife , Kay , for stepping in to help me . She has put in a lot of time to keep things organized and planned as they should be . She ’ s actually going to be my assistant track manager for the remainder of the year . Lastly , none of this would be possible without God . He leads me in every decision I make in life ; all glory goes to Him .” DI

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRIS SEARS

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