PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — Grassroots racing has a charm to it. Robert Yoho can recall working at Showtime Speedway in Pinellas County as a kid.
“I was a vendor here saying ‘Coke’ ‘Pepsi’ sold them for a quarter apiece and then I went in the military I did my time,” Yoho said.
Yoho joined the Army, served four tours overseas and when he finished his service, he came back to what he knew best: Showtime.
“Came back 20 years later and it was closed down… I made a bid… and I’ve been here since 2011,” Yoho said.
Now Yoho owns the track in a joint agreement with the state of Florida, which owns the land.
But the lights went out at Showtime a couple of times in recent years. COVID shut down the track during the pandemic.
Then in 2024, after hurricanes Helene and Milton, Duke Energy took over the track for their trucks. Later, FEMA used the grounds as a landfill for 90 days. Yoho said the track still hasn’t recovered.
“I understand it, but when COVID came in and killed your crowd and you’re trying to get back to where you were and then they stop and do that again, I still have people stop over here and dump garbage, out in the parking lot, anywhere, they think it’s a landfill,” Yoho said.
Well, it’s not a landfill anymore. The track is open and hosted the Outlaw Figure 8 World Finals earlier this month.
Mark Tunny has won this Outlaw Figure 8 title six times, the most of any driver. He wasn’t going to miss the chance to get No. 7.
“$10,000 and the bragging rights, obviously,” Tunny said when asked what the stakes are for this race. “We come down from Indiana every year, every February, and we look forward to this. Grassroots racing — I don’t think you find anything better than that… I don’t care what NASCAR fans have to say. F1. IndyCar. No, the short track racing with the guys that got money on their line, whether it’s their bank account or their sponsors’ money — I think that’s where you get the best racing.”
That is why Yoho worked so hard to re-open this track; there is culture here. These drivers take time off their day jobs to race.
Yoho, the owner of the track, throws on a fire suit and races from time to time as well.
“I didn’t get to race when I was little. Now all my friends that raced when they were little are watching me race as I’m older,” Yoho said.
Auto racing is at a pivotal moment for the sport. It has been a struggle to attract new fans. But the fans they do have still absolutely love it. There were kids running figure eights around trash cans during the intermission.
“We’re having a ton of fun out here at Showtime Speedway. It’s so much fun running around and watching the cars go round,” young racing fan Cooper Meyer said.
“We love it here, you got the beach down the road and like I said we can’t do any racing at home in February so we come down here we all get sunburnt we all have a real good time and go racing,” Tunny said.
This track, which opened in 1960, has entertained generations of race fans. Through multiple closures and name changes, Showtime Speedway keeps finding a way to put on a show.
Michael Epps
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