The subject of historic race track resurrection has been in the racing news lately with North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina reopening to great fanfare and now will be hosting the NASCAR All-Star Race in 2023.

We don’t have to go all the way to North Carolina to experience the rebirth of a race track. Brookfield Speedway in Madison County has come back to life. And the 2023 season is looking rosy.

Earlier this month Brookfield Speedway — tucked away in the eastern end of Madison County — had its final race of 2022.

I had never attended a race at Brookfield. Everything I had heard was that the track was rough and dusty. So much so that some drivers were unwilling to go back if something wasn’t done about the racing surface.

The track is located on the fairgrounds of Madison County. When I was at the Madison County Fair this past summer I got a good look at the track and the old grandstand with a corrugated metal roof.

My three thoughts were: “Where are the lights around the track?” “How can cars possibly race around this track?” and “Wow, the things this grandstand has seen.”

This is where Brett Deyo, the genius behind Utica-Rome Speedway’s success since taking over the track in 2021, comes into the picture.

If you remember, Deyo replaced all the old lights at Utica-Rome Speedway in the offseason with new LED lighting. The lights that were removed from U-R Speedway now have a new life at Brookfield Speedway.

“We put together a discount rate on the lights to help Madison County Fairgrounds,” Deyo said.

Next, Jamie Friesen, the man responsible for preparing the smooth fast surface at U-R Speedway each week “volunteered his time to get the track (Brookfield) reshaped.”

Friesen worked his magic and the track was remarkable, compared to what I saw at the fair, weeks prior.

Talking to some teams in the pits, the general consensus was that the track had been transformed and whatever surface they raced on before the September race was completely revamped.

My goal in visiting the track for the September race was seeing race cars jetting down the front stretch in front of the remarkable grandstand.

The “regular” show of sportsman, pro stocks, street stock and four cylinders was joined by vintage modified in a non-competitive 20-lap celebration around the famed track.

The good news with Deyo’s involvement with the track is that he will be “working with Josh (Walker, president of the Madison County Fair) with marketing and scheduling next season.”

Deyo also said his team “will also be servicing the track with fuel and tires next season.”

It was completely refreshing to have experienced the race and the aura of the slightly updated old venue. The charm of the old track and the magnificent grandstand can easily win over a family hoping to embrace some of the nostalgia that brings old racers back to the track week after week. Tracks like Brookfield Speedway is where racing was born in the northeast.

Be watching for a 2023 schedule for historic Brookfield Speedway.