The green flag is about to drop on one of the longest schedules in the history of Brown County Speedway.

The season opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at the local track. It will mark one of the earliest starts ever for racing action at the facility.

“It’s probably the earliest it’s been at least since I’ve been around here,” said veteran promoter Terry Voeltz, who serves on the five-member Motorsports LLC that runs the track.

He said in the past, horse races prevented racing from taking place in May. He also noted that with frequent rain, it causes other issues related to racing.

“All you do is tear up the track, tear up equipment. You don’t get the crowd, because it’s cold and rainy and things like that,” Voeltz said. “But we just thought this year we’d give it a shot.”

Voeltz said the track was in prime form at a test and tune event last Friday, but that the biggest variable when it comes to setting up a track is unpredictable moisture.

“A lot of it is timing,” Voeltz said. “If you get the rain at the wrong time, then there’s nothing you can do. You might as well forget about it.”

Voeltz is excited about the upcoming season, pointing out several changes that will take place.

For starters, the annual Rumble in July will have a bit of a different look. Instead of $10,000 going to the winner of a 66-lap feature, the money will be split up during the doubleheader of racing action.

“This year we’re going to do two Challenge Series races, one Friday night for 3,000 to win and one Saturday night for 3,000 to win,” Voeltz said. “And then after that’s over on the same Saturday night, we’re going to have the Rumble championship feature for 6,000 to win.”

That race will feature 16 cars running 40 laps. Cars will qualify for the feature through passing points in the Challenge Series races. Not only that, but sprint cars will also be a part of the second night of racing.

Voeltz said that while he will miss the old format, sometimes change is needed to keep things fresh.

“When you do things, it seems like – unless it’s the Kentucky Derby, or the Daytona 500, or the World Series or the Super Bowl – it just seems like things wear off after a while and you have to mix things up a little bit to keep things interesting,” Voeltz said.

The other new thing on the schedule will be a Triple Crown Series where drivers in nearly all divisions will compete for points at three area tracks: Brown County Speedway as well as Miller and Watertown.

“Anybody can win it. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Late Model or a Modified, a Midwest Mod or a Street Stock driver,” Voeltz said.

Super Stock drivers will not be eligible because Casino Speedway in Watertown does not offer that class of racing.

Voeltz said there will be designated nights where drivers will be able to compete for points. The eventual winner, regardless of the class will receive $5,000 with payouts going back to six places.

“It’s trying to help the guys who are traveling and also trying to promote guys to travel a little bit for Watertown Casino and Miller Central,” Voeltz said of the mini-series. “You always have to take care of your locals first, otherwise you’re not going to have a program.”

He thinks it will be popular with the drivers, because literally guys from four different classes will be competing against each other to win the triple crown.

“It’s going to be kind of fun, I think,” Voeltz said.

The racing season is scheduled to conclude in September with a doubleheader to start the month and another to end the month.

Put it all together and there will be no shortage of racing action for drivers and fans alike this year at Brown County Speedway.

“This is probably one of the longest seasons that we’ve had for quite a while as far as a number of dates and stuff starting this early,” Voeltz said. “We’re looking forward to it. We’re excited about it.”