McKean County Fair Association obtains lease through 2024 racing season

Smethport, Pennsylvania – The McKean County Fair Association along with Kurt and Bonnie Stebbins of Wellsville, New York, announce the re-opening of McKean County Raceway with plans to host events during late summer and fall of 2023 and a full racing season in 2024.

The Fair Association has made a dedicated effort to revive the raceway that has sat dormant since the end of the 2021 racing season. “We, as a board, are thrilled to come to an agreement with Kurt and Bonnie,” said Tanya Okerlund, McKean County Fair Association president. “I believe that the terms of the lease and tentative future plans for the raceway will be beneficial to all parties involved as well as the community.”

The board recognized that improvements needed to be made to the track and committed to making an investment in conjunction with this new lease agreement. Christy Burkhouse, Treasurer for the Association noted, “After much discussion, the board was able to agree on a cost-effective plan to make the needed improvements to the track, which are currently in progress.”  Bonnie Stebbins added, “After we do track configurations, add clay and get everything ready to open, we will post dated on the McKean County Raceway page and across social media.” Stebbins continued, “We are pretty dedicated people and will give it 100% to see this track come back to life. It’s truly a beautiful facility.”

The Stebbins’ are no stranger to dirt track racing with Kurt spending more than 15 years on the track himself, even winning the championship with his street stock at McKean County Raceway in 2014 during his first full season there. Additionally, the duo has owned and operated KB Speedway, a go-kart track in Wellsville, New York, since 2016 and currently promote Genesee Speedway/Genesee Kartway in Batavia, New York. Upon re-opening, six racing classes are planned to take place on the 1/3-mile track at McKean County Raceway, including crate late model, promod, pure stock, mini stock, street stock and kid’s mini stock.

For additional information regarding racing at McKean County Raceway, please contact Bonnie Stebbins at 585-596-9995. For additional information regarding the McKean County Fair Association, please contact the fair office at 814-887-5361