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Pandemic Claims Another Major Event

The latest casualty of the pandemic is the annual karting street races in Rock Island during the Labor Day weekend.  Wednesday organizers of the Xtream Rock Island Grand Prix announced the cancelation, blaming uncertainty over when Illinois would re-open for large events like this.

Race President Roger Ruthhart says Illinois' social distancing requirements would make it hard to keep competitors and spectators apart, there wouldn't be enough seats in local bars and restaurants for out-of-town visitors, no nightly entertainment, and many sponsors have been hurt by being closed for months. 

In addition, a survey showed only about 25 percent of the kart tracks across the country are open and racing this summer. Fifty percent of the racers said they were committed to racing at Rock Island while most others were taking a wait-and-see approach.

Last year, the Xtream Grand Prix included teams from 19 states, plus Canada and Bermuda.

A native of Detroit, Herb Trix began his radio career as a country-western disc jockey in Roswell, New Mexico (“KRSY, your superkicker in the Pecos Valley”), in 1978. After a stint at an oldies station in Topeka, Kansas (imagine getting paid to play “Louie Louie” and “Great Balls of Fire”), he wormed his way into news, first in Topeka, and then in Freeport Illinois.