Numerous drivers sung the praises of the Niss Family, Mansfield Speedway, and track owner Matt Tifft following the Blaster 57 Special finale on Saturday night.

After poor track conditions on Friday night that received quite a bit of criticism, Tifft along with car owners and chassis builders Mark Richards and David Wells went to work overnight and into the morning to get the surface better prepared for Saturday night and their hard work paid off with an exciting Blaster 57 Special finale that saw the Niss Family increase the winner’s purse to $100,057 from $57,000.

Drivers took notice and shared their praise for the contributions and the hard work. Chris Madden shared this morning in a post to Facebook, “What a weekend, and what an incredible example of the racing community coming together for an amazing outcome. First and foremost, thank you to the Niss family for putting up the additional money. That kind of support means the world to the racers and teams who pour so much into this sport, and it was truly appreciated by every competitor.”

“A huge thank you as well to Matt Tifft and the entire Mansfield Speedway crew for putting on a first-class event and creating an atmosphere that showcased everything great about dirt racing,” he continued. “Finally, thank you to David Wells and Mark Richards for stepping in and helping out when it mattered most. Their willingness to support the event speaks volumes about their character. Gestures like this are a reminder that while we compete fiercely on the track, the racing community is filled with people who genuinely care about the sport and each other. Weekends like this prove why dirt racing has the best fans, competitors, and supporters anywhere.”

Bobby Pierce, who was one of the more outspoken critics of the track on Friday night, also shared in a post ahead of the race on Saturday, “Everyone by now knows I wasn’t happy with the track quality yesterday regarding safety and car maintenance, but I appreciate Matt as a fellow racer and promoter for taking our concerns seriously. The track crew & other volunteers have been working hard to fix it, and we are hopeful for much better racing conditions tonight.”

Race winner Nick Hoffman shared, “My first 6 figure payday!!! Unbelievable. Thanks to the Niss Family for putting up the extra money to make it $100,057 to win. Still hard to put it into words. Thanks everyone involved. I will make a separate post later. I drove straight back home over night.”

G.R. Smith Motorsports, which fields Drake Troutman’s car, posted, “Big shout out to Mansfield Speedway & World of Outlaws Late Model Series. I think history was made with back to back $100,000 to win races!

Even the make up races at Eldora had a qualifying day in between! But to race for $200,000 plus to win over back to back nights is a huge statement! With time and races everything will go smoother but for coming out of the gate strong I’m thankful that Mansfield is back! Next up for the Outlaws is another track I hope all the fans get out and support West Virginia Motor Speedway,” the team concluded.

Hudson O’Neal, who finished third on Saturday night, wrote, “The track was racey tonight! Thanks to everyone here at Mansfield for all their hard work getting this place back up and running! Super cool to see how far it’s came! Congrats to Hoffman on the W! See everyone at Eldora Speedway Wednesday!”

Dustin Sorensen also gave kudos to the track and everyone involved with the event, “Shout out to everyone who helped put this awesome paying event together, as well as everyone who worked on the track to get it much better Saturday.”

Max Blair also praised the track prep work, “Track was much better [than] night 1. They put a ton of work into trying to make it as good as possible for the racers and fans. The facility is 2nd to none. We have no doubt that Matt and team will get the racing surface figured out.”

Tifft also sang praises for the teams and car owners in a post-race video on Sunday morning, “We worked tirelessly to get this track right for last night. I’m not going to say it was perfect, but it put on one hell of a show. It had a little character to it. You can see here where we’re starting to lay down some rubber. We have a couple of rough spots in here. Still things we’ve got to work on. It’s race number three on the surface. But I cannot thank all the teams, car owners, and everybody who stepped in to help us get this thing ready.”

The track will host the FAST 410 Sprint Cars and Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series (BOSS) series on June 26th and 27th. Both series will also return later in the year for the track’s Oktoberfest Sprint Car Special on September 18th and 19th.

Additionally, the track will host the Super DIRTcar Series big block modified on Tuesday, August 11th for a $12,000 to-win race. They will also have the Great Lakes Super Sprints, a regional winged 360 sprint car series, on August 28th.

NEXT: Nick Hoffman Wins 57 Special At Mansfield, Claims First Six-Figure Payday