Sandhills Open Road Challenge Brings Racers, Families, and Economic Development to Arnold

When Joe Shown inches his Corvette to the starting line at the Sandhills Open Road Challenge, he pinches his wrist to be sure the race is really happening. Shown has competed in all 25 annual races. Yet he still can’t believe his far-fetched idea has developed into a summer tradition in the small town of Arnold, Nebraska.

Every year, on the second weekend of August, approximately 150 contestants from across the nation (and even Canada) gather in rural Nebraska for the Sandhills Open Road Challenge. They race on a two-lane country road that winds 29 miles north from Arnold to Dunning, and then 26 miles back driving on rough pavement. Over a quarter-century, the annual event has impacted Arnold and the surrounding communities by generating nearly $2 million through the nonprofit that organizes the race. This has been put back into the community through public services, city improvements, and supporting local education.

S-curves and a pipe dream

Shortly after moving to the Sandhills to work as a recruiter for the U.S. Army Reserve, Shown had a meeting scheduled in the town of Dunning. “I always used to look for different ways to get from point A to point B, and I saw on the map there was a little road that ran north out of Arnold to Dunning,” he explained. He took the route, and when he reached the top of Judkins Hill he was stunned by the beautiful panorama of the Nebraska Sandhills.

“At the top of the hill there is a series of S-curves or—in racing jargon—‘chicanes,’” he said. They brought to his mind an article he had read about a Formula One world champion who had honed his skills by driving the curved blacktop roads in Scotland. When Shown saw the Sandhills terrain he thought, Wow, this is just like what he was talking about! He imagined how incredible it would be to shut down the road and race cars on it. But for the time being he set aside the idea as a pipe dream.

Why can’t you do it in Nebraska?

Years later, after Shown retired, he decided to buy a 1991 ZR-1 Corvette in Hartington, Nebraska. He had some disposable income, and he wanted to drive a car like the one he used to race for fun in his younger years. As he was coming home after purchasing the Corvette, he decided to take the back road from Dunning to Arnold. Cruising along the scenic byway revived his idea of hosting a road race. I know in Nevada they closed a road for a racing event, Shown thought. If you can do it in Nevada, why can’t you do it in Nebraska?

That evening he met local bar owner Jim Pelton at the downtown bar and asked how to make his dream a reality. “Don Olson,” Pelton replied, referring him to the man whose support would be needed to approve the race. “His name is in the Gothenburg phone directory.”

A sold-out event for 20+ years

Shown made the call. Olson—who was county supervisor—listened, but he was skeptical of Shown’s idea. Even so, he encouraged Shown to present the idea to the county commissioners. After pitching the race to them, Shown and a group of supporters shifted their efforts into high gear. They got permission from landowners along the route, organized community meetings, and tirelessly sought to demonstrate the viability of such a large event. Their work paid off; the community agreed to try it.

One stipulation from the county supervisors was that a race director with experience was needed. “We had a gentleman come out by the name of Gary Patterson, now the president of Shelby American,” explained Clay Mohr, who is board president for the Sandhills Open Road Challenge. Gary Patterson had organized a similar race in Nevada. “He was one of those guys who wasn’t afraid. We weren’t afraid to listen and bring people who had that same passion. That’s what’s really allowed this to work and grow.”

They needed 30 cars the first year to show that the event was viable. “Our first year we got 36 cars,” explained Shown. “The next year we had 54 cars, the third year we had 74. And then after that it was well over 100.” The 2025 race brought in about 160 racers, entirely through word-of-mouth advertising. The race has been sold out on the first day of registration (in October) for the last 20 years.

Encouraging families to move to the Sandhills

The Sandhills Open Road Challenge stands out as one of the most exhilarating races of its kind. It is one of only three open road races in the nation. Competitors are timed while they navigate a winding, rough, two-lane road with no shoulder on either side—reaching speeds otherwise unseen on public roads.

Among the many events included in the weekend is a one-mile shootout race, which was the first of its kind when introduced in 2002. In last year’s one-mile shootout, the winning car topped out at 213 miles per hour. Additionally, a Loup 2 Loup race runs on a 21-mile stretch between Halsey and Purdum.

The high speeds and sharp curves provide excitement for racers and spectators alike. Yet for those who take part in the yearly Sandhills Open Road Challenge there is much more to the event than its adrenaline-rushing speed and intense competition. “It’s not just a race anymore; it’s an event. The main reason racers come out here is the people,” said Shown.

That certainly has been true for Dustin Gronseth. He competed in his first Sandhills Open Road Challenge in 2010 and has returned to the race with his family every year since then. It has become one of their favorite yearly events—much like a homecoming. Their enjoyment of the race even inspired them to move to Arnold from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 2025.

“The biggest thing I’ve always said about the Sandhills Open Road Challenge is that 90 percent of the experience is just being here, 10 percent of it is the actual event itself—the race,” said Gronseth.

A connected community with open doors

To pull off an event like the Sandhills Open Road Challenge in Arnold (population of 591), requires community-wide commitment. About 300 people volunteer each year to host it. This includes 100 flagmen and gate guards; 60 fire-and-rescue staff with five ambulances, 17 fire trucks, three mutual aid trucks, and a medical helicopter; 130 radio controllers on the course; and more than 100 people helping with setup, food, and other aspects of the event.

“When you ask people to help, they’ll ask you what they need to do. It’s that attitude that has enabled this crazy road race to grow and grow. It’s the people that make it happen,” said Clay Mohr. “We’re not afraid to work. Out here, we roll up our sleeves and work together to make it happen. You really can’t explain it until you’re here.”

As the race grew in popularity, the community faced a logistical challenge of providing lodging for attendees. “We started with 36 cars, then when it broke 100 we started looking around and wondering where we were going to put all these people. We had just one little motel in town,” said Mohr.

To support the event’s growth, area residents opened their homes to drivers and volunteers. This gracious hospitality has added to the charm of the event. It gives participants a unique chance to build relationships with people in the community.

For Gronseth and his family, participating in the race has led to lifelong friendships. They stayed with the same hosts for decades when making the drive from South Dakota to the Nebraska Sandhills for the race. Having moved to Arnold, they are now returning the favor. They welcomed five guests for the 2025 race: four racers and one racing official. “[Staying with a local family] is where I started to get a feeling of the community of Arnold,” Gronseth said. “I’ve met some great people here.”

Driving the Arnold economy

The Sandhills Open Road Challenge has been a boon for the local economy. Becky Dailey was on hand when Shown first pitched his idea for the event. “It sounded like fun, and I like to promote Arnold,” said Dailey. She helped organize the inaugural race and has been actively involved with it ever since then.

Over 25 years, Dailey has watched the Sandhills Open Road Challenge develop into a major economic driver for the area. “It has been able to give back to a lot of projects here in Arnold,” she explained. “We’ve given scholarships of about $125,000 since it started to local organizations like the Arnold Schoolhouse Graphics.”

The race’s organizers have also supported the community by contributing to the Rialto Theater, helping fund city parks, the local library, campgrounds, the public school, and by supporting construction of the Arnold Community Center. “You can pretty much go anywhere around here and there’s some way the road race has helped,” said Mohr.

When the race began in 2001, Arnold didn’t have a community center. People in town for the event were meeting at local churches and other small buildings. “But we kept outgrowing them,” said Dailey. It had long been a challenge to raise funds for a community center. Yet when the race started bringing people to town, and the organization hosting the race put money toward building a community center, people became excited about the project. The community center was completed in 2006.

“That’s one of the things this race has done for the community and the area—making us unafraid to take on projects like our community center,” said Mohr. “We have a main street with a lot of businesses. They see the success of the road race, and they know that people’s attitudes will allow ideas to grow. We encourage that here.”

“[The road race] is something I never thought would happen, but it did primarily because of all the people in this area—terrific people,” said Shown. “The Sandhills, in my opinion, is about the best place there is to live.”

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Learn more about the Sandhills Open Road Challenge at sorcrace.com.

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