FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The 23rd annual edition of the Rumble in Fort Wayne will take place Dec. 18-19, one week earlier than normal, to accommodate the conflict with Christmas falling on a Friday.

Due to the complexity of creating a multiple-day event that weekend, Rumble officials discussed options with the operating team at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Collectively, an agreement was reached that the best-case scenario would be to move the event forward one week for the next few years that involve a Christmas conflict. The move-in will be held Thursday evening, Dec. 17, before two days of indoor racing action.

The movement of the date forward does not come without issues.

“We are aware of the conflicting date with the established St. Louis indoors event, and the logistics involved with work and school prior to Christmas, but frankly it is the best option we have,” said Rumble owner Larry Boos. “The New Year’s weekend is not available at the Coliseum & Expo Center and past records show that moving the event to a Saturday/Sunday format has not proven to be successful.

“Because of the changes, we felt a need to get the dates released as soon as possible for everyone to make plans accordingly” continued Boos. “Race fans and racing teams can be set in their patterns, but have proven to be flexible and accept change, provided they have ample planning time. Our team is working on some exciting plans for this year, including a possible realignment of participating divisions, race formats and centering some off-track functions around the Christmas theme.”