By PAUL DELANEY
Staff Reporter
It's safe to say that there hasn't been this much activity at the former Spokane Raceway Park – now Spokane County Raceway – since just before Memorial Day weekend, 1974.
Because some 35 years ago, paving crews were laying the final sections of asphalt on the drag strip in preparation for the inaugural race to be held at the facility. All as cars were rolling into the pits for the American Hot Rod Association (AHRA) Spring Nationals.
Some of that same urgency was present a week ago at the race track as now it was the concrete pumper trucks pouring cement for new barriers that line the track from start to finish. All in preparation for the opening event, the return of Street Legal drag racing tomorrow night (Friday, May 1), and a test and tune scheduled for all day Saturday. The Friday races are designed to minimize dangerous street racing and have attracted 600 to 800 entries in the past.
It's the first of dozens of drag racing events that will take place into October at the racing facility that was purchased by Spokane County at an auction just a little over a year ago.
Since its purchase, the county agreed to terms with Austin Motorsports of Kent, Wash. to operate the track for the next 25 years. The company owner, Bucky Austin, is pouring a significant amount of his own money into the track to bring it up to current standards.
All of this is taking place under the watchful eye of track general manager Jay Livingston, who rarely gets much sleep lately as the race against time to have the basics ready for this weekend continues.
“The foundation is there, we're just going to improve upon it,” Livingston said. He's been around racing all of his life as his father has operated the Woodburn drag strip in Oregon of years. Livingston most recently worked at Pacific Raceways near Kent, Wash. as that facility underwent a facelift.
And he's impressed with the level of enthusiasm and excitement he's witnessed so far. Last fall, prior to a track clean-up, he was told, “You'll be lucky to have 20 people (total) because a typical car club event, five people do the work and 100 people stand back and pat themselves on the back and say ‘wasn't that a great event?'”
“I was blown away and I was glad I didn't open my big mouth and say, betcha' 20 bucks (that just a few people show up) , because I would have lost my shirt on that one,” he said as nearly 300 people came out to work. That shows the enthusiasm, he said. “I'm overwhelmed with the excitement. I don't care where I go, you just mention the raceway and they're all jazzed about it.”
Livingston addressed a recent meeting of the West Plains Chamber of Commerce where he outlined both the many improvements and the numerous events the facility, which includes the drag strip, a half-mile oval and a 2.25-mile road race course. “Come by and you'll be pleasantly surprised,” he said. Work is going on at virtually every part of the track. “I don't think there is a piece of the property that hasn't been touched,” Livingston said.
There's a new stretch of 660 feet of concrete on the track – a launch pad as it's referred to – and the starting line has been moved about 50 feet further down the track so that spectators can better see the cars leave the line.
New readout scoreboards that display speed, elapsed times and show who won each race. Handrails have also been installed in the concrete grandstands. New safety barriers line the track and provide a buffer of some 20 feet on both sides to protect both spectators and drivers.
Maybe most evident is the vast amount of clean-up that has taken place. That includes cleaning and painting bathrooms and installation of new partitions.
“One of my pet peeves that the bathrooms at most tracks are absolutely disgusting,” Livington said. “Most of the owners have a bathroom in the tower so they don't have to use public restrooms.”
All of this in anticipation of events like the first major race of the season, the two-day season opener, Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17 that will feature both bracket racing, nitro-methane and alcohol burning funny cars and more.
The track's major drag event will be a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Lucas Oil Divisional race, June 11 through 14. Lucas Oil Series events are one step below NHRA national events.
The oval track's first major event will be next Saturday, May 9, with an ASA Northwest Late Model Tour race. The road racing track, which will have a new layout that no longer incorporates use of the drag strip as it has in the past, will have numerous sports car and motorcycle events.
For further information call 244-3333 or log onto: http://www.spokanecountyraceway.com.
Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected]
Reader Comments(0)