Speedway’s inaugural race Saturday
Posted on Thursday, March 9, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/32106/
WEST SILOAM SPRINGS, Okla. — Gentleman, start your engines. West Siloam Speedway is set to open this month.
The one-fourth-mile, highbanked oval, red-dirt track is 5 1/2 miles west of the Oklahoma state line on U.S. Highway 412.
Rick and Julie Magnuson of Springdale purchased West Siloam Speedway in October after hearing that several tracks in the area were closing and selling land for development. When tracks in Fayetteville and Pea Ridge closed, those in Salina, Okla., and Fort Smith became the nearest tracks.
Rick Magnuson couldn’t stand the thought of dirt-track racing dying out in this area, so he bought the track and has spent the last 16 months cleaning it up.
Willie Gammill of Siloam Springs is glad Magnuson is reopening the track. As a driver and fan, he thinks the new track will be good for the community. "I’ve been doing this since I was 15," Gammill said. "I know it kept me from doing a lot of (bad) things other people were doing when I was younger."
The West Siloam Speedway track had not been raced for a few years, so Magnuson’s first goal was renovation. He scraped the track’s surface, sifted the red clay and widened the track to 65 feet. The widening allows three to four cars to travel side by side coming out of the turns, which keeps the races exciting. "That’s a big deal," Gammill said. "It makes for a much better show."
Magnuson also enlarged the pits, installed new lights and a public address system. He added new concessions, a spectator tower, new restrooms and bleachers in the pits.
The inaugural race, the Jeff Rowlan Memorial Race, will be March 18. The race will be flagged by Dan Prine. Each Class-A feature will include driver introduction, three parade laps and a trophy presentation to all winners. All Class-A features will be 25 laps except mini-stocks, which will be 20 laps.
Magnuson expects racing fans to come from miles around for the races that will take place every Saturday night through October. "Once you start racing, it’s addictive," Magnuson said. "I think we’re going to have some good crowds."
Races include factory stocks, E modified, front-wheel drive, pure stocks, A modified and super stocks.
Tickets to the races cost $8 at the gate or $25 to enter the pit. For a complete racing schedule, visit www. westsiloamspeedway. freehomepage. com.