While recently driving south on I-15, I began to marvel at the scenery while counting the ways people can enjoy Southern Utah.
From hiking to camping and the rest, Southern Utah has an abundance of recreational outlets all times of the year. Then, it struck me that even with the mass of open areas, there is one big void. Southern Utah has no stock car race track. Remembering my days as an announcer at the Bullring in Las Vegas, I vividly recall a long list of St. George competitors who made weekly treks to the facility several years ago.
Even with soaring gas prices, not to mention the expenses for everything from admission to expensive items needed to maintain a race car, drivers like Mike Heck and the rest were not only loyal but competitive.
More than 30 years ago, there was some great drag racing in St. George — Saturn of St. George owner Cliff Findlay was one of the track’s top drivers — and Desert Thunder Raceway has been touted in Price, a few hours drive from Salt Lake City and Grand Junction, Colo. Unless I’m missing something, there is no stock car track in Southern Utah.
Mind you, I used to cover auto racing at Craig Road Speedway in North Las Vegas in the 1970s and 1980s and announced at both CRS and the Bullring over the years. In fact, my wife and I went on our first date at CRS in the summer of 1968, as silly as that might seem.
Two of our three sons attended stock car racing events before they were a year old and, in fact, used to sleep even with the noise that dominates the sport. Drivers like Mark Martin, Ernie Irvin and Dick Trickle all journeyed to run at CRS at one time or another prior to entering the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.
Several years after CRS was closed in the early 1980s, another short track was built northeast of town on what is now Las Vegas Motor Speedway. When Speedway Motor Sports purchased the facility to bring big-time racing to the area in 1998, General Manager Chris Powell went to work to rebuild the short track into what is now one of the most impressive short track facilities in the country.
Granted, Southern Utah doesn’t need an extravagant short track facility and seating for 1,200 would be more than sufficient. A good quarter- mile paved race track with the basic accommodations such as rest rooms, concessions and good lighting would be more than sufficient to produce memories that only stock car racing can generate.
And yes, the economy is a mess and short track racing will undoubtedly suffer because drivers generally work in the construction industry or count on sponsorships.
However, even the smallest of crowds and fields can eventually grow over time while attracting fans, businesses and revenue.
The opportunity is there and after the appearance of so many drivers who formerly journeyed to the Bullring in Las Vegas to satisfy their love of auto racing, the idea of adding a facility somewhere in Southern Utah seems like a good one.
Mike Henle is a Las Vegas-based freelance writer and author of the book “Through the Darkness: One Man’s Fight to Overcome Epilepsy.” He can be contacted at mhenle@aol.com or through his Web site www.mikehenle.com.
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