Qlispé Raceway Park (formerly the "Spokane County Raceway") is multi-venue

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

facility in the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, in

Spokane County Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 539,339, making it the fourth-most populous county in Washington. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest cit ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. Located northeast of

Airway Heights Airway Heights is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States, just west of Spokane. The population was 10,757 at the 2020 census. The city's name was taken from its close proximity to the runways at Fairchild Air Force Base and Spokane ...

and west of the city of

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

, it includes a quarter-mile (400 m) drag strip, a

road course Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

, and a half-mile (800 m)

oval track Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic ...

. The raceway is currently a

National Hot Rod Association The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...

(NHRA) member; it previously hosted

International Hot Rod Association The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) is the second-largest drag racing sanctioning body after the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). The Carrier Era 1971-1987 The IHRA was formed in November 1970 by businessman Larry Carrier. Througho ...

(IHRA) and American Hot Rod Association (AHRA) events. It is used as well for driving schools for marque-specific clubs, and has also hosted ICSCC (International Conference of Sports Car Clubs) championship events. The average

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of the facility is approximately above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. Spokane County Raceway hosted 3

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

races, in 2011, 2013 and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

History

The raceway opened in 1974, when investors produced more than two million dollars to build the facility. Questionable management resulted in a lawsuit against president and operator Orville Moe, and bankruptcy hearings. Moe was eventually fired in June 2006. The track was sold as of April 10, 2008, purchased by the county, and renamed "Spokane County Raceway." The operator in 2009 was Bucky Austin of Austin Motorsports Management, which had a 25-year contract, but was terminated after less than one year due to mismanagement. The track then was operated by Charlie Allen and Ron Hodgson; Allen had run the Firebird International Raceway in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

since 1983, and Hodgson was part owner of the

Castrol Raceway RAD Torque Raceway, formerly known as Capital City Raceway Park, Capital Raceway, Labatt Raceway, Budweiser Motorsports Park, and Castrol Raceway, is a multi-track auto racing facility located just south of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Located on l ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. In February 2012, Allen was replaced by Spokane local Craig Smith, originally of

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, a one-time successful world champion dragster. In May of 2021, it was announced that Spokane County had accepted an offer to sell the raceway for $6.1 million dollars to the Kalispel Tribe of Indians.

References

External links

*
Spokane County's official Motorsports Park site
(new)
Spokane County Raceway archive
at Racing-Reference Motorsport venues in Washington (state) Buildings and structures in Spokane County, Washington NASCAR tracks Sports venues in Spokane, Washington Tourist attractions in Spokane County, Washington 1974 establishments in Washington (state) Sports venues completed in 1974 {{Washington-sports-venue-stub