Special to the Phoenix
May 01, 2009 01:17 am
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Outlaw Motor Speedway will celebrate its first-year of its current ownership era tonight with a special Mini-Stock Mania race.
Mini-Stocks that race at Tri-State and Crawford County in Arkansas and Sapulpa and Creek County (Sapulpa) race tracks will compete, Mini Stock rules from those tracks will apply.
Free-Style Motorcyclist Cody Elkins will also perform at intermission. He will do X-Games style stunts and jumps.
Racing at the track which was purchased at a bank auction last spring by Lynn Skinner and Danny Womack starts at 7 p.m. with hot laps.
“We’ve had a successful start,” Skinner said in reflecting on the past year. “Our primary goal has been to provide entertainment to our fans and I feel we’ve accomplished that through a variety of special programs and presentations.
“Our goal as we continue to go forward is to improve on our operations and give our racing fan base and newcomers to our track a special place to come to on a weekly basis. We’re always striving to improve our shows.”
The two men learned the art of owning a dirt track and promoting a racing program on the fly. Although bereft of practical experience in the business endeavor, Womack did and still does drive a race car. Both co-own several automobile auction companies, including 165 Auto Auction on Peak Boulevard.
Skinner says the three goals he and his partner have for the track are straight-forward: providing entertainment to fans beyond the weekly racing program, completing the race card by 11 p.m. and growing both attendance and weekly car counts.
“Our format (31 races) this year includes a number of special activities that are designed to entertain our fans,” Skinner says. “We understand that our profession is one of entertainment. We understand that we have to entertain fans beyond the actual races. To that end, we have scheduled special sideshow events for each race.”
Those have included a human cannonball stunt man, a 100-lap enduro race and a weekly dance competition for kids. Next week, they’ll bring in some divine touches.
“We’re going to have a special race whereby Muskogee and area pastors will race against each other,” Skinner said.
Skinner says the 11 p.m. finish time for the races is a realistic goal Late finishes have been a major complaint of fans in years past.
“I think the only things that will keep us from that are the things beyond our control, like special races, lots of caution flags, things like that,” Skinner said. “We have scripted each night and are on a strict time schedule. There is some refining we are going to have to do, but early indications indicate we’re right on target.”
“When we took over the track, late finishes was the major complaint of our fans. We listened and we’re doing everything we can do to correct this. We’ve made strides to that end, but we can do better.”
The average in attendance this year is just short of 3,000 while the car counts have been over 125 in each of the last three weeks – with a track high of 154 last week..
“We’re delighted in our attendance and car counts,” Skinner says. “We’ve been able to increase our numbers despite less than ideal weather conditions. With the weather warming up and the summer coming on, we’re expecting our numbers to continue to grow.”
The track has underwent several cosmetic changes, including remodeled suites, fresh paint, and a reconfigured concession and a change in the food menu. A mascot for the kids – Pitcrew Pete – has also added to the entertainment.
“We’re striving to meet the entertain needs of our fans,” Skinner says. “With their support, we will continue to grow racing in Muskogee.”
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