“We have to start packing the track at about 6:45 p.m. so we can start hot-laps from 7-7:15,” Shannon said. “Hot laps should take about 30 minutes and that will give us 15 minutes to honor the previous week’s feature winners and then start racing on time.”

Those guidelines were followed the first week and the races started just a few minutes past the top of the hour. The final race, the Modified feature, ended at 11:10 p.m.

Shannon is pushing for similar results for this week’s two-night special show.

One of the biggest behind the scenes obstacles officials had to overcome opening night was the high number of new employees of the 50 workers on the speedway’s payroll.

“Half of our workers were new,” Shannon said.

The track manager included in his pre-race activities going over last minute details of operations with the new help and then spent the rest of the night four-wheeling from the pits to the grandstands monitoring the activities of the newcomers.

“We have new faces in the ticket booths, in the concessions area, at the back gate and in the pits,” Shannon said. “Our goal is to be more people-friendly to our paying customers and make their racing experience more enjoyable. I think fans are going to notice a difference.”

For the most part, Teresa Clay (Gary’s wife) and Shannon monitor racing activities while the owner focuses his attentions on being a car-owner and crew-member for his driver-son, Dalton Clay. Dalton, 16, made his racing debut last season. He said his dad will spend more time with him in the pits this year.

“The first night is always crazy,” Teresa said as she checked on things at the pit sign-in gate. “I’ve already made a dozen trips back and forth from my office to the pits. It’s just a typical first night. Everyone wants something right now.”

Pam Adkins works in the pit office where drivers check-in and get their heat assignments.

“The first night is always exciting to me and I might add hectic. Why? Because everyone is so full of optimism and just happy to be back,” she said.

“There are a lot of new faces,” Adkins added while entering driver data the computer used to make the heat lineups, keep results, and track of the points standings. “This computer really makes it easy. When I started here four years ago we did everything by hand.”

Another veteran of OMS, Jeff Howell, was working a new job — that as flagman. He left his job as a monitor on the track to assume the duties of flagman when long-time regular Phil Branan decided to climb down from the tower at the finish line to retire.

“I’ve never flagged full time, this is a new experience for me,” Howell said. “Phillip is going to be around to help. I’ve got mixed emotions about leaving the track. I knew everything that was going on.”

Howell has already figured out some of the reactions drivers might have for his flagging decisions.