OUTLAW MOTOR SPEEDWAY may soon have new
owners. The three-eighths
mile clay oval near Muskogee is for
sale and owner / promoter Gary
Clay is serious about cutting all ties
with the track. >
General Manager Eric Shannon
said Clay has reduced his asking
price four times from the original $3
million. Now Clay is seeking $1.8 million, including all equipment and furnishings on the 160 acre site.
Clay initially invested $5 million to
build the track and three offers -- up
to $1.5 million -- have been given to
Coldwell Banker. The continued reduction in price reveals just how determined Clay is to get out of the racing business.
"I own Advance Roofing and my
boy is 16 and racing. When you own
a track, you're obligated 100 percent," Clay said. "He's coming along
really good and I want to spend the
next four or five years with him at different tracks. I'm 56 and I've things I
want to do.
"I've got two guys trying to buy it now. It's a good offer, but I won't get
a third of what I've got in it. One is
from Eufaula and the other from
Checotah. They want to own it and
not run it. If they buy it, I'll stay a
year and show them the ins and outs
of what to do and not to do."
Now in its fifth season of operation, Outlaw Motor Speedway is running a Friday night program. A Saturday night program will return in
August. Located on U.S. Highway 69
at the Wainwright exit eight miles
south of Muskogee, the track has attracted Tulsa racers and fans over
the
years and hosted a World of Outlaws event in 2005.
"Gary said openly that if he doesn't
sell it by the end of the season, he's tempted to let the bank take it back,"
said Shannon, who will stay on at the
track if the proposed buyers follow
through. "I don't see that as being a
good deal for anybody. They would
probably get a better deal buying it
out right now."
Shannon said attendance and car
count have remained high. He said
attendance last season exceeded the
opening 2003 campaign.
A July 6 show this year attracted
more than 3,000 fans, but overall attendance has been down slightly due
to rain. The track is running four
classes of cars and Shannon said
many fans want to see more late
models and sprints join the program.
"If a new owner came in I think you see lots of changes in that direction,"
Shannon said. "I think more promoters would be willing to work with us.
I'm surprised we haven't been contacted my more people, people with
NASCAR ties around here.
"The track is making money and I
think one thing people are scared of
is the perception that this place
doesn't make money. It just needs a
fresh start, a fresh face to take over.
We've got such a beautiful facility
and we're just waiting for someone to
come in and realize what's available
here."
One way or another, the track appears to be headed in a new direction. Shannon and fans of the facility
are just hoping it's the right path.
By GLENN HIBDON World Sports Writer