Half-mile · Banked asphalt · Since 1978
The Spokane Oval
The track called it "the World's Fastest ½ Mile Oval." For a generation of Inland Northwest stock car racers it was simply Saturday night: Late Models side by side, packed grandstands, and the Garber family in the points race every year.
Built for speed
The half-mile oval opened in June 1978, four years after the drag strip. According to the track's own information sheet, it was designed by NASCAR team owner Richard Childress, with 15° banking in the turns, 8° on the straights, and a longest straight of 500 feet, at an elevation of 2,240 feet.
Stock car racing ran under the American Auto Racing Association (AARA), the oval's sanctioning body, with classes for every budget: Northwest Late Models at the top, then Sportsman, Fever 4s, Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks, Hobby Compacts, and Spin to Pass.
In 2002 the Northwest Late Model series drew 47 entries, with about twenty cars starting each main event.
Northwest Late Model champions
From the standings and news the track posted at the time.
Corey Wolfe, #88, with 237 points. Randy Kozek (#10) and Jeff Zimmerman (#19) finished second and third.
Dave Garber takes the title.
Dan Garber, after Ron Turner fell out of the 75-lap finale. Read the story.
Shelby "The Kid" Thompson, 17, 2002 Rookie of the Year and winner of the season's championship race.
After the AARA years
- 2011–17
NASCAR comes to town
Under county ownership the oval hosted the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West in 2011, 2013 and 2017.
- 2012
Military Appreciation Night
Airmen from Fairchild Air Force Base fill the grandstands on June 15. The U.S. Air Force photo of that night appears near the top of this page.
- 2018
Forty years
The oval marks four decades since its first stock car race.
- Today
Qlispé Raceway Park
The oval is part of Qlispé Raceway Park. Check the schedule below for upcoming oval events.
On the oval today
From Qlispé Raceway Park's official schedule:
Nothing on the schedule right now. Check qrpracing.com for updates.
Saturday nights at the oval
Raced it, crewed it, or sat in turn four with a hot dog? Tell us about it.
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