On Feb. 1, Central Missouri Speedway came under new ownership by former racer Bob King. King has been a racer at CMS for the past 30 years and has plans to make the track a place fans look forward to going to.
“I started racing at Central Missouri Speedway about 30 years ago. I love racing and want to be around racing so to purchase this track that was up and going made sense to me,” said King.
With the sale, renovations and purchase of new equipment, the track has generated $1.2 million in costs for King.
“My vision is to upgrade and update the facility, add more attractions and entertainment. Make the restaurant live again,” said King.
Fans of the races and racers themselves have taken notice of King’s efforts.
“I am glad a new owner has taken over and is keeping it open for spectators and racers to enjoy. It is a huge benefit to our community. For many families it has been a tradition to be at the race track, whether as a spectator in the stands or as a race family out on the track,” said Becky Sadler, racing fan.
King has enacted changes to make his vision a reality. One such change is the updating of rules and regulations for various racing classes to allow for “higher car counts,” meaning more competitors per race event, according to Central Missouri Speedway’s online news publication.
King has also introduced dual-night racing, allowing for races to take place on both Fridays and Saturdays. Originally, the track operated on a Saturday-only basis with an occasional Friday or Sunday race.
“I believe the two-night split could benefit the track heavily in a multitude of ways. More nights for fans to make it out to the track,” said Waylon Phillips, Sprint Car driver. “An introduction of more forms of racing to the track. And hopefully a higher flow of revenue to put back into the operation.”
Another change is that the Modified Division will be sanctioned by the United States Racing Association. The USRA is a national racetrack group with the goal of providing support to dirt tracks and their racers in order to promote racing as a sport.
According to the USRA website, “Our goal is to boost fan attendance at each sanctioned racetrack with sound marketing strategies and lucrative sponsorship dollars for each Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series racetrack.”
As part of being sanctioned by USRA, CMS will take part in the Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series. The series features a different track every week to promote attendance and give racers the opportunity to score higher points to raise their rankings for competitions.
As of this publication, the first official race and grand reopening of the track will take place on April 17 and 18 at 7:30 p.m.
