Full Throttle

By way of Doug Demmons we learn Montgomery Motor Speedway may be back in action this year after the speed plants purchase by NCTS driver Rick Crawford.

Contingent on the city of Montgomery, Alabama granting a new license to operate the track Crawford hopes to have the 1/2 mile paved oval in operation this fall and also hopes to have the dragstrip on the property back in operation as well as the karting track.

The previous owner, NCTS driver Bill Manfull, paid $583,000 for the facility in late 2004. The asking price for the track had been reported as more than $500,000 but Crawford declined to say how much he will pay for it. He said he’ll end up spending at least as much on improvements and upgrades.

“If the schedule permits, I’d like to see a couple races for the fall,” he said. “The track needs to be ground,” he said. “It needs to be sealed. Maybe we could get a couple more years out of the surface.”

Many of the old wooden grandstands also need to be replaced, he said, and safety improvements need to be made to the walls.

“My future only holds a few more years of driving and I’ll have more time on my hands,” he said. “Montgomery Speedway might not be the only speedway I end up owning.”

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