A March 5 fire ravaged the press box and damaged 60 reserved seats and the concessions at Lawton Speedway. It was too much to repair in time for the Oklahoma track’s World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series date on March 23. The press box serves as a vital component for today’s racing operations.
“All the track’s computer connections ran to the press box,” said Marcy Davis, who co-owns the track with Lanny Edwards. “In those conference calls, we discussed all the possibilities. It was more than just a small building lost.”
Storms after the fire further hampered efforts to rebuild the press box.
“We want our shows to be professional,” Davis said. “We can frame up a box in no time, but all of the things needed in the press box to put on a professional racing program are going to take time and money.”
The cause for the fire has yet to be determined. Nothing remained of the press box except the platform it was on. The fire occurred around 9:30 p.m.
“A man with a backpack was seen walking south of the racetrack the night of the fire,” said Davis. “We’re outside of the city of Lawton … with nothing but pastureland around us.”
The man with a backpack is a person of interest. Davis operates the American Truck Driving School during the day on the grounds of Lawton Speedway.
“We don’t go up to the press box when its off-season,” Davis said. “We see it every day and we saw no signs of anyone being in there. We don’t know if someone was sleeping there at night, because if they were, they would have to be gone by 7 a.m. or we would have seen them.”
Davis would not speculate if the fire and the man with the backpack are connected.
In the meantime, Lawton Speedway gave its World of Outlaws March 23 date to Kennedale Speedway Park. The Texas track had lost its previously scheduled World of Outlaws event on March 8-9 to rain.
“We appreciate Lawton [Speedway] for giving us their date,” said James Lopez, Kennedale Speedway Park promoter. “We had invested so much money in preparation for the rained-out race — we rented portable grandstands and extra fencing — [and] were sold out. The World of Outlaws will refund money or give a credit that can be used at any World of Outlaws event for two years. The people who bought tickets for Lawton can come to Kennedale if they want to use those credits.”
Back at Lawton Speedway, the track will seek to rebuild from its fire.
“Here it is a week later and we’re hoping we can open on April 6,” Davis said. “There is a lot to get done. There are permits that had to be issued. Inspectors have been at the track inspecting everything. We have electrical engineers coming in today. All we can do is keep on trucking.”
The Outside Groove Director of Photography has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
