After sitting dormant since 2020, Reno Fernley Raceway plans to reopen this summer. It’s all part of the vision of developer Dan Shore, who has created a massive 630-acre motorsports complex that includes the dirt track.
“The dirt oval has been missed,” said Shore. “For years, it had full grandstands every weekend. We will get it back to that.”
Shore has reconstructed the 1960s wooden grandstand with aluminum seating at the dirt oval, which holds 2,000 fans. The other two grandstands increase that capacity to a total of 3,000 seats. That’s just the tip of the iceberg for the changes.
“We changed the dirt track back to a true 3/8-mile clay oval,” Shore said. “We’re adding total LED lighting. Concessions and restrooms are being updated as we speak.”
Reno Fernley Raceway will run under the IMCA banner on Saturday nights. Rattlesnake Raceway in Fallon, also runs an IMCA program and is located less than an hour away.
“How we work with other tracks is yet to be determined,” said Shore. “Working with Rattlesnake Raceway is most important right now.”
Reno Fernley Raceway makes up a 630-acre motorsports park that offers opportunities for road racing, motocross, sand drags, drag racing, drifting and more.
“I’m a big oval racing fan, but not an oval racer,” Shore said. “I love the community environment of dirt oval racers, and I will be trying to get to know better the operators of the local track competition.”
Shore said he’s working on marketing the racing facility. Fortunately, the locals have been supportive of the track, especially the municipalities, according to Shore.
“Lyon County and the city of Fernley have been great to work with,” said Shore. “They have a positive attitude toward the raceway. They want to keep kids from racing on the highways and have them involved in organized racing.”
Mike Adaskaveg 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.
