It’s an exciting time for Central Arizona Raceway. Promoter Brad Whitfield is investing in improvements at the Casa Grande dirt oval and big shows this fall through the winter.
“I don’t want racing in the West to die, that’s why I am investing in racing,” Whitfield said.
The main grandstand will not only receive new wood seating, but also an additional 1,000 aluminum seats in a grandstand adjacent to it. Another 1,000 seats will go in turn 1. A new wall circles the track, with a new catchfence and billboards to follow. Spectators get new bathrooms; the pits’ bathrooms now get shower stalls. Furthermore, handicap access has been improved around the facility.
The High Limit Racing event last March sparked all these improvements.
“[The March event was] the first sellout in the history of the tour,” said Whitfield.
These improvements came during the off-season for the Arizona track, which started toward the end of May. The action starts up again on September 19 with a weekly show. However, four big events are on the schedule.
The Western World Championships (October 24-25) features the USAC Amsoil Sprint Car National Championship and USAC CRA Sprint Car Series, with the winner getting $20,000 plus lap money.
The Wild West Shootout (January 10-18), with super late models, modifieds, and X-mods, returns to the track where it started, Central Arizona Raceway, after years away.
The IMCA Winter Nationals takes place January 20-31, with modifieds, stock cars, sport mods and hobby stocks on tap. Then, the event that spurred all these improvements, High Limit Racing, comes back in March.
“There is no premier racetrack in the West,” Whitfield said. “Now, there will be. We can do so much racing here in the wintertime — there is unlimited sunshine and warmth. I want Central Arizona Raceway to be all of dirt oval racing’s winter destination.”
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.
