After holding its last race in 2013, Oak Level Raceway plans to reopen more than a decade later. The return of the oval didn’t come easy, though.
“[Henry] County told me the track can no longer be grandfathered in as a race track,” Oak Level Raceway owner, Bo Miller, said. “We regrouped.”
The issue came down to the Virginia dirt track’s name. Miller bought the track from French Grimes, who operated the track as Fork Mountain Raceway.
“There was nothing in the county records for Oak Level Raceway,” Miller said. “Neither they nor I knew it was registered at Fork Mountain Raceway — it was an oversight on both of us.”
Grimes had paid the track’s licensing fees, taxes, and electric bills since the track closed in 2013. He had done so in hopes of the track reopening someday. When Miller went before the Board of Zoning Appeals, the vote was unanimous to issue The track a permit.
“French Grimes saved Oak Level Raceway,” said Miller. “The track never fell out of use. Had he not kept up on the track’s permits, electric bills, and licenses current, we wouldn’t be announcing the 2026 schedule.”
Miller intends to maintain a good relationship with Henry County — not only its government but its people as well.
“My grandpa … always said if you want a good neighbor, you need to be a good neighbor,” Miller said. “That’s my mission at Oak Level Raceway. If a neighbor has a problem, I have a problem.”
Miller added they will enforce its 11 p.m. curfew. In addition, they will remind racers and fans to be good neighbors as well, picking up their trash and driving safely to and from the track.
“I want everyone to realize there are people who live in the community surrounding the track,” said Miller.
Oak Level Raceway will run on Friday nights while nearby Ararat BullRing runs Saturdays. Langley Austin promotes both tracks; Miller announces at Ararat.
“We’re going to keep both tracks alive,” Austin said. “The operation at Oak Level Raceway will be a bigger undertaking than Ararat was.”
To put things in perspective, Ararat was overgrown with 2- to 3-foot-tall pines when Austin helped resurrect it for this season. Oak Level’s pines measure 12 to 15 feet tall. Nevertheless, Austin, Miller and company have made progress.
“The track has been reshaped to a 3/8-mile D-shaped oval by Peery Brown from Wythe Raceway,” said Austin. “The lights are now working. Caution lights are being tested. The tower is being renovated, as well as the concession stands, grandstands, and fencing.”
Austin intends for Oak Level Raceway to see its first cars on track in November, with an opening set for March 2026. And Austin and Miller may not be done taking over tracks.
“We are passionate about keeping local short-track racing alive,” Austin said. “We may have a couple more announcements in the weeks to come. There are many short tracks across the country in danger of disappearing. If someone doesn’t step up, they simply won’t exist.”
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.
