OKTAHA — Outlaw Motor Speedway came to life Saturday for a final day of practice before the season starts for real next Friday evening.
Over the course of the four hours the track was available, about 50 drivers tested their vehicles. Among them were a 50-year-old rookie driving a race car for the first time in lis life, a 16-year-old high school junior trying to refine his driving skills after his rookie year last season, and many veteran drivers testing cars after winter-long rebuilding sessions.
Former Modified track champion Mike Withrow (2007) was surveying the proceedings in street clothes.
“My car is not ready,” the Muskogee veteran said. “We’re about two weeks away.”
Oil leaks, engine misfiring, throttle problems, spin-outs, and a few scrapes with the concrete wall were norms on this day.
Jason Ward of Tahlequah, who made a run at the Hobby Stock Championship last season, was among those who had oil problems.
“We probably had too much oil in the car,” Ward said. “It spilled over on the engine and we were smoking pretty bad. There was no damage. We’ll be ready for next week.
Gary McClenan, the 50-year-old rookie, was like a kid in a candy store as he took in his surroundings while preparing for a second run in his 360 Modified (formerly the Economy Modified division).
“Isn’t this great?” he asked with a big grin on his face. “My car is ready, we could race today.”
McClenan of McAlester built his car late last season at the suggestion of his wife Jamie. The retiree raced it a few times at Outlaw as the season was winding down.
Fort Gibson’s Greg Williams encountered a brush with the wall and it won.
“My throttle stuck open and I could not steer the car going into the turn,” he said, watching his pit crew winch the car into his hauler. “Up until that time the car was running pretty good. The damage is not too severe. We’ve be ready next week. I’m looking forward to the season.”
Colton Dunlap, a Muskogee High School junior, pronounced his car fit to race after a couple of runs on the three-eighths mile track.
“It’s ready,” he said of his ride, a Hobby Stock vehicle. “The car is awesome.”
The track was not the only place were there was activity.
Several fans who have rented second-floor suites in the track office complex, were busy “sprucing” things up. With tables and chairs sitting in the hallway, the smell of paint punctuated the area.
“We’re delighted at the way the day turned out,” said track manager Eric Shannon. “The weather was threatening early, it rained north of us and we had sprinkles when we opened (at 2 p.m).
“But it cleared off and everything went smoothly after that. We didn’t have any problems to speak of, but we did have some spin-outs in turn three because quite frankly, the track was not in prime race-shape. We didn’t work it like we do before a race.”
About 200 fans filtered in and out of the grandstands during the session.
