Spokane County Raceway
# Spokane County Raceway

Qlispé Raceway Park (formerly the "Spokane County Raceway") is multi-venue motorsport facility in the western United States, in Spokane County, Washington.

Located northeast of Airway Heights and west of the city of Spokane, it includes a quarter-mile (400 m) drag strip, a 2.3-mile (3.7 km) road course, and a half-mile (800 m) oval track. The raceway is currently a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) member; it previously hosted International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) and American Hot Rod Association (AHRA) events. It is used as well for driving schools for marque-specific clubs, and has also hosted ICSCC (International Conference of Sports Car Clubs) championship events.

The average elevation of the facility is approximately 2,350 feet (720 m) above sea level.

Spokane County Raceway hosted 3 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West races, in 2011, 2013 and 2017.

## History

The raceway opened 49 years ago in 1974, when investors produced more than two million dollars to build the facility.

Questionable management resulted in a lawsuit against president and operator Orville Moe, and bankruptcy hearings. Moe was eventually fired in June 2006. The track was sold as of April 10, 2008, purchased by the county, and renamed "Spokane County Raceway."

The operator in 2009 was Bucky Austin of Austin Motorsports Management, which had a 25-year contract, but was terminated after less than one year due to mismanagement.

The track then was operated by Charlie Allen and Ron Hodgson; Allen had run the Firebird International Raceway in Arizona since 1983, and Hodgson was part owner of the Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. In February 2012, Allen was replaced by Spokane local Craig Smith, originally of Odessa, a one-time successful world champion dragster. In May of 2021, it was announced that Spokane County had accepted an offer to sell the raceway for $6.1 million dollars to the Kalispel Tribe of Indians.

