| Qlispé Raceway Park | |
| Time: | Pacific, UMT −8 |
| Location: | Airway Heights, Washington |
| Coordinates: | 47.66°N -117.573°W |
| Address: | 750 N Hayford Rd |
| Owner: | Kalispel Tribe |
| Former Names: | Spokane County Raceway |
| Layout1: | Drag Strip |
| Surface: | Concrete / asphalt |
| Length Km: | 0.40 |
| Length Mi: | 0.25 |
| Layout2: | Road Course |
| Surface2: | Asphalt |
| Length2 Km: | 3.7 |
| Length2 Mi: | 2.3 |
| Layout3: | Oval Track |
| Surface3: | Asphalt |
| Length3 Km: | 0.80 |
| Length3 Mi: | 0.50 |
Qlispé Raceway Park (formerly the Spokane County Raceway) is a multi-venue motorsport facility in the western United States, in Spokane County, Washington.[1]
Located northeast of Airway Heights and west of the city of Spokane, it includes a NaNmiles drag strip, a 2.3miles road course, and a NaNmiles 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 above sea level.
Spokane County Raceway hosted 3 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West races, in 2011, 2013 and 2017.
The raceway opened in 1974,[2] [3] when investors produced more than two million dollars to build the facility.[4] [5] [6]
Questionable management resulted in a lawsuit against president and operator Orville Moe,[7] [8] [9] and bankruptcy hearings.[10] [11] Moe was eventually fired in June 2006.[12] [13] [14] The track was sold as of April 10, 2008, purchased by the county,[15] [16] and renamed "Spokane County Raceway."
The operator in 2009 was Bucky Austin of Austin Motorsports Management,[17] which had a 25-year contract,[18] but was terminated after less than one year due to mismanagement.[19] [20]
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.[20] In February 2012, Allen was replaced by Spokane local Craig Smith, originally of Odessa, a one-time successful world champion dragster.[21] In May 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.[22]