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Central
Washington State Fair Speedway
Yakima, Washington:
Off the beaten racing path of
the I-5 corridor, smack dab in the middle of Washington, lies
Central State Fair Raceway in Yakima, Washington.
This 5/8s mile high banked oval promoted by Michael Troy is
one of the fastest tracks in the
northwest. Converted
from a horse track, it hosts the National Sprint Tour and Pennzoil
World of Outlaws throughout the year, but does not have a weekly
regular
 sprint
car show. I went to this track during the NST speed week and have to
say that the racing here was good.
Because of several racing incidents the night before at
Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Oregon, there unfortunately was the
lowest car count of the speed week with only 42 cars showing up.
To bad for the other cars, because Central State Fair Raceway
is a great place to let your cars hang out on the edge.
With qualifying times separated by 100ths of a second,
drivers must be able qualify strong in order to make it into the big
show or go home.
Once the racing started, it
seemed as though only the strong survived.
Power was definitely on the menu for the evening.
Even if you had a strong car but missed the set up for
qualifying and had to start from deep in the pack, passing was not
an easy task on this track. But
as the night progressed, the front runners for speedweek came
forward to take the top positions.
Because it used to be a horse
race track, there are enclosed seating sections that fans can use,
as well as open-air seating. The
facilities at State Fair Speedway are very good, with enclosed
concession stands. The
staff is very professional and keeps the nightly program moving. The dust factor is high.
So high in fact that by the end of the A main, I could barely
keep my eyes open. The
only other disadvantage of this track is its location.
Traveling two hours from Seattle makes in an inaccessible
track for many fans. But if you make the trek out to Central State
Fair Speedway, and you have the need for speed, you won’t be
disappointed.
You can get more information at
http://www.fairfun.com/raceway/index.shtml Check
out my Central
Washington State Fair Speedway Photos Here.
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