By Dick Jordan
Former USAC participant Tommie Estes Jr. of Ada, Okla. has been named General Manager of Dodge City Raceway Park, the Kansas oval which will operate under the auspices of the United States Auto Club and host a variety of motorsports events in 2011.
Estes will oversee all track operations at the 3/8-mile dirt oval where USAC opens its 2011 Mopar National Midget Championship Series with the “Duel in Dodge City” April 22-23.
“I’m looking forward to the challenges this new post presents,” says Estes. “I’m really happy this opportunity came along. It will allow me to minimize my travel and focus on a single facility, one I hope to elevate to a new level in terms of fan appeal and racer hospitality.”
Estes is not new to USAC. In 1983 he competed in USAC’s Silver Crown race at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds and four years later competed in the “Hoosier Hundred” in Indianapolis, Ind. and the “Tony Bettenhausen 100” at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. He also raced USAC Midgets at Ascot Park in Gardena, Calif. 1987 and in May of that year scored a USAC Western States Midget feature victory at Santa Maria (Calif.,) Speedway, beating 7-time USAC Western Midget Champ Sleepy Tripp to the checkered flag! He also starred at the Belleville (Kans.) High Banks, finishing second to Steve Knepper in the 1988 Belleville Midget Nationals.
“We are fortunate to have Tommie’s vast knowledge of our sport to utilize in the operation of the Dodge City track,” says USAC President/CEO Kevin Miller. “His recent motorsports activities have given him a broad understanding of our sport and we are confident he will be a good fit for this new assignment.”
The 2011 racing season will find a number of different sanctioning bodies involved at Dodge City and USAC’s AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series makes its Dodge City debut the weekend of August 12-13. The NCRA Sprint Cars are scheduled for May 7, while the NCRA vs CLMA Late Model event will be June 4. The World of Outlaws invade July 1-2. The BST Kansas Modified Tour is scheduled Sept. 2 and Sept. 30-31, with the URSS Sprints Championships Oct. 1. Most dates will include modifieds, sport mods, stocks and thunder cars.
For more information about Dodge City Raceway Park and the complete 2011 racing schedule, please visit www.dodgecityraceway.com.