A new chapter will be added to Short Track Nationals lore this weekend. After becoming a staple at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway beginning in 1988 and evolving into a crown jewel event of winged 360-ci Sprint Car racing, the 36th edition of storied Short Track Nationals takes place this weekend for the first time at Texarkana 67 Speedway.
It’s the first of times. It’s the last of times.
It’s the start of one chapter and the closing of another when the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship ventures to Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway for the first time ever on Friday-Saturday, October 27-28.
Winged 360-ci Sprint Cars have been a rare sighting at Texarkana 67 Speedway over the years. But with last year’s closure of I-30 Speedway, that changes in a big way next weekend as the 36th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires & Ark-La-Tex Lawn and Landscape shifts to Texarkana 67 Speedway for the first time.
The year is 1978. It’s mid-March in Texas, and race season is blooming like the bluebonnets. Roughly 90 competitors representing 20 states have gathered in a town 20 minutes east of Dallas named Mesquite. Among the roster are some of the country’s greatest drivers. They’ve all made the journey to take on the Spring Nationals hosted by Devil’s Bowl Speedway. A 22-year-old from Tennessee is the defending event champion. His name is Sammy Swindell.
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