Beckley to Operate Dodge City Raceway Park
It is official. In a joint meeting between the City of Dodge and Ford County, Ed Beckley of Checkered Flag Productions has been awarded the contract to operate Dodge City Raceway Park. "We are excited to finally come back to Dodge. This facility is the nicest in the country, and we have a goal to put it on the map and make it the track that others are measured by!", said Beckley.

Beckley, who started going to the races in Dodge City as a youngster, was also on a pit crew when he was 14 years old. "When Jack Merrick was the promoter, he also had motorcycle races and I came with my parents back when I was barely five years old. When I started jumping cars with a motorcycle all I wanted to do was to jump at the Speedway and I did back in 1979. Two years later I was named the promoter of the Speedway and that was quite a challenge, more than jumping was, to put it plainly," Beckley said.

Ed was the operator of the old Dodge City Speedway from 1982 through 1990 and then again in 1994. He then moved to Texas when the city was shutting down the old race track for zoo improvements. "We had a lot of hurdles to make that race track a success back in the 80's and 90's and we were listed as one of the top 10 tracks in the nation. Now with the new Dodge City Raceway Park facility there is a whole other set of challenges, but I am up to the task and we have some real goals in mind." said Beckley.

In the upcoming months there will be an office built onsite at the race track where it will be manned by Beckley and crew. Racers, fans, and interested people will be able to go the track Monday through Friday during the day and get information about schedules, rules, and upcoming special events. "The city and county commissioners agreed that the office should be at the track, and they should be commended for all of their efforts in making DCRP a better facility," said Beckley. The office should be completed prior to race season.

The 2008 race schedule will be posted by January first, and rules will be posted by December first for all classes. Look for the 305 Sprint Car Series to be part of the schedule, as well as the open wheeled Modified, and Street Stock cars. Special event scheduling for Hornets, Super Stocks, and an all-new entry level stock car class will be announced soon.

The World of Outlaw Sprint Cars schedule shows DCRP for June 20 & 21, so get ready for the roar of horsepower and screams from race fans coming to the DCRP with a whole new promotion group that is not new to the area or to promoting races at Dodge City.

To find out more about Checkered Flag Productions visit their website, checkeredflagproductions.com

Other DCRP racing information can be found at myspace.com/dodgecityraceway