Odessa Champion Motor Speedway Joins NASCAR Whelen All-American Series

Odessa Champion Motor Speedway. Anita Byram

West Texas now has a home for NASCAR-sanctioned dirt track racing every Saturday night as Odessa Champion Motor Speedway has joined the NASCAR Whelen All American Series.

The .375-mile high-banked clay oval, located between Odessa and Midland, is now the third racing facility in the Lone Star State to be a part of NASCAR’s national championship program for weekly racing. It joins Houston Motorsports Park and Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle, Texas, both of which are .375-mile paved ovals.

“Odessa Champion Motor Speedway expands the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series to west Texas for the first time,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president, regional and touring series. “Adding a dirt track to our two paved tracks in Texas will raise the bar in NASCAR’s state championship competition.”

Dirt Modifieds will be the speedway’s NASCAR Division I. Other weekly divisions include I-Stocks, Sport Mods, Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf cars. The feature event distance in all divisions is set at 20 laps.

“We’re happy to join the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series,” said track operator Gary Baughman. “It’s a step up for our track and our racers. We’ve been here a long time and it’s time for a change in west Texas.”

The track will operate every Saturday night and Baughman has planned a 27-event schedule starting Mar. 3. Baughman’s wife Francis is the track owner and Anita Byram is track manager.

Odessa Champion Motor Speedway represents the first NASCAR-sanctioned Texas dirt track in the modern era of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

The track’s champions in 2011 include Trent Crawford, Modifieds; Jack Miles, I-Stocks and Street Stocks; Kent McDaniels, Sport Mods; and Chris Lopez, Hobby Stocks.

NASCAR-licensed Division I drivers are eligible to compete for NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championships and point fund awards at the track, state and national levels. State champions also receive customized helmets and racing uniforms from series sponsor Whelen Engineering.

NASCAR-licensed drivers in each track’s NASCAR-sanctioned support divisions compete for points in the NASCAR Finalist program. The program brings added recognition to drivers in NASCAR Divisions II-V. Points are kept separately for asphalt and dirt tracks.