Drama. Perhaps the expectation was that there would be some. After all, racing is drama on the face of it. However, there was more than racing in the background leading into this place and this season at the resurrected (Fork Mountain) Oak level Raceway.
A quick recap:
- Fork Mountain Raceway was the name when the last lap ran over 15 years ago (give or take a notch)
- Track ownership changed and plans were made in 2025 to race again.
- Initially a “no” turned to a “yes” as licenses or fees or taxes or whatever had continuously been paid through the years so the permissions needed were, basically, no longer needed.
- A partnership (?) initially set in motion the grading, cutting, plowing and such to un-bury the race track and pull it back from the grips of nature.
- This partnership (?) was made with management at Ararat as ownership there went the same as Oak Level.
- Somewhere in this civil union of dirt the paved Franklin County Speedway came back into the promotional picture.
- Then… it wasn’t. Then none of it wasn’t. Then some of it was…
- Ararat had an insurance issue. Franklin County may have been yanked away by a man under a “Boss Hogg” hat. An announcement came that one party that had been largely involved would no longer be so. Websites that were there are not there. (not necessarily in that order) Perhaps it is all covered somewhat in a podcast somewhere…
Back to Oak Level, with much already set in place including buildings, bleachers, surfacing, fencing, lights, sound… With all of that and more it was set to move forward with racing. Who did what or this and that… Well yeah… That would have been the “drama” that wasn’t… Really…
Bottom line, apparently, is that racing is on again at Oak Level. The crowd was there. A pretty decent show of a “car count” was there. The crews of race coordination and safety were in place and working well. The show on the track was fast enough and entertaining enough and visible enough.
Mostly… The lights are fine. Perhaps a mid event dousing of the track with a lap or two of a water truck could be a thing… Even for a dirt track it got just a tad dusty…
No it is not “perfect”. The infield still has some fine tuning around the fencing and rails but the “ins and outs” of the track are there. The fan areas are there with more coming. It’s a viable start with a foundation to race on.
And the racing is on. Five divisions ran on Friday, April 10, 2026. (Yes… The schedule is mostly set for Friday nights…) Full results are available (somewhere) on the Facebook page for Oak Level Raceway.
Race winners:
Modified – Adam Favors | Crown Vic – Jamie Hopkins | Hornet – TJ Smith | Pro4 – Danny Henning | Late Model – Jack Brown
Photo Gallery from Oak Level Raceway – April 10, 2026
