(LEBANON, Missouri) Lebanon I-44 Speedway, an ASA Member Track in southern Missouri, recently earned Runner-Up honors as the “Best Race Track in Missouri” by the readers of “Rural Missouri” magazine. This honor puts I-44 Speedway – the only asphalt oval in Missouri – as one of the top racetracks in the state, right behind the multi-million dollar Lucas Oil Speedway.
“We are incredibly excited and surprised by this honor from Rural Missouri magazine,” Craig Armstrong, Lebanon I-44 Speedway promoter, said. “This honor comes prior to the start of our 2012 season of ‘Kickin’ Asphalt’ stock car racing in the great State of Missouri. To have 540,000 rural electric cooperative members vote and give us this honor shows that our hard work in building I-44 Speedway into a great family entertainment venue is getting the attention of the great citizens of this State, especially prior to our 2012 season opener on Saturday, April 28.”
The announcement appears in the April 2012 edition of “Rural Missouri” magazine. The 11th Annual “Best of Rural Missouri” contest allowed their readers to vote for their favorite foods and places around the “Show-Me State.” Lebanon I-44 Speedway received Runner-Up honors, just behind Lucas Oil Speedway, a 3/8-mile clay oval in Wheatland, Missouri.
Lebanon I-44 Speedway re-opened as an asphalt 3/8-mile high-banked oval in 2010, sanctioned with ASA Racing. The track continues to be owned by the Willard family and has a major footprint in the history of short track racing in Missouri, showcasing great drivers like five-time national champion Larry Phillips and NASCAR star Mike Wallace. Last year, Mike’s daughter Chrissy Wallace became the first female ever to win a track championship at the famed Speedway.
“Congratulations to the Willard Family, Craig Armstrong, the entire staff, competitors and fans at Lebanon I-44 Speedway for receiving this honor,” Dennis Huth, ASA Racing President said. “To receive an honor where it is voted by the readers of ‘Rural Missouri’ magazine, says a lot about the hard work and dedication by everyone involved at the track. This will give them some great momentum going into their 2012 season.”
The 2012 season opens on Saturday, April 28 with five classes of ASA-sanctioned stock cars, Late Models, open-wheel Modifieds, Sportsman, steel-bodied Road Warriors and subcompact Chargers, competing on the fast, high-banked asphalt oval. Following the racing action, everyone is invited to a post-race “Party in the Pits,” one of six special post-race parties featuring music with a live DJ during the upcoming I-44 Speedway season.
More information about Lebanon I-44 Speedway can be found at www.i44speedway.net, on the track’s official Facebook page, and on Twitter (@i44Speedway).