Track changes under way

WILLOW -- When racing fans in Southcentral Alaska want to hear engines roaring and watch dirt fly they go to Capitol Speedway in Willow. Wes and Nancy Wallace, along with their sons Frank, Tim and Jeff, have owned and operated the speedway for 26 years, and now another family is making the track its business as well.

Thom and Linda Conway are currently in negotiations to purchase the front one-third of Wallaces' property -- consisting of the restaurant and motel rooms -- at Mile 75.5 Parks Hwy., and although the Wallaces say they are not yet making any plans to sell the track itself, the Conways are immersing themselves in management alongside the Wallaces. Their influence has brought changes to the track that some say are a long time coming. Thom, a former radio disc jockey, can be heard announcing the races each weekend and he has been busy with the track's new Web site, www.capitolspeedway.com. The site features coming events, current track points, statistics and regulations, among other things. The site has been well received, Thom said, from current racers to former racers.

"People from the Lower 48 were glad they were able to find their old hometown track [on the Internet]," he said.

Another of Thom's projects has got drivers and fans excited. Thom has redesigned the tickets into collector's items. For a fee of $25, Thom will place photos of a driver, his career statistics and his car on the back of the night's tickets. Each week a different driver is featured. The idea has been going like gangbusters.

"We've had people calling and asking for reprints," Thom said.

Thom's voice can also be heard on the airwaves every Saturday night -- but only if you're within a few miles of the track. He is broadcasting on 95.5 FM with about "a mile or so" radius, he said. Thom has improved the track's sound system using some of his own gear, he said, but often it's still tough to hear over the roar of the engines. Many of the racers -- or fans who want to get out of the dirt for a while -- turn the car radios on to make sure they don't miss anything.

Thom wouldn't be involved with the track, however, if not for his wife, Linda. The Conways have long been friends with Brad Cutway, a longtime racer at Capitol. In 1999 Cutway made an offer Linda couldn't refuse, she said -- to buy his mini-stock racecar. She then made a decision she has stuck to, down to the letter.

"It was always my goal to get out there, learn how to drive, take the championship then go into track management," she said. "I'm very goal-oriented and that's what I'm doing."

In less than four years she achieved her goal. She ran Cutway's car in 1999, then Thom built her a new one that winter which she raced until 2001, when she took the track championship. Last year she began working as pit boss and Thom started announcing. Now living in a mobile home at the track, the Conways' children, 13-year-old David and 10-year-old Dakota, are now a part of the racing "family" at Capitol. Thom said he wasn't sure how David felt about it yet, but Dakota, he said, loves it.

"He thinks the track is just too cool," Thom said.

The Wallaces, too, have made noticeable changes to the track recently. This year the snack shack has been repainted, the restrooms revamped and last week the concrete wall was repainted.

For the Wallaces, the track is literally their home and their children have grown up in the dirt and mud of Capitol Speedway. Wes had a car in 1976 but nowhere to race it, so he and Nancy went Outside and raced for a couple of years, Nancy said. In 1978 they came back and "there was still not a track so that's why we did what we did," she said. "We bought 40 acres of nothing," Nancy said, then built the track.

That was 1978. A quarter century later and Nancy is still counting laps, Wes is still grading the track -- but neither is behind the wheel. Each of their sons, though, has had their share of work and fun at the family business.

"Jeff blew the first motor out of the water truck at the age of nine," Nancy said of the kids growing up there.

Jeff and Tim Wallace are still at the track each weekend, but Nancy said Frank spends more time in Anchorage with his family these days.

Nancy said the Conways' involvement in the operation is a welcome addition.

"They are helping us get some of the new things on board," she said.

When asked about the Web site, she admits she doesn't know anything about it. "That's strictly [Thom's]," she says with a chuckle, "we're not that literate."

Coming attractions

Sunday, June 22 -- Willow 150: stock and sportsman classes will each race 150-lap races. They consist of three 50-lap heats, with 15-minute pit stops.

July 3-6 -- Sprint Invitational, regular racing and demolition derby: Morrie Wilkins Memorial Sprint Races July 3-4, starting at 6 p.m., and regular races Saturday at 5 p.m. Sunday racing begins at 2 p.m., with a small car demo derby to follow (101-inch or less wheel base, four cylinder cars).

July 27 -- Duane Baker Memorial Race: 50-lap mini-stock race.

Aug. 22 -- Demo Derby at Alaska State Fair in Palmer: Demonstration races at 6 p.m. at the grandstand, followed by a full demolition derby.

Looking for statistics and photos

Thom Conway is seeking past stats, documentation and photos for Capitol Speedway's Web site. If you have prior season point standings or photos to share, please contact Conway at 495-8466.