POCOLA (KFSM) - When the dirt track racing season ended in 2014, most thought it would be the last time the sound of roaring engines would be heard at Tri-State Speedway. That's when Carey Menasco stepped in.
Menasco had just sold Outlaw Motor Speedway in Muskogee, Okla. and was planning on just racing with his family but that changed with the help of some friends.
"I had a group of guys that had been running at Outlaw, about eight or 10 of them, that knew that this track and the history with this track and that it was closing and probably not going to be reopened and they actually convinced me into buying Tri-State," Menasco said.
The track was in rough shape when Menasco closed on it in December so he started from the ground up.
"We started out with 350 loads of new clay on the race track," Menasco said. "While we were doing that we started remodeling the bathrooms, started to remodel the concession stand but realized real quick that wasn't going to work so we ended up tearing it down and built a new concession facility in the infield and at the main grandstands. And we tore the grandstands down and re-manufactured those where they are much safer than they were."
"It’s amazing compared to what it was," driver Dennis Slader said. "This is like the Taj Mahal compared to what it was last year. Everything is nice. The facilities everywhere are nice. The track is nice. It’s top notch now."
Like any business, Menasco couldn't tackle the track by himself but his entire family is there to help. His oldest daughter, Cara, runs everything from the concession to the front gate. His wife mans the office and his son, whose is just 14, is coming off his first career win as a driver.
"I have a lot of fun at the race track with people," Menasco said. "There’s a lot of ups and downs but overall it’s a lot of fun just to have all the family here involved."