After years of circling the tracks, Wallace will design one

Rusty Wallace has been racing on tracks all over America for more than three decades. Now he gets to design one.

Wallace, of Fenton, Mo., has been called upon to lay out a .875-mile racetrack in Newton, Iowa.

"I've got myself involved in a pretty exciting project that started about six months ago," the former Winston Cup champion said. "I didn't say anything because I didn't know if it was a real deal. You hear of so many of these things about guys wanting to start racetracks that never happen."

Wallace is convinced the project, started by Iowa businessman Paul Schlaak, is going to be done.

"He's really big into financing and his background is in insurance," Wallace said.

"He said he really wanted to get a driver involved. Darrell Waltrip got involved in a lot of hype to get the Kentucky Speedway going, but my involvement is a lot deeper. I'll be on the board and I'll have a big say-so in it. But the biggest thing is they want me to design the racetrack.

"I've never understood when new racetracks are being designed why not to the people who drive on them and understand them? Golfers are experts at golf and they design golf courses."

Wallace said the shape of the track will be unique, although it will be similar to Richmond International Raceway's 3/4-mile, D-shaped oval.

"We'll open up with soft walls in place and it'll be 25,000 permanent seats with ASA, ARCA, USAC and four concerts," he said. "As a fan, you're going to get an amphitheater feel."

Groundbreaking for the new racing facility 15 miles east of Des Moines is scheduled for Sept. 1. Wallace said the project is expected to take 14 months or less.

The local scene

The Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car Series will make its only scheduled stop this season at Auto Tire and Parts Racepark on Saturday. The Indiana-based non-winged class will replace the winged sprints this week. Hud Cone of Oakland City, Ind., and Cris Urish of Elkhart, Ill., are tied for the MSCS points lead.

Tony Stewart and Ken Schrader will compete Saturday in UMP late models cars at I-55 Raceway near Pevely. An unusual addition: During intermission, hundreds of nickels will be spread onto the track for children ages 3 to 12 to find and redeem for prizes at the track.

Sprints will be on the card Friday at Malden Speedway, the same night it pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Malden Jaycees Speedway.

The United Midwestern Promoters Summernationals tour began Monday in Shawano, Wis. The series has 26 events scheduled over 27 days, including several stops in the region: July 3 at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway near Calvert City, July 4 at Paducah (Ky.) Raceway, July 5 at I-55 Raceway, July 6 at Montgomery County Raceway near New Florence, Mo., and July 7 at Mount Vernon (Ill.) Raceway. Each night's feature event pays at least $6,000 to win.