Labor Day, September 1, 1954 – Jed Davis waves an old green homemade cloth flag in front of twenty old jalopies and just like that…. Skagit Speedway’s first race was underway. The dream of fourteen investors comes to fruition. Skagit County has a racetrack.
To the current ways of thinking, seventeen acres cleared of stumps and trees and an egg-shaped oval cut out of its middle may not qualify as a racetrack, but those that came up with $100 to purchase the land were excited about the future.
Thanks to the efforts of early pioneers like Jim Raper, Floyd Grace, Art Hillstead, Don Latting, Elbert Lemley, Don Jeter Sr, Harley Sutt, Glen Sutt, Bill Woodruff, Ted Decker, Harry Weatherby, Jerry McAdow, Bud Schaimshen, and Dick Woodring Skagit Speedway has been the #1 spectator draw from north Seattle to Vancouver B.C. They forged a 3/10 oval of clay using all the acreage available and taking clay from the property itself. At the time, the track was roughed out of the terrain. Finding that the landscape at the south end was twelve feet higher than the north end, dirt was taken and relocated to the north side to compensate. All this time they thought they were building an oval track shaped like all the others. It wasn’t until someone flew over the track in an airplane and took an aerial photo that they realized it was actually egg-shaped.
Volunteer labor, donated materials, and the hauling of water from Bellingham and Sedro-Woolley to water the track were just a few of the early challenges. Cows and horses were the only creatures using the area before “horses” of another kind hit the clay oval.
Harley Sutt managed the track until 1961, when Elbert Lemley took over. Lemley saw many more improvements take place under his leadership including concrete grandstands, improved bathrooms, lights, regrading and guardrails for the track. His racing interests were not just for Skagit. From 1951 to 1954 he owned a Lincoln race car that raced at Digney Speedway in Burnaby, B.C. Lemley died in 1964, leaving Jim Raper as the track’s guiding light.
As the 60’s came and went, Raper became synonymous with Skagit. He was one of the most respected promoters in the country; whether he spoke at a promoters’ meeting in Kansas City or Portland, people listened. Skagit was one of the first in the country to require mufflers. Drivers and fans thought Jim was crazy – mufflers and race cars didn’t make sense; race cars are supposed to be loud and rumbling. Raper knew it would eventually become law … and it did!
Noise wasn’t the problem in the early days of Skagit Speedway; the problem was dust! Raper and his investors dug deep into their pockets in 1958 to build a well. Two years later lights were added. Skagit’s motto became “Racing Every Friday Night Under the Lights!” Fencing and better grandstands were added, and as Jim Raper started open competition action, Skagit Speedway was finally on the map.
The Dirt Cup was Jim Raper’s baby. He wanted an open wheel show with a big purse that would attract drivers from all over the coast. He had a couple open comp races in the late 60’s, prior to the Dirt Cup becoming a three-track event in 1972, between Skagit, Sky Valley and Elma. Elma dropped out in 1977 and Sky Valley in 1978. The Dirt Cup became one of the nation’s top non-sanctioned open wheel events.
Known today as the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup, the event continues on a much larger scale. You can only imagine how proud he would be today. 50+ Sprint Cars, coming from all over the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Looking at the speedway today, it’s hard to imagine how basic of an operation it was in the beginning. The first restroom was simply two planks with blankets draped over them. One side was for women and the other side for men. Fans sat on the hillside on blankets, stumps, or logs. There was no fence or safety wall between the racetrack and the fans. The flagger stood right on the racetrack. A canopy was set up over the top of a three burner Coleman camping stove cooking hot dogs and coffee.
Today we have a 10,000-seat venue with the most breathtaking views that is home away from home for more than 100,000 fans from April – September. Racing happens nearly every Saturday night with the addition of special events such as Dirt Cup, Summer Nationals, Monster Slam and the World of Outlaws.