Chris and Leslie Corum are the sole owners of I-40 Raceway and I-40 Motocross. The couple closed on the property on December 31 and are looking forward to a bright future with the facility.
Doug Sopha bought the facility from Jill Varnell in 2012. Sopha brought in the Corums to manage the motocross while he developed plans to build what many called a “new Atomic Speedway”. Instead, a flat 1/4-mile track was built that opened briefly in 2014. Lack of support caused an early closure of the circle track. Sopha and Corum began to talk about a transfer of ownership of the property.
“I’m not sure it turned out like he’d hope,” Corum said of Sopha’s decision to sell. “I also think age has something to do with it too. I believe he’s at that point where he wants to simplify his life. He has some other properties he has been selling or has for sale.”
Chris Corum
Corum has a fondness for the area as the I-40 complex sits down the road from the former Atomic Speedway.
“It’s an honor to own the property next to Atomic,” Corum stated. “It’s almost in the same location just down the road. It’s not Atomic, but it does bring back a lot of those memories.”
While the motocross continues to thrive, the challenge for Corum is to build the I-40 Raceway into its own thriving facility.
“Plans for I-40 Raceway is to keep it a grass root facility,” Corum said. “The size lends itself to grass roots racing – the mini stocks, the mod lites, the roadhogs, and classes like those. The area needs a grass roots place for guys to get started into racing. There are a lot of people in this area that want to race, especially in the go-carts. They just can’t afford to field a limited late model, a sportsman car, or a street stock. This will give them the place get into something less expensive to be able to race.”
“I see a lot of good things with local racing. Most of the tracks in this area are doing well. To keep that going, there has to be racers coming into the sport. I-40 will have its own niche. Will try to bring in some sponsors for some bigger paying races for the classes we do run.”
While the I-40 Raceway facility is rather basic, Corum says there is plenty of opportunity for growth in the years ahead.
“It’s a work in progress,” Corum said. “Eldora Speedway started out as a little flat, quarter-mile track. It certainly doesn’t look now like it did in 1954. We have a good location, an area that supports racing. My vision is to grow the place, let it evolve over time.”
Corum says the divisions he is eyeing for 2015 are the mini stocks, both front wheel drive and rear wheel drive, mod lites, enduro/roadhogs, and a rotating class between several divisions. Plans are to open Memorial Day weekend and run through Labor Day weekend with some possible Saturday races late in the year. A track web site should be up in several weeks that will have a detailed schedule, rules, and more.
