ODS lives another year

I am a little late to the party, only learning today that Old Dominion Speedway (ODS) in Manassas, Virginia, has survived to open for the 2007 racing season, both on the short-track and drag-strip.

Last season, the track was sold to developers, and it was thought that 2006 would be the last season of racing. Enter the slight downturn in the Northern Virginia real estate market, and a temporary reprieve from demolition.

ODS presents an evening of racing that is still affordable to the masses - with adult prices ranging from $15-20 depending on the card. The Saturday night on the short-track features 5-6 racing series each night, with shorter distances and breaks in between that you don't see at the major league NASCAR level. ODS's premier division, the Late Models, competes against other tracks in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series, and ODS had the 2003 NASCAR Weekly Racing Series National Champion, Winchester's Mark McFarland. (McFarland would later get a ride in the NASCAR Busch Series in the 88 Navy car for JR Motorsports for 2005, and part of 2006 before he was replaced by Shane Huffman) McFarland won a whopping 15 of 17 late model races at ODS that season - and finished 2nd in each of the other two. That same season, he ran late models at another track in Southeastern Virginia on Friday nights, and won the track title there too.