Sheridan's Speedways long history of racing!

The original club was formed in 1947 and was then called Sheridan Hot Rod Club, Inc. The officers were Vern L. Morris, President; Cecil Wentz, Vice-President and Don Welton, Secretary-Treasurer.

The race cars were called “The Wyo Big Cars”. There were stripped down frames with a T bucket and a roll bar behind the driver. Ford front axles and flat head Ford and Mercury engines. The only place they had to run was on the fairgrounds track. They used ethyl gas with a quart or so of pure ether. Billings was running the Wonderland Speedway at this time, so a bunch of us went up to see what and how. After seeing the races the group began building race cars and a track. Most of the cars were 1932 to 1937 coupes and there was only one class. The track was a little piece of land just south of the Girl’s School and with the help of Rasmussen Brothers the Mountain View Speedway was formed. That track closed around 1960. Names from a program from the Mountain View Speedway (year unknown) are Art Smith, Wilbur Martin, Mike DeLuna, Jim Goodlet, Bob Goodlet, Bob Mock, Jim Salistrom, Tommy Barker, Pete Genereaux, Jim Jackson, Gene Wakefield, George Good, Bill Gaugh, Maurice Kennedy, Wilford Helling, Ace Weaver, Hank Sullivan, and Vern Morris.

In the beginning the club was organized to race on the fairground tracks. The club was dormant for the period during the Korean War and was revived in 1953.

The words “Hot Rod Club” were replaced and the organization’s name by “Race Car Association” and a one-quarter mile track was built south of the Wyoming State Girls School. Club officers at that time were: Vern L. Morris, President; Jack Yentzer, Vice-President; and Don Welton, Secretary-Treasurer. At this track, racing continued until 1960 with one class of car, the original “stock car”. During the period from 1957 to 1960, the track was primarily under the direction and control of George Good.

Stock car racing was abandoned in 1960 and again lay dormant until 1970 when Vern L. Morris and Gerald Schaffer reorganized the Sheridan Race Car Association and made arrangements through LeRoy Scrutchfield to build a three-eighths mile track, which was located above the present day Wyoming Game and Fish offices and on the site of the Comfort Inn Suites. It was known as Interstate Speedway and the first race at the speedway was on August 2, 1970.

In 1978 it was no longer feasible to run the track and the track was closed, all the track merchandise was sold off and put into savings at the Bank of Commerce. That money was then brought out to try to purchase and rebuild a track at the Jensik Interchange (kitty corner from the existing Port of Entry) after a difficult battle the plans had to be scraped and the club lost that money. They regrouped and found the present day site. With a lot of hard work and tenacity and donated equipment from Big Horn Coal, Decker Coal, Guernsey Construction and Dan Barker of Barker Brothers the track was ready in the fall of 1991.