Story by: Andy Marquis ~ [email protected]

Manassas, VA(January 2, 2013) – It was the final season at Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, and the final season didn’t disappoint.   Three former champions made visits to victory lane, one of which finding redemption in the season’s biggest race, controversy surrounded a couple of young guns and a track veteran persevered to win a long awaited championship.

The final season at Old Dominion Speedway kicked off on April 14th, seven months after an epic 2011 season finale race.  2002 Old Dominion Speedway track champion Mike Darne, who was dominant in 2011 running a partial schedule, won the first race of the last season.  Darne, who won the track championship in 2002, would go on to make a lot of noise in the 2012 racing season.

The drivers you’d expect to see out front dominated for much of the season.  Entering the Third Annual Youth For Tomorrow 150 in late July, five different drivers had visited victory lane.  Mike Darne had three wins on the season at Old Dominion Speedway, 2011 Old Dominion Speedway Champion David Polenz, Davey Callihan and Doug Liberman each had two wins while Tyler Hughes had one win.

Mike Darne qualified on the pole in the Youth For Tomorrow 150, leading many to believe he would go on to win the event for a third straight year.  However, after an inversion, it was Dustin Storm who rocketed to the lead early on to score the victory and the $10,000 check.  Storm had crossed the finish line first in the $5,000 to win ODS Big One in 2011 but was disqualified for using an unapproved tire.  It was sweet redemption for the 2001 track champion, who called the win and the #10,000 check “severance pay”.  Doug Liberman picked up his third and final victory of the season the following week, but it would be the following race that would be instrumental in whether Liberman could win the championship.

That race, on August 11th, provided for the season’s most controversial moment.  Davey Callihan won the race and appeared destined to win the track championship, but Tyler Hughes protested Callihan’s engine.  The comparison engine used when the motors were tested was at 420 horsepower.  Hughes’ engine tested at 380 hosepower while Callihan’s engine tested at 435 horsepower.  However, Callihan was deemed legal and allowed to keep his win.  At this point, Lynn Carroll was called in to investigate.

This takes us to August 16th.  A press release is sent out by the track declaring the results official and Callihan the winner and essentially securing the track championship.  Very early the next morning, an email is sent out by Old Dominion Speedway declaring that Callihan’s motor was, in fact, not legal and that he’d be disqualified and docked 30 points, handing the win to Robert Bruce and relegating Callihan to third in points.

With that situation in the rear-view mirror, the veteran Liberman had a clear path to win the championship.  Closed the following night for the Prince William County Fair, it wouldn’t be until Labor Day Weekend that the track would run another event where David Polenz, who was not running the full season, scored his third and final win of the season.

Entering the final race of the season, the mood was somber upon media reports that the 2012 ODS Big One would be the final race held at the oval track at Old Dominion Speedway.  A capacity crowd showed up to the event.  2007 track champion Michael Hardin held off the 22 car field much of the race in the 200 lap race, collecting the win in the final race ever held at Old Dominion Speedway.

Doug Liberman went on to score the track championship, his first track championship, by 14 points over David Polenz and 40 points over Tyler Hughes.

With that, the curtain has closed and the final chapter has been written about Old Dominion Speedway.  Steve Britt, owner of Old Dominion Speedway, hopes to start anew.  Britt is currently working through the planning process in Spotsylvania County, VA to build a multi-purpose motorsports complex, called Dominion Raceway, in Thornburg, VA.

Old Dominion Speedway started out with humble beginnings in a farmer’s field in 1948.  From there, Al Gore purchased “Longview Speedway” in 1951 and built up the state of the art facility.  For 65 years, Old Dominion Speedway was a generational tradition.  It stood the test of time.  From the Kennedy assassination to the September 11th terrorist attacks, from Vietnam to Iraq, no matter the time, no matter the generation, Old Dominon Speedway was a premiere destination on weekends in the Capital Region.

Farewell, Old Dominion Speedway, 1948-2012.