Gooding County International Raceway/High Desert Speedway

In early 1972 two parties wanted to lease an unused runway at Gooding Airport, four miles west of town: a California firm called B. C., Inc., and Bill New, owner of Firebird Raceway. New doubted the California group’s profit claims and told the city to be careful. On August 4, 1972, Gooding resident Craig Muchow, president of Gooding County International Raceway, filed incorporation papers, and twelve days later he signed an eight-year lease with the city. The city would get four percent of the gross, rising to five percent after five years. Muchow planned permanent bleachers that fall and borrowed movable bleachers and other equipment in the meantime.

The first race, on Sunday, August 20, 1972, drew 300 spectators and 200 entries. There was no return lane, which slowed the racing, and the hope was to fix that before the next race. The second race, on September 17, drew 400 spectators and 57 entries in seven brackets. Organizational trouble and a lack of big-name draws made 1973 a spotty year. On August 25, 1974, the strip ran a match race between Salt Lake City funny cars driven by Mike Reynolds and Jeff Bost, and AHRA sanctioned it that year.

Little is known after 1974 until about 1983-84, when it became Magic Valley Raceway under manager Frank Fuqua. Mitch Johnson ran it as High Desert Speedway in 2005, renamed it SoHo Raceway Park in 2012, and later went back to the High Desert name for eighth-mile racing. It was also called Snake River Dragway for a few years. FAA regulations kept it from operating after the 2018 season.