Auto Racer Bullish on Potential for Motorplex

A one-of-a-kind racetrack that was planned for Northwest Arkansas hasn’t gained much traction since the economy tanked, but National Hot Rod Association racer Rod Fuller is still fired up about it.

The Northwest Arkansas Motorplex would be unlike anything in the state and include a drag strip, golf course, shopping and fishing. It had been planned along U.S. Highway 412, just inside Washington County, between Siloam Springs and Tontitown.

“I still think it could happen,” the Rogers native said.

When the project was announced over five years ago, investors had wanted to build it along Interstate 49 in Benton County, but at the time, it was still a dry county, and the facility planned to sell alcohol.

“We had some really strong investors,” Fuller said. But after the downturn in the economy the project fell through.

Nowadays, Fuller, who still calls Rogers home, is vice president of operations for Exotics Racing in Las Vegas. The high-speed business sees 48,000 customers annually who have the opportunity to drive 70 exotic cars on a 1.4-mile road course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

And, if the Northwest Arkansas Motorplex becomes a reality, he’d want a road course included in the project.