It’s that time of year again, when the communities of Callaway and Arnold join forces to bring one of the summer’s premiere events to Custer County. The sound of racing engines and the smell of rubber will soon fill the Seven Valleys air for a weekend. Sandhills Open Road Challenge time is almost here!

The SORC website labels the 55-mile road course as “arguably the most demanding event of its kind in America”. Some of the nation’s most talented drivers venture to this area each August to challenge themselves on the track filled with “S” curves, straightaways and 90-degree turns.

The annual event is nearly as much fun for spectators as it is for the participants. The Sandhills Open Road Challenge was founded by Joe Shown of Arnold in 2001, and the following year Callaway became an integral part of the event with the introduction of the one-mile shootout. The one-mile shootout attracts more than 1,000 spectators every year. The event was also the first time ever a one-mile shootout had been held on a closed public highway, a format that has now been repeated by other national racing organizations.

The one-mile shootout is held on the Cozad road, one mile west and 15 miles south of Callaway, and this year will be on Friday, Aug. 9, when the spotlight will be on Callaway until early afternoon. The day will begin bright and early with breakfast for the drivers and crew at the shootout site at 6:30 a.m, catered by The Green Apple Cafe of Cozad. The road will be closed to traffic beginning at 7:30 a.m., and the shootout gets underway at 8:00.

Following the shootout the drivers will make their way to Callaway for lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Community Center. The cars will be on display for viewing at this time in downtown Callaway. The lunch is sponsored by the Callaway Chamber of Commerce. Anyone who is willing to help make cookies or help with the luncheon is encouraged to reach out to Nebraska State Bank to sign up.

After lunch the drivers will head to Arnold for the annual parade of cars at 2:30 p.m. The cars will then be parked on display for public viewing in downtown Arnold from 3 – 4:30 p.m. The drag race and burnout contest will begin at 3:30 p.m. in Arnold.

Cars will be rolling into the area by Tuesday, Aug. 6, as the tech inspection for the Loup 2 Loup race will be held that evening west of Arnold. That race will be held on Thursday, Aug. 8 beginning at 8:30 a.m. on the Halsey to Purdum road. The premiere SORC road race will take place on Saturday, Aug. 10 at 8:30 a.m.