In wake of legal battles and the impending sale of Spokane Raceway Park, auto racing will continue next spring at the embattled motorsports complex.

So believes Troy Moe, who heads one of the local group of investors interested in buying the facility.

The park remained open this past season under interim general manager Jim Tice. The 600-acre facility, which is in need of remodeling, supports a quarter-mile drag strip, 2.5-mile road course and half-mile asphalt oval.

SRP is prepared to reopen in April. Tentative race dates are being taken for the 2007 schedule.

Rice assumed GM duties after Orville Moe, the legendary force behind SRP for three decades, was fired June 1 by a judge who concluded the 69-year-old millionaire had disobeyed a court-appointed receiver overseeing financial operations. In wake of legal battles and the impending sale of Spokane Raceway Park, auto racing will continue next spring at the embattled motorsports complex.

So believes Troy Moe, who heads one of the local group of investors interested in buying the facility.

The park remained open this past season under interim general manager Jim Tice. The 600-acre facility, which is in need of remodeling, supports a quarter-mile drag strip, 2.5-mile road course and half-mile asphalt oval.

SRP is prepared to reopen in April. Tentative race dates are being taken for the 2007 schedule.

Rice assumed GM duties after Orville Moe, the legendary force behind SRP for three decades, was fired June 1 by a judge who concluded the 69-year-old millionaire had disobeyed a court-appointed receiver overseeing financial operations.

Orville Moe, Troy’s uncle, was found to have given “misleading and false information” to 500 limited partners whose money helped build the facility, court-appointed receiver Barry Davidson ruled. Those investors, in a lawsuit that prompted Davidson’s appointment to oversee the track’s financial records, claimed they saw no return on more than $2 million in stock they bought from Moe in the 1970s. Angry investors sued Moe, alleging he “converted partnership assets” from the racetrack operation for his own profit.

Since his ouster, Orville Moe has faced a series of legal troubles. He now faces a contempt issue in state court and bribery charges in federal court.

Moe continues to claim his innocence, vowing he had never taken a dime

“I’m fine. I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “This will all get handled.

“The records are all there. … It’s a big fishing expedition because there’s nothing wrong. … All lies. … They're looking for something that isn’t there … it never happened.”

Moe was found in contempt of court Nov. 30 by a Superior Court judge. Moe was ordered on June 1 to turn over an $11,000 bank account and other business records to Davidson. But instead of complying with the order, Moe filed bankruptcy on Aug. 17 and didn’t turn over any of the records.

Moe said in court that he turned over the $11,000 bank account to his bankruptcy attorney. If Moe doesn’t comply by Dec. 8, he stands to be fined $1,000-a-day until he does.

But Moe insists “they took all the money and I’ve been paying the bills.”

To compound his woes, Moe is set to face a public corruption trial with his involvement with former Airway Heights Mayor Dale R. Perry. The indictment alleges Moe loaned the mayor money with the expectation that Perry would cast favorable votes when issues regarded SRP came before the Airway Heights City Council.

Federal authorities have warned Moe that he faces a possible prison term if convicted of a two bribery charges returned last month by a grand jury. Each count carries a possible term of no more than 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Perry is charged with two counts of bribery and two counts of soliciting a bribe.

Two counts of the indictment allege Perry corruptly solicited loans from Paul Sandifur and Northern Quest Casino in September, 2002. However, neither Sandifur nor Northern Quest Casino loaned Perry any money. Two other counts charge Perry with accepting a bribe from Moe. The indictment alleges Moe corruptly loaned Perry $18,000 in October, 2002, and again loaned him $109,000 in October, 2004. It is alleged that these loans were made in return for the forbearance of enacting an admissions tax on SRP and the actual repeal of the admissions tax which was earlier enacted on Nov. 3, 2003.

James A. McDevitt, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said, “Public

corruption destroys our collective confidence in those officials whom we entrust to govern our affairs and erodes the very fabric of our democracy. It cannot and will not be tolerated at any level of government. It is for that reason that public corruption has been, and will continue to be, a primary focus of this office.”

Despite the latest charges, Moe denies any wrongdoing.

Moe said his troubles are a result of a “family feud and a hostile takeover attempt” that has divided family and friends. But he insists he has his share of supporters.

“I have people calling me from all over the country. They know what I’m all about and how I deal,” he said.

Meanwhile, plans are moving ahead toward the assessment and sale of SRP.

Davidson has filed a motion to hire a California company to conduct a marketing analysis of the property. Following a 90-day process, there is hope that the sales and bid process will begin by spring, if approved by a judge.

Troy Moe’s group is carefully watching the proceedings. They would like to bid for the park and if successful in acquiring it, making necessary improvements and maintaining it as a motorsports complex, which would include an IHRA-sanctioned drag strip.

The Kalispel Tribe, which owns 40 acres of the park and operates a casino, also is thought to be interested in buying the park. It is unclear if the tribe intends to keep it a racing facility.

“We’re in the same pattern, same mode and we’re ready to go forward if the courts allow,” Troy Moe said of the legal journey to unlock and rekindle SRP. “We’re getting there … we want this to move forward.”