Oak Level owner buys Ararat oval
The track owner reopening the long-dormant Oak Level Raceway in Bassett, Va., has added another home-state track to his portfolio with the purchase of Ararat (Va.) BullRing, which in 2025 operated under promoter Langley Austin after being idle for three seasons.
Bo Miller, who has fielded Dirt Late Models for his son Carder Miller, last month received governmental approval to reopen Oak Level and has also secured ownership for the Ararat oval from Gary and Alesia Nester. Austin will continue as promoter of Ararat while Kimberly Austin will continue as race director at Ararat and add the same duties at Oak Level, which hasn't operated since 2009.
“I fell in love with Ararat BullRing at first sight during open practice back in April,” Bo Miller said in a news release. “I wanted to help secure its future for generations to come. Don’t expect a lot of changes because we love the place just the way it is, but we’ll make subtle improvements and work to make the track even better for racers and fans.”
Langley Austin, involved in racing for more than two decades and a former asphalt promoter, looks forward to his association with Miller at Ararat.
“We put this place back on the map this season, and with Bo’s ownership, we’re going to make it a destination track in 2026 and beyond,” Austin said. “His investment will help us upgrade equipment, improve facilities, and keep all the things that make this track great.”
While Oak Level is set to reopen next season, Miller’s ownership of Ararat begins with three late-season events, starting with Oct. 25’s Working Man Dirt Nationals. November’s Stock4 World Championship and Dirty Turkey Derby are also planned. The Virginia tracks will run similar divisions next seasons (Ararat ran a regular Crate Late Model division in 2025 with Nathan Walker capturing the championship).
“There are bigger and nicer facilities around,” Austin said, “but these two tracks are going to be the heartbeat of the local racing scene in Southwest Virginia. They’ll represent everything that’s right about small-town, big-passion short track racing.”
