Racers in the Southeastern portion of the United States are about to gain another quality venue to race at as Orangeburg Drag Strip undergoes some major renovations after being purchased by RJS Racing Equipment owner Jeff Biegun. The track will be renamed the South Carolina Motorplex and will be ready for a grand opening in February of 2018.

Biegun, who purchased the ADRL in 2017, learned that booking tracks for races was more difficult than he anticipated. As he tried to set the 2017 and 2018 ADRL schedule many tracks were booked out or wouldn’t return his call. When he did receive a call back, he began to see how the leasing of a track worked and it made the business-minded gears in his head turn.

“I would ask many tracks some basic questions about the const of track rental and they would hesitate and then ask a series of questions in return. They would want to know what kind of race are you running, how many people do you expect, and how many racers will be coming. I somehow thought that based on my answers the price would change and in many instants it did. I soon figured out that if we are going to be successful and in charge of our own destiny we have to get into the race track business,” Biegun explains.

After the decision was made it was time to start the process of figuring out how to make this new business model work. Since the Southern part of the country has a strong racing heritage it made Orangeburg a solid place to begin for Biegun. “Orangeburg Drag Strip was in good shape, the climate is good in the region, and that area is a hotbed for racing. The price of the track was a good value and we purchased 264 acres next to it, so we have a total of 314 acres for further expansion. We are going to add mud bogs, flat track dirt racing, and other venues for racing. We are also looking for more tracks to purchase in the future,” Biegun says.

Along with the new South Carolina Motorplex name comes a slew of upgrades to the facility; Biegun plans on adding a new timing system, new scoreboards, 2,000 feet of concrete walls, and some new paint to spruce the track up. There will also be a new management structure and staff to help push the new track forward, along with a beer and wine license to give the fans a new experience.

Besides making the physical changes to the track, Biegun is trying to change how a drag strip can be operated.

“We want to create a new way to do business in the ever-changing world of drag racing. Our goal is to enhance the experience by doing things like car-load pricing for spectators and website purchasing for potential advertisers. We also want to offer online booking for track rentals that is like booking a flight. With this system, you can pick your dates, what you need or don’t need as far as track help, ticket takers, parking attendant and so on, “Biegun explains.

The grand opening for the South Carolina Motorplex is set for February 9-10 when it will host a Street Outlaws TV filming. There will also be other big events in 2018, including the ADRL, Super Chevy, Fun Ford, and Mopar weekends, along with two big Volkswagen-only races. Biegun also wants to book other events like swap meets, car shows, flea markets, concerts and much more in the new year.