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Hallett Motor Racing Circuit is a scenic 1.8 mile road course located in the rolling hills of rural North-East Oklahoma, approximately 30 miles west of Tulsa. The track itself is fairly narrow, with numerous sharp turns and major elevation changes, and rewards skilful driving rather than brute power. The facility is set up for spectators with grandstands, shaded picnic areas, food concessions and gift shop. In addition to hosting races for national organizations, such as SCCA, it runs its own road-race series (COMMA) and high speed touring events for street cars.
Hallet is owned and operated by Stephens Brothers Racing, Ltd..
2004 Update provided by Guy Watney.
Last Updated: 2005-04-22
Built by the noted (and enormously entertaining) gentleman sports car racer Anatoly Arutunoff, Hallett has hosted a few professional events since it opened in 1976, but it now mainly caters to club events. Like many similar tracks, Hallett has been dogged by financial difficulties, and it is rumored that only the cost of removing the vast number of tires that constitute the main crash barriers has prevented it from being sold and the land converted to other uses. Now under new ownership, the track is undergoing a program of improvement and renovation.
Hallett Motor Racing Circuit
59901 E. 55 Road
Jennings OK 74038
Stephens Racing/Hallett Motor Racing Circuit
2232 South Nogales
Tulsa, OK 74107-2826
918-356-4384 (track, weekends)
918-583-1134 (office, tulsa)
918-583-1135 (office fax)
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Take the Cimarron Turnpike (Hwy 64 & 51) west to Exit 99 (Hwy 99). Go south on Hwy 99 to the first road going west (right) from the turnpike gate. Hallett is a short distance on the right.
Access to the track is excellent, since it is so close to the
Cimarron Turnpike. The access road crosses the race track and is
therefore closed during practice and race sessions. The paddock is
large and mostly grass-covered. Some paved and covered paddock spaces
and enclosed garages are available for rent on race weekends (contact
the track management for cost and availability). Pets are permitted.
There are permanent restrooms, modern hot showers, and a limited number
of electrical hookups. The concession stand, located on the bottom
floor of the tower, provides good and moderately-priced food. Various
grades of race gas (leaded and unleaded) are available. One feature of
Hallett is that the paddock is very spread-out, so some form of wheeled
paddock transport is highly desirable.
Access to the grid is via the main road in and out of the track, by the tech and impound area, which can become somewhat congested on race weekends. Sound control for SCCA events is located on driver's left at the top of the hill at Station 2.
It is a very safe track, with wide runoff areas and little concrete or armco to be seen, crash protection being provided by the extensive tire walls. At one time, there were concrete 'turtles' set into the curbing at some turns, which had the unfortunate habit of ripping the bottom off formula cars that went over them. These have now been shaved down, but it is still worth avoiding the curbing whenever possible.
There is ample paddock space for both RV parking and camping, and some electrical hookups are available. Most corner stations can be reached by car without leaving the paddock. The major feature of working corners at Hallett is the heat, which can be brutal in mid-summer, although the gazebos provide adequate shade. Owing to the numerous turns and elevation changes, line-of-sight is poor in some areas, which necessitates good co-ordination between workers and corner-stations when responding to a cross-track incident.
After passing the start stand, Turn 1 is a fast left-hand turn which leads onto an uphill staight. Carry as much speed as you can through here, as the hill is pretty steep. The crest of the hill is at Station 2, after which the track descends to 3, a very slow left, and prime out-braking location. The straight between 3 and 4 is flat until the start of turn 4, when the track rises and sweeps to the right, cresting at the apex of 4, at which point the car can become light and somewhat unstable, particularly if off-line. Immediately afterwards follows the left at 5, where the track falls away slightly at the corner exit. It is vitally important not to drift out too wide and put a back wheel off here--if you do, you may be catapulted across the track towards the bunker at Station 6.
[How do I know this? Some years ago, I was towing to Hallett and gave a ride to a corner worker. As one does on these occasions, we got talking about this and that, and I expressed surprise that anyone could hit the bunker at Station 6. She assured me that it had happened repeatedly, I remained sceptical, and we moved on to other things. Later that evening, we were sitting around drinking a beer or two with a crowd of drivers and workers, which included an A-Sedan driver (whom we shall call Tim, for that is his name) who was working corners that weekend. Tim and I agreed that we found it almost incompehensible that anyone could manage to hit the bunker at 6. As fate would have it, Tim was assigned to work Station 6 the next day, I was out in the first group on a damp and slightly slippery track, and I showed him exactly how you do it. I put a wheel off on the right just past 5 and found myself spinning towards the bunker at 6, thinking to myself "They'll be so p...ed when I trash their bunker." I arrived in a cloud of dirt, perfectly parked, backwards, between the bunker and a tree, with about a foot to spare each side. Tim stuck his head through the window, saying "Are you OK?". Summoning all the dignity I could muster, I replied "You see, that's how you do it", to which he simply gave me a disgusted look and "Go away!"]
Having negotiated 5 safely, 6 is a moderately slow, late apex left (known, with more than a trace of sarcasm, as Everyone's Favorite Turn), followed by a fairly long straight. There is a station at 7, but I don't think that anyone in a car pointing in the right direction has ever seen it (which can present problems if an incident occurs on the straight, since they do display flags at 7, despite the fact that drivers can't see them). We then come to 8, aptly named The Bitch, a fast left-right (with the apex of the right blind over the crest of a hill) followed by a hard right at the bottom of the hill after which the track goes uphill again onto the back straight. Generally, lift (or brake lightly, depending on how fast you are going) at the turn-in of the left, and aim for where you think the apex of the right is. There may be an indicator pylon at the apex, but this often doesn't last very long in a race. There is also a billboard in the distance on the turnpike which is in line with the apex, but this is not always easy to see. Proceeding down the back staight, we pass pit-in, which is located on driver's left at Station 10. The final turn (10 and 11) is a simple carousel. Again, the track drops away on driver's right at the turn exit, which may catch the unwary.
Overall, Hallett is an entertaining and technically challenging track with many passing opportunities. Although it is possible to go off-course almost anywhere, the wide runoff areas and lack of concrete barriers result in little damage to cars or drivers if this occurs.
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