RIB MOUNTAIN — NASCAR driver and Wausau native Scott Wimmer and his father, Ron, have purchased State Park Speedway in Rib Mountain, according to a news release.

The racetrack was put up for sale at the end of the 2009 race season after the track has struggled to attract fans and racers in recent years.

Instead of running weekly races, the Wimmers plan to organize eight to ten special races, according to the news release.

“There’s a lot of work in essentially rebuilding a racetrack,” says Ron Wimmer. “We need to get fans back and more cars. We think the best way to do that is to have a select number of specials and do them well, then in the next few years we can look at possibly returning to weekly racing.”

Race dates and times for the 2010 season will be announced in the next few months.

“We’re working on options to increase the purse and get drivers back out to State Park, Scott Wimmer said. ”For a quarter-mile track it’s really racy. I want fans to be able to experience some exciting racing this year and that all starts with talking to drivers and getting them interested, and that’s what we are going to do.”