RAPID CITY - Virgil Randall contemplated hanging up his racing helmet for good. That was before Black Hills Speedway's long dormant half-mile track roared back to life for the 2008 season.

"I had thought about retiring after last year, then I heard the half-mile was coming back and here we are," said Randall, 42, of Interior. "I don't plan on retiring anytime soon as long as this half-mile is here."

Randall, at the wheel of his No. 8R Wissota Modified, earned his first-ever track championship at BHS over a fast-closing Alan Farley during last weekend's Wissota-class track championships.

Randall didn't claim a feature win, but still marched to the title.

Farley, who had missed races during the early part of the season, kept the pressure on with two wins down the stretch, finishing just eight points out of the lead.

"We didn't have much luck the last three weeks. I didn't know if I was going to be able to hang on to this championship or not. Breaking a set of gears and getting into a couple of crashes didn't make things very easy on me," Randall said. "I came close (to winning) a couple of times. I got two second places and a fifth, and I've been in the top 10 most of the year. It was consistency that got us here."

Randall grew up in Lower Brule, and caught the racing bug watching fellow home-town driver Sonny Isburg.

"Sonny was a guy we always followed, We traveled with him and even came with him to this track a few times. That's when I got my taste," he said.

Randall moved to Rapid City in 1984.

"We came out here (BHS) every week as avid fans. I never got rid of that feeling," he said.

Randall is superintendent of Oglala Sioux Housing in Interior, but motorsports has always been a big part of his life.

He rode motocross as a child and later got into stock cars, first in the old Sportsman division at BHS, and later purchasing his first Modified race car from the late Darwin Shoop.

His racing exploits have taken him to tracks in Huron, Aberdeen, Watertown and Wagner as well as Rapid City.

"I've always got to have a helmet on my head doing 100 miles per hour," he said.

His family, wife LaVonne and children Jason, Carly, Rikki and Hailey, come to the track each night.

Randall also credits sponsors I-Bank Redi-Cash, Common Cents, along with friends Marty Brave, Todd and Pam Willis and fellow modified driver Kevin Bowman, a cousin.

"We work on our cars together over the winter. I couldn't do a lot of this without them, Todd and Pam. We pit right next to Marty and we're proud to have him be a part of our racing," Randall said. "My family and I have a lot of fans that show up every week. I'd like to thank them for also supporting our track."

His first-ever points title is the culmination of years of effort.

"After 12 years of competing, it's exciting," he said.