This is blockbuster news, I am amazed it hasn’t drawn more attention.
If you have not heard, VSP management started making the calls on Monday to the racers who have supported them. They said the track will run the Winternationals in 2011, and on into the future, but will not be running weekly shows throughout the season like it has for so many years. The track is “not for sale”, apparently because the Winternationals makes so much money, but it is available for lease if any party wants to take a shot at it.
This is really sad news to me. If no one leases it, this situation will benefit other tracks in the state, especially the new operators of nearby Putnam County Speedway. They must be dancing in a circle this week! I’m of the opinion that a rising tide floats all boats, and that we are better off with more tracks and more racing that we are with less.
Volusia is one of those places that has “always been there”. I grew up hearing about it, I had the good fortune of attending at least 50 of their shows over the past few years, and even won my first main event at Volusia when it was paved. I certainly hope a capable manager with plenty of money to throw around gets the lease, and that this excellent track returns to weekly action ASAP.
So here is your chance KARNAC know-it-alls. You’ve had years to perfect your armchair quarterback skills, so pulls a few hundred thousand out from under your matress and give DIRT Motorsports a call!
I had a lot fun in the passed running there at many speedweeks and a few other shows as well.
Hope they can get a better deal then I’ve seen be fore.
Sounds like tipicle Benny,rent to some sucker so they don’t get anygood race dates/shows cus those are kept. Thats kind of what happen to new Hollywood oval [now long gone] from the Johnsons too and they kept all food and drink and added a lot extra fees to boot for clean up and upkeep on & on :(ect.
From an email-
Volusia Speedway will not be closing following DIRTcar Nationals. Weekly racing will continue at Volusia Speedway in 2011. We are exploring the possibilities of leasing the track for weekly racing.
It was from Tonya Moschell and it said-Volusia Speedway will not be closing following DIRTcar Nationals. Weekly racing will continue at Volusia Speedway in 2011. We are exploring the possibilities of leasing the track for weekly racing. If this is something you might be interested in, please contact me as soon as possible. However, there are no plans at the present time to sell Volusia Speedway Park.Thank you for your interest!Tonya
WOW, its seem like some tracks are like come and goes ,or here and gone like theres no tomorrow.:sprachlos020: Just like Lakeland USA Speedway, it`s was here and gone today.
Thanks can be said to a couple of people who (for nothing better to do) like to go and spread rumors on message boards. Yes, there was some discussion about VSP not running weekly shows this season. Yes there was a discussion (and it still may be in the works) for a lease deal on the track. According to the last info that I got Volusia is running a full schedule or weekly racing this season. Cindy and I are signed on to handle their media for the season, and no one has told us any differently. As for those who insist on spreading the rumors, they have also been spreading crap about Ocala Speedway insusting that the track will be leased out and that several divisions there will be changing. Mike Peters has personally posted to deny these rumors and yet these same people continue to insist that they KNOW the truth. In fact, I spoke with Mike today and he is currently working on the rules for 2011 which will be out in early January as usual. The schedule will be out soon as well. All I have to ask is how many times do these people have to be caught in blatent lies before some people will stop believeing their word as gospel?
They were playing with the idea of it and it got out. He posted it because it is a FL track and we are loseing tracks in FL. And the guy in the email said they are exploring the possibilities of leasing the track.
[QUOTE=Boneman;58449]Who are you referring to?
This is no rumor, but it is clear that the story is evolving this week, and that plans continue to change.[/QUOTE]
The people who have been spreading rumors for the sake of spreading them didn’t come up with this one. Their story went in a totally different direction before being blown out of the water. however, when word of the discussions surrounding VSP came out, they jumped on board. You’re right. Its a legitimate issue, but the other stuff was not. It was absolutely made up and preceded with, “we heard from a very reliable source…”
Again, the same sort of crap was and is being spread about Ocala even though Mike Peters had personally shot it down. The best thing for anyone to do at this time of the year when stuff gets started is to use patience and see what happens before jumping on anyone’s bandwagon.
does a traveling series director go to differant tracks, make phone calls, etc, to sign any paper work? If so, seems like someone would be able catch wind of a possible lease signing and start some kind of rumor mill to churning…
Several years ago a “reliable source” had myself and Bubba the Love Sponge buying Charlotte County Speedway. When I read this news Jack and I showed up there with big cigars walking around getting all kinds of looks and questions. Needless to say the source was out to lunch like every other one I have heard about. If someone says they have a “reliable source” in anything that has to do with racing don’t believe it!!! Someday I would like to meet this “reliable source”…
If for no other reason, this discussion had value because it brought things out in the open. This was a rapidly moving story; I heard it from three people at the truck race last weekend, so it was hardly a secret.
On another board, Tonya the VSP GM, made what I thought was an ambiguous statement on Monday, and then came out clearly today and said that 2011 is a “go”. If that is the word from the top, then terrific. I hope they rebuild and have a great year.
But you’ll never convince me that it wasn’t up in the air.
I’ve been following the rumors for a bit also. We all hear some and we decide what to do with the information. If it doesn’t affect me, I will wait and see what develops. If it does potentially involve me, I’ll go to the source and ask a few questions. Ocala’s rumors could affect me so I asked Mike a few questions. I was reassured. Volusia doesn’t affect me so I’m just watching. I do find it interesting that the World Racing Group seems to be changing it’s operating model. It’s a fact they have already leased a track in NY and apparently it’s verified they are looking to do the same with Volusia. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years with dirt racing. World Racing Group is a large player in dirt racing. This is a story that should be followed.
I remember that Rick, I used to be pretty close with Bubba, and since we’re on the subject, remember, every single year there were rumors about Sunshine, usually started by Bonnie herself but none the less, it got to where we bet on what the rumor would be each year.
Just to make it clear, I never said that the story about the possibilty of there being no 2011 racing season at VSP was false, nor did I say that the story about the track being leased was false. I only heard about that part over the weekend at Orlando for the first time as no one from VSP told me anything until that time. I personally wrote to Tonya and got an answer from her explaining the situation as best she could at that time, and I was satisfied with that. What is false are the rumors that preceeded all of that which were disproven after some time, such as VSP being a NASCAR track or that it would be paved again. As far as leasing VSP goes, I understand that it remains a very real possibility with a very knowlegible and experienced promoter in negotiations with the owners to do it. Eitehr way, leased or not, there is going to be a 2011 season at Volusia, because Tonya said so. I have no reason not to believe her based on “reliable sources” who keep feeding “information” to other people.
Just to add some fodder to the rumor mill, although this doesn’t affect me either, I read on a Northeast racing board tonight of a person (Bobby Richards) that is looking for investors to buy “Bradenton Motor Sports Park in Florida”. He apparently has the money to buy it but wants 3 investors to go in it with him. I believe the price was $2.9 million. That’s for the oval track and drag strip.
BTW, Memphis sold for $1.9 million Wednesday. Purchased by the Palm Beach track owners. So 2.9 million seems a little high for Bradenton in today’s market.
