Since this story was written, word has it that the Speedway could become a trucking company terminal within the next year. If that deal falls thru there is suppose to be another one behind it. Billy Martinos lease contract would be taken care of and another short track loss to racing in general.:fragend005:
Economics Could Lead To Sale Of USA Speedway
By HOLLY CAIN, Tribune correspondent
LAKELAND - USA International Speedway is a busy hub for NASCAR testing, a favorite stop for national touring series and a longtime Central Florida landmark.
It also sits on a highly coveted piece of undeveloped property along the Interstate 4 corridor between Tampa and Orlando.
Those qualities made it an attractive purchase for its new owner, Clearwater businessman Tony Amico. But they also pose a challenge for longtime USA Speedway president Bill Martino, who hopes to keep the 3/4 -mile speedway thriving as a valued part of the Florida racing scene and a viable asset for Amico.
‘My passion is racing, but unfortunately we’re forced with the reality of how to survive,’ Martino said. ‘It puts the pressure on us to perform.’
Martino knows the short track industry is not typically a way of getting rich. It is instead a way of life - a livelihood for his family for decades.
His late father, Bill Martino Sr., purchased the 112-acre property - then called Lakeland Interstate Speedway - in 1988, and the family continued to operate the speedway even after selling it to Hooters of America Chairman Robert Brooks in 1995 - the same year the Martinos oversaw a $3 million renovation.
Brooks died last year, and the land and assets were sold to Amico in May for $6.2 million, according to Amico. The facility also includes a motocross track and 7/10 -mile road course.
Although an amateur racer himself, Amico, a New York native, makes no bones about his motivation to purchase the facility.
‘My interest in the track was because I enjoy racing,’ Amico said this week by telephone. 'But I bought it because it was a good deal. I’m a businessman. I buy and sell real estate. It’s a property investment.
‘If someone came to me tomorrow and offered me enough money, I’d sell.’
Amico concedes that kind of quick turnaround would be complicated because he has leased the use of the speedway to Martino for two years with an option beyond.
‘Billy has the lease, and he can manage it however he sees fit,’ Amico said. ‘And there are substantial penalties if I break the lease.’
That gives Martino some time to work with, and fortunately for area fans he is a glass-half-full kind of guy. There is, however, a new sense of financial urgency with Amico’s purchase - new bills to be paid.
USA International Speedway is easily the highest-profile short track in the area. Its high-banked track has attracted big business from NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch series teams, who can test here without it counting toward their allocated official test sessions.
Martino estimates NASCAR testing occupies the track three weeks a month from November to March. It picked up about 25 percent this year with the Cup Series introduction of the Car of Tomorrow. The series’ biggest names such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Jarrett and Tony Stewart have all run laps in Lakeland in recent months.
The other big revenue producer for the track was an ARCA Re/Max Series event in March that drew about 6,000 people. And Martino said he’s currently negotiating with ARCA - a national late model series that opens its season at Daytona International Speedway - to make its way west down I-4 again next March.
The ARCA race was one of 12 major events USA International Speedway will host this year. A stunt and thrill show in April drew more than 15,000 fans in one weekend. The speedway doesn’t have a weekly race card for local racers like many other small tracks. Instead it focuses on big ticket draws - a marquee event at least once a month - which in the future could include music concerts.
‘We have to step out of the box and look into other areas. It’s all about being creative at this point,’ Martino said. 'I don’t look at this as just a commercial facility. I look at it as my home for the past 20 years, my back yard. That’s hard from a business perspective.
‘But I feel real optimistic we can make it work.’