So I checked out the last SLR radio show on thespeedwaylinereport.com and among others, he had Bill Roth & Pete Zanardi on during seperate segments. Roth had some interesting things to say. First & foremost: priority renovations to the bathrooms for the ’07 season. Now I’ve personally never been deterred by the restrooms (then again, I spent the summer landscaping and have peed in much less accomodating environments – but during my time at the ‘bowl over the last 8+ years, that’s definitely been one of, if not thee, major gripe from fans to management. So that was good to hear. Plans to complete the bleacher renovations as well before season starts.
Bill also stated that Terry’s role is basically as the landlord. He owns the property and that’s about it. Jerry Robinson’s role will be limited compared to Roth as far as the day-to-day role it seems from the interview, and Harraka will return as Race Director.
For me, I think this is a good move for our track. Bill seemed excited about his oppurtunity to lease the track with Robinson… and that’s a good thing. I don’t agree with Bill on everything, but I love the guys passion. I truly believe he has a desire to make the track successful again and as a fan, that’s all I could ask for. I don’t know much about Jerry Robinson, but if his affiliation with the Legend Car in itself lends to the same passion for the sport.
No replacement named for Zanardi (don’t start Hanner!!!) – but I am hopeful that whomever gets the job can give the track exposure like Zanards did. Every track needs exposure – and no track more than ours these days.
Most intriguing during the interview was Roth’s admission that the WMT returning was not a priority for him. And WMT car owner Bear Caluchio pressed him on some issues – including the unpaved pit situation and the TVMS. And I gotta tell ya, as someone with family roots to the NASCAR Mod Tour since it’s inception, I’d be pretty bummed if they weren’t around anymore. Connecticut is that tour’s home state nowadays so for a NASCAR sanctioned track to be in the state and NOT host a Mod Tour race would be silly but if the weekly racers benefit from it, then I’m all for it.
Although it would be great if we had paved pits for everyone (which would also make big $$ visiting divisions’ stays less chaotic), I can’t argue with that not being a priority of things to upgrade. That kinda upgrade is extremely expensive – I dunno how about your ‘bowl wishlist looks, but mine has bathrooms and bleachers well above pit pavement.
And despite Robinson’s authoritative roll now, the Legends series seems to stay the same. Bi-weekly point division on Sat and weekly point division on Wed during the summer.
Also was suprised to hear this change of operation needs approval from NASCAR to secure the weekly sanction – now sponsored by Whelen… I wanna say it’ll be the Whelen Weekly All-American Series now instead of Dodge Weekly Racing Series… something like that. The Weekly Series provides great oppurtunities and exposure on a more regional and national level – and for things like sponsors, that’s always a good thing. And the ‘bowl’s had plenty of homegrown talent who’ve won NASCAR regional titles including: Allen Coates, Jay Stuart, Corey Hutchings and Dennis Gada.
So stay Optimistic…
Happy Thanksgiving
Sid