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Full speed ahead at Macon Speedway
By MARK TUPPER - H&R Executive Sports Editor
MACON - Macon Speedway, on the brink of extinction four months ago, is roaring back like a race car blazing toward the checkered flag.
The venerable stock-car track, which has been a staple of Central Illinois summer entertainment since it opened in 1946, has been bought by a unique ownership group that includes NASCAR stars Tony Stewart, Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace, as well as Macon native and race promoter Bob Sargent.
The four-man ownership group, which has formed its own corporation called Macon Speedway LLC, has the experience, knowledge and resources to renovate the track and will begin doing so immediately, gearing toward opening night on Saturday, March 31.
"These are exciting times," said Sargent, who brokered the deal and will make the official announcement at a 3 p.m. news conference today at the Orr Building at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. Wallace will be in attendance.
It's not the first time Sargent has partnered with NASCAR stars in the race business.
Sargent is part owner of the Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky along with co-owners Schrader, Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Sargent and Schrader bought and sold United Midwest Promoters, a stock car sanctioning body.
This partnership made sense, Sargent said, because it involves drivers who got their start in dirt-track racing at facilities like Macon Speedway.
"People ask why someone like Tony Stewart, who is a Cup champion with NASCAR, would care to get involved with a small track like Macon Speedway. Actually, there are two reasons," Sargent said.
"One is a financial reason. At some point, these guys are all going to retire. Racing is a business for them. They would rather own a dirt track than a restaurant.
"Two, for all four of us, including me, dirt-track racing has been our life. Tony is the same. He owns a race team, but being a dirt-track racer is in his blood, and they're a different type of breed. It's what we do. It's what we enjoy."
Stewart echoed that sentiment and said he's excited to be one of Macon Speedway's new owners.
"To me, this is still grass-roots racing," said Stewart, who will be in the field for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18. "I love dirt-track racing, and I feel fortunate to be involved with the new ownership of Macon Speedway.
"With all this track's great history, and with this ownership group, I think we can do a lot of good for a long time to come."
Sargent has already hired two people who will help with the everyday operation of the track.
One is Tonya Moschell, who arrives from Weedsport, N.Y., where she was manager of sales and marketing for DIRT MotorSports Northeast. She will be handling much of the track's marketing and advertising ventures, as well as working for Sargent's Track Enterprises business, which stages races at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield and DuQuoin, the Hoosier Hundred USAC Silver Crown Race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis as well as single-night races at a variety of tracks.
The other is Don Cisco of Blue Mound, a former Macon Speedway driver, who will maintain upkeep of the track and look after race operations on behalf of the owners.
Sargent himself said he'll be at the track some initially but does not plan to be a part of the nightly racing program as he was when he was sole owner of the track after purchasing it from founder Wayne Webb in 1985.
After successfully operating Macon Speedway for several years, Sargent sold the track, and it was operated by Ron and Helen Tapp for three seasons and for the past six seasons by Webb's son, Rich Webb.
After the track came on hard times, Webb relinquished control back to Sargent, who put together the new ownership group.
Armed with money, new ideas and the backing of three NASCAR stars, Sargent believes Macon Speedway can bounce back strong.
"Attendance will grow back, I'm confident, although it's going to be a challenge," he said. "The crowds have been bad for several years. Across the country, the majority of tracks are not doing well. But there are some doing very well, and we had a great season last year at Paducah."
Renovation of the track will start immediately, he said.
i]"We'll tear the whole fence down and start over," he said. "We're going to be working on the bleachers.[/i] We've got 100 ideas. Twenty of them we'll get in place for 2007, and we'll work on the other 80 as we move forward."
Some significant changes are likely in the race format, Sargent said.
Among those being i]strongly considered:[/i]
n A switch to what Sargent called "Crate Late Models," where drivers use identically prepared General Motors factory-issued engines costing $3,000 each, about 1/10th of what some late-model drivers are now investing.
"It's been on the East Coast for several years. It was very successful at Paducah last year. The drivers have more fun. The fans see a better show. And it's more affordable," Sargent said.
n He intends to also race modifieds, sportsman, street stocks and four-cylinder Hornets.
n Sargent said the new ownership intends to scrap traditional qualifying.
"It takes 35 to 55 minutes to do it, and we feel we can better utilize the time racing," he said. "We use a pill draw, and it mixes faster cars into the field. You have to race harder. It's better racing for the fans, and you finish earlier," which he said was a growing concern in the community.
i]Turn 4 "lounge" will be sold by the night[/i] and he intends to bring back events which have been successful for him in the past, including the Lite Beer Twin 50s, Herald & Review 100, USAC midgets the night before the Springfield Mile, a national ATV motorcycle race on the weekend of Decatur Celebration, the Wayne Webb Memorial and a Memorial Day race that includes Schrader in the field.
And, Sargent said, co-owners Stewart and Wallace will be appearing at the track, and both will likely race.
"Tony raced at Paducah three times on his own last year before he got involved as an owner," Sargent said. "And when these guys come, they sometimes bring their friends," guys like Carl Edwards, Rusty Wallace and Martin Truex Jr. "Even Jimmie Johnson wants to get involved," Sargent said.
Sargent said this venture does not slow his interest in building another track, perhaps in the Bloomington-Normal area. That, too, would involve an ownership team that includes NASCAR drivers.
"We're still looking up there," he said. "There are a lot of (NASCAR) drivers wanting to be involved."
@$:Mark Tupper can be reached at [email protected] or 421-7983.
By MARK TUPPER - H&R Executive Sports Editor
MACON - Macon Speedway, on the brink of extinction four months ago, is roaring back like a race car blazing toward the checkered flag.
The venerable stock-car track, which has been a staple of Central Illinois summer entertainment since it opened in 1946, has been bought by a unique ownership group that includes NASCAR stars Tony Stewart, Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace, as well as Macon native and race promoter Bob Sargent.
The four-man ownership group, which has formed its own corporation called Macon Speedway LLC, has the experience, knowledge and resources to renovate the track and will begin doing so immediately, gearing toward opening night on Saturday, March 31.
"These are exciting times," said Sargent, who brokered the deal and will make the official announcement at a 3 p.m. news conference today at the Orr Building at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. Wallace will be in attendance.
It's not the first time Sargent has partnered with NASCAR stars in the race business.
Sargent is part owner of the Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky along with co-owners Schrader, Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Sargent and Schrader bought and sold United Midwest Promoters, a stock car sanctioning body.
This partnership made sense, Sargent said, because it involves drivers who got their start in dirt-track racing at facilities like Macon Speedway.
"People ask why someone like Tony Stewart, who is a Cup champion with NASCAR, would care to get involved with a small track like Macon Speedway. Actually, there are two reasons," Sargent said.
"One is a financial reason. At some point, these guys are all going to retire. Racing is a business for them. They would rather own a dirt track than a restaurant.
"Two, for all four of us, including me, dirt-track racing has been our life. Tony is the same. He owns a race team, but being a dirt-track racer is in his blood, and they're a different type of breed. It's what we do. It's what we enjoy."
Stewart echoed that sentiment and said he's excited to be one of Macon Speedway's new owners.
"To me, this is still grass-roots racing," said Stewart, who will be in the field for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18. "I love dirt-track racing, and I feel fortunate to be involved with the new ownership of Macon Speedway.
"With all this track's great history, and with this ownership group, I think we can do a lot of good for a long time to come."
Sargent has already hired two people who will help with the everyday operation of the track.
One is Tonya Moschell, who arrives from Weedsport, N.Y., where she was manager of sales and marketing for DIRT MotorSports Northeast. She will be handling much of the track's marketing and advertising ventures, as well as working for Sargent's Track Enterprises business, which stages races at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield and DuQuoin, the Hoosier Hundred USAC Silver Crown Race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis as well as single-night races at a variety of tracks.
The other is Don Cisco of Blue Mound, a former Macon Speedway driver, who will maintain upkeep of the track and look after race operations on behalf of the owners.
Sargent himself said he'll be at the track some initially but does not plan to be a part of the nightly racing program as he was when he was sole owner of the track after purchasing it from founder Wayne Webb in 1985.
After successfully operating Macon Speedway for several years, Sargent sold the track, and it was operated by Ron and Helen Tapp for three seasons and for the past six seasons by Webb's son, Rich Webb.
After the track came on hard times, Webb relinquished control back to Sargent, who put together the new ownership group.
Armed with money, new ideas and the backing of three NASCAR stars, Sargent believes Macon Speedway can bounce back strong.
"Attendance will grow back, I'm confident, although it's going to be a challenge," he said. "The crowds have been bad for several years. Across the country, the majority of tracks are not doing well. But there are some doing very well, and we had a great season last year at Paducah."
Renovation of the track will start immediately, he said.
i]"We'll tear the whole fence down and start over," he said. "We're going to be working on the bleachers.[/i] We've got 100 ideas. Twenty of them we'll get in place for 2007, and we'll work on the other 80 as we move forward."
Some significant changes are likely in the race format, Sargent said.
Among those being i]strongly considered:[/i]
n A switch to what Sargent called "Crate Late Models," where drivers use identically prepared General Motors factory-issued engines costing $3,000 each, about 1/10th of what some late-model drivers are now investing.
"It's been on the East Coast for several years. It was very successful at Paducah last year. The drivers have more fun. The fans see a better show. And it's more affordable," Sargent said.
n He intends to also race modifieds, sportsman, street stocks and four-cylinder Hornets.
n Sargent said the new ownership intends to scrap traditional qualifying.
"It takes 35 to 55 minutes to do it, and we feel we can better utilize the time racing," he said. "We use a pill draw, and it mixes faster cars into the field. You have to race harder. It's better racing for the fans, and you finish earlier," which he said was a growing concern in the community.
i]Turn 4 "lounge" will be sold by the night[/i] and he intends to bring back events which have been successful for him in the past, including the Lite Beer Twin 50s, Herald & Review 100, USAC midgets the night before the Springfield Mile, a national ATV motorcycle race on the weekend of Decatur Celebration, the Wayne Webb Memorial and a Memorial Day race that includes Schrader in the field.
And, Sargent said, co-owners Stewart and Wallace will be appearing at the track, and both will likely race.
"Tony raced at Paducah three times on his own last year before he got involved as an owner," Sargent said. "And when these guys come, they sometimes bring their friends," guys like Carl Edwards, Rusty Wallace and Martin Truex Jr. "Even Jimmie Johnson wants to get involved," Sargent said.
Sargent said this venture does not slow his interest in building another track, perhaps in the Bloomington-Normal area. That, too, would involve an ownership team that includes NASCAR drivers.
"We're still looking up there," he said. "There are a lot of (NASCAR) drivers wanting to be involved."
@$:Mark Tupper can be reached at [email protected] or 421-7983.
