Getting Full Throttle Speedway Ready for opening night

[sunshinestateracing2]

Track owners, Staff, Fans, Drivers and Car owners spent the weekend working hard to Get Full Throttle Speedway (Desoto) ready for opening night April 27th. There was a lot of Cleaning, painting, yard work and bleacher repairs done, along with a lot more. Here are a few pictures of all the hard work that went into the track this weekend. Hope to see everyone out on April 27th for a great night of racing.

Pictures to follow:
Owner Kevin Williams working hard to get the track in great shape for opening night

A picture of a sprint car painted on the wall by a sprint car driver. ( I think the sprint cars are ready for their show on the high banks)

Then just pictures of a lot of the workers who came out to give a hand to get the old girl back to what she once was, and a sample of the different improvements going on.

See you at the Races

Robert

[sunshinestateracing2]

More of the work

[sunshinestateracing2]

a few more of the work

[sunshinestateracing2]

Few more and all the workers taking a break to enjoy lunch together that was provided by the track.

[VeaseyRacing]

Glad to see those bleachers getting worked on. They were in really bad shape.

[chevyj31]

Looks great.....!!!!

[rknhvc09]

LOOKS GREAT!!! VERY XCITED FOR THE 27TH!!!

[mick]

fts

Been to the old speedway for many years glad to see some TLC did not go often the last 4 or 5 years because of owners and condition almost fell through steps in stands but will be back went there when stimus had it love the track will be back wish I could have helped but had to work GOOD LUCK FTS

[Matt Albee]

There was some interesting news here in the Herald Tribune real estate section. The new owners paid around $650,000 for Desoto Speedway and some additional property. The interesting bit was that the financing came from John S, he loaned them over a million dollars.
They are working hard on the place, a lot has been done. But there is so much left to do. John didn't believe in upkeep.

[Osmosis Jones]

I know you read it in the Herald, but......

.....the Herald being what it is and journalists being who they are....I tend to be skeptical about anything that gets reported in the media.

"The interesting bit was that the financing came from John S, he loaned them over a million dollars."

@Matt Albee....has this been confirmed anywhere else? I only ask because if this is true....can anyone truly believe that John S. has really "left" Desoto?


I'm assuming everyone understands what the term "holding the note" means in business terms?


Let's bring it closer to home.
You live in your house and you get to call it your own and you even paid for that big remodel last summer out of your savings....but the economy's taken a little hit and you got laid off from your job and now you may have to default on that loan from the bank....do you think the bank will just let you stay on for free until you get back on your feet? Or even just pay you for the improvements made and say "Seeya" as they are escorting you off your property? Think they'll resolve you of the loan obligation and not force you into bankruptcy?

It's a pretty good bet that most of us have all dealt with banks before.

Well....
Welcome to King John Savings and Loan.

I'm really not trying to be the devil's advocate here because I very much want to see Desoto returned to her glory days.
But....IF this financial arrangement is really true.....

...then John is not really gone.

He is still around in a very big way.

Maybe even bigger than before.


Just something to think about.

[Don Nerone]

.....the Herald being what it is and journalists being who they are....I tend to be skeptical about anything that gets reported in the media.

"The interesting bit was that the financing came from John S, he loaned them over a million dollars."

@Matt Albee....has this been confirmed anywhere else? I only ask because if this is true....can anyone truly believe that John S. has really "left" Desoto?


I'm assuming everyone understands what the term "holding the note" means in business terms?


Let's bring it closer to home.
You live in your house and you get to call it your own and you even paid for that big remodel last summer out of your savings....but the economy's taken a little hit and you got laid off from your job and now you may have to default on that loan from the bank....do you think the bank will just let you stay on for free until you get back on your feet? Or even just pay you for the improvements made and say "Seeya" as they are escorting you off your property? Think they'll resolve you of the loan obligation and not force you into bankruptcy?

It's a pretty good bet that most of us have all dealt with banks before.

Well....
Welcome to King John Savings and Loan.

I'm really not trying to be the devil's advocate here because I very much want to see Desoto returned to her glory days.
But....IF this financial arrangement is really true.....

...then John is not really gone.

He is still around in a very big way.

Maybe even bigger than before.


Just something to think about.

So matt u dont think John would have rather cash? SURE Whats the differance in a bank holding the morgage? No bank is going to hold a morgage on Desoto speedway after it was forclosed on and lost a millon last time. John just had heart surgery and im sure wants out of the trap someone else can have the cheeze..

Don62

[chevyj31]

"know your banking"

if he is holding the note, i am sure he is making more interst then he could any where else on his money. if they default on the loan, he gets the track back all fixed up, and gets to keep there down stroke...win, win, for him.

[Osmosis Jones]

Cash is a good thing, for sure.....

...but why not have both?

Being the banker and lienholder offers the best of both worlds, doesn't it, Don? And John's not really "out of the trap"....he's just found someone else to pay for that cheese for a while.

Thank you, chevyj31, for backing up my original point. Indeed the arrangement is a "win,win" situation for John. Retaining ownership of the track (in the event of default) AND collecting the interest over the life of the loan (which I'm sure is not short term) pretty much constitutes a "no risk" investment.

For all his shortcomings as both a promoter and a people person, no one can ever say John is/was fiscally irresponsible.

Look at the HUGE positive response generated just by the announcement that Desoto Speedway was under new ownership. Scores of racers announcing plans to return to the track they once loved. Fans posting comments about how excited they'll be to see Desoto returned to it's past glory. All things that weren't going to happen in the stagnant environment that gripped the track for the last several years.
A wholesale change was what the doctor ordered and, finally, the prescription was filled. People have been calling for and eagerly awaiting this moment for years.
The new owners come with a handful of faithful followers from the short-lived, Punta Gorda ordeal. Most of whom feel the need to justify their declaration of Desoto's future success by basing it upon Kevin and Mike's recent, well...failure with the track down south. And I say failure because, lease agreement being fair or not fair, they no longer operate that particular track. Those are just the facts, folks. And they pose absolutely no comparable attributes to the success or failure of Desoto. So PLEASE...stop going there. It's an invalid argument.

Anyways, the bottom line of all this is:
Whether they can enjoy long term success at Desoto and continue to make the mortgage/loan payments thus keeping John/the banker happy and in the black OR if they fail at turning Desoto around and can't bring it back to it's racing heyday of 20 years past...it really doesn't make any difference to the point I made in my earlier post.


John, like Elvis before him, will have never left the building.


Thankyouverymuch......

[Osmosis Jones]

One other thing and then I'll shut up.

John didn't buy the track from a bank foreclosure. He purchased it from Dewayne Musick...well, from Musick's father, anyways.

Musick was the only bidder on the track at the silent auction that was held by the bank after they foreclosed on Stimus. He got the track for a surprisingly low, $550,000 dollars if my memory serves me correctly. I know this because I was there at the track the day the auction was held. Right there in the breezeway. It was raining that day.

Tom bought the track from Margie and the other shareholders.

And about the "millions" made by Stimus when he operated the track....while he did spend a bunch on improvements to the facility, he also paid much larger purses than any other track in Florida and while lowering the back gate admission price. Had several "special events" throughout the season during intermissions that integrated both the drivers AND the fans....gave away dozens of bikes, diamond rings and even a few cars....did I mention he knew how to promote to the regular Joe?...There were also the NASCAR star nights that cost a pretty penny. Not to mention the purchase and upkeep of a stable of Late Models for Junior, Dickie and a few guest drivers to compete in. Beer gardens and playgrounds for the kiddies.
And then there were the bags of $$ that always left the track in different car trunks during intermission never to be seen or heard from again....well, I'm sure their whereabouts were probably discussed during some of the court proceedings later on.....but that's another story.

For all of Musicks weirdness and total unfamiliarity with race cars and people, in general, he did keep the track in business for quite a few years. He had his share of detractors, as all track owners will, but for sure he didn't generate as much hate and discontent as John did during his tenure as owner.

Oh well....just a little food for thought.

Osmo

[Matt Albee]

I don't have any corroborating evidence of the fact that John is the banker for this deal, i'm just going by what i saw from the Herald Tribune. I can't imagine any lender inspecting Desoto Speedway and then agreeing to loan that much money to purchase it, so it would have had to be owner financing. As for John now being in a win-win position, there's been very few times over the years that John didn't benefit from a business deal no matter how small.
So it looks like the fans and racers of Florida aren't rid of John just yet, but there is a faint glimmer of hope at last.