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The ARCA racing office caught fire Sunday morning in Temperance, MI, but the owner says he's going to rebuild. ARCA's office is located in the 8100 block of Lewis avenue.
"It's devastating because of the company history. My grandparents founded the company in 1953," said owner Ron Drager.
The Auto Racing Club of America, also known as ARCA, is a long standing family owned company. Sunday the building caught on fire.
"To stand there and watch literally the history of the company go up in flames is difficult. The big picture no one was hurt. We'll rebuild and we'll move forward," said Drager.
The owner has tried to salvage some pictures that lined the walls of the office and other racing artifacts. Photos were covered with insulation from the fire. The owner was able to save some artifacts from the company's very first race in 1953 and a trophy won by a driver in 1961 at the Michigan State fairgrounds race.
"Don't have the opportunity and say I'd like to reorder one of those because it doesn't exist. Whatever we can salvage of this type of stuff, we'll feel very fortunate for that. That helmet is Ken Schraders helmet. It was the first time that he drove at a big track. He raced at the ARCA race in Daytona in 1981," said Drager.
ARCA has moved its headquarters to a small office on the property.
Twelve employees work at the Lewis location.
"We own Toledo Speedway. We own Flat Rock Speedway. Those businesses are up and running and we'll be fine there. We'll run a race this Friday in Kansas City, Kansas. We'll keep moving forward and get back on our feet as quickly as we can. We also consider ourselves fortunate that this is all that happened. No one got hurt and we think about people who are recovering from Hurricane Matthew. So in the broad scope we are just part of the big picture," said Drager.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
"It's devastating because of the company history. My grandparents founded the company in 1953," said owner Ron Drager.
The Auto Racing Club of America, also known as ARCA, is a long standing family owned company. Sunday the building caught on fire.
"To stand there and watch literally the history of the company go up in flames is difficult. The big picture no one was hurt. We'll rebuild and we'll move forward," said Drager.
The owner has tried to salvage some pictures that lined the walls of the office and other racing artifacts. Photos were covered with insulation from the fire. The owner was able to save some artifacts from the company's very first race in 1953 and a trophy won by a driver in 1961 at the Michigan State fairgrounds race.
"Don't have the opportunity and say I'd like to reorder one of those because it doesn't exist. Whatever we can salvage of this type of stuff, we'll feel very fortunate for that. That helmet is Ken Schraders helmet. It was the first time that he drove at a big track. He raced at the ARCA race in Daytona in 1981," said Drager.
ARCA has moved its headquarters to a small office on the property.
Twelve employees work at the Lewis location.
"We own Toledo Speedway. We own Flat Rock Speedway. Those businesses are up and running and we'll be fine there. We'll run a race this Friday in Kansas City, Kansas. We'll keep moving forward and get back on our feet as quickly as we can. We also consider ourselves fortunate that this is all that happened. No one got hurt and we think about people who are recovering from Hurricane Matthew. So in the broad scope we are just part of the big picture," said Drager.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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