Is the money gone,the enthusiasm gone,or both?

[zerofor]

Every once in a while,I check out classified ads from various online sources.For operating/now closed racetracks.Call it a hobby for which I will never have enough money to join into.My point is this.Most places I see up for sale have a starting point of $500,000-750,000 and go up from there.And at that price point I understand why some of these I have seen listed for around the last five years.My old local track in Columbus Ohio disappeared from the landscape a few years ago.Coupled with the shuttering of Kil Kare Speedway a scant 70 miles to the west has left the entire center of the state of Ohio with only one pavement track left operating.Recently a dirt track came up for sale within a 100 mile driving distance of Columbus.It was put on the market for $125,000 with stands and outbuildings,or at a negotiable price once these structures started being removed.I made a couple posts to a Facebook group I'm on which consists of old fans of my former track and former racers,several of whom put their cars on jack stands once Columbus closed forever.I could generate only mild interest.Never mind the fact that after all it WAS a dirt track and this is a group of pavement racers I'm talking to.That never even really came into anybody's equation.One guy mentioned a lack of adequate parking,while another stated the land was there it just needed trees taken down and cleared off.And right there the whole thing seemed to die on the vine.Because two guys don't want to use chainsaws? Really? For $125,000 to buy basically an operating speedway? So is it the money,or the desire,or both?

[Joe]

Man, Zero, $125k for a place that isn't falling down on itself seems like a great deal. Then again, without a pile of money at your disposal, these places can be really hard to finance. I put a group together that made an offer on a dirt track up in Northeast Georgia last year, but the appraisal came back well worse than the $350k asking price. Unless you can handle taking loss after loss or get a track that can host large events, I can't really see how folks can spend more than $500k (including improvements) on most any weekly race track -- even ones in pretty good shape. The margins are just so thin. For instance, the group that got in and bought the place that we were targeting is having a pretty rough go of it this year. (That being said, if anyone wants to look at a race track business plan, I have one lying around. ;-)

[Circledude]

Eric, when did Kil Kare close?

[zerofor]

Eric, when did Kil Kare close?

Mike,it initially closed about 5 or 6 years ago.It stayed closed for over a season before a group headed by (CRA&sometime K&N series driver))Brandon Oakley's dad opened it back up for a season or so.Former ARCA Truck series regular Shawn Szep took it over at that point until early last season at which point it closed again.There is one race scheduled there this year,a CRA sportsman vs.late model race in August IF it does indeed happen.Much like Orlando Speedworld,the drag strip continues to operate and thrive while the oval track sits.

[zerofor]

Joe

it's ridiculously cheap.An unheard of once in a lifetime kind of bargain.But I do understand the area also.Its located in southeast Ohio.Which is one of THE most economically depressed areas in the entire country.That region of Ohio(and northwest West Virginia and Northwest Kentucky) have some of the highest opioid overdose rates in the entire United States.It is an area that the last 30 years or so has not been kind to.Its almost 100 miles from the center of the state and the state capitol of Columbus,and as far as thoughts of paving the place,it is in an area that has been dominated by dirt track racing for decades.That being said,Cincinnati,themselves without a pavement track since Queen City Speedway closed back in the 1990s,is also less than a 100 miles away.Ona Speedway in West Virginia (west virginia's fastest blacktop track lol because it's the only one)is around an hour away.And they are struggling and could really use a sister track.The pictures I have seen of Jackson County Speedway show a very workable platform.And for $125,000? You would NEVER find that kind of a price again even if it was built underneath a landfill.