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this was on the front page of the sun newspaper this morning
http://www.sunnewspapers.net/article...ch2.htm&pnpg=0
PUNTA GORDA - Charlotte County's stock car racing speedway is getting a fresh start with new owners, a new name and a new driver-friendly attitude, speedway officials said Saturday.
"The goal will be to ìbring grassroots racing back," said Kevin Williams, one of two partners in the new corporation, Punta Gorda Speedway LLC.
The company bought the lease from the former Charlotte County Motorsports Park and renamed the track Punta Gorda Speedway, Williams said. The trackís landlord, the Charlotte County Airport Authority, unanimously approved the new lease Friday.
"We're going to bring the Saturday night, short-track racing of the past back to reality," Williams said.
First off, he said, the speedway is slashing ticket prices for bleacher seating from $15 to $10.
Also, to make racing more affordable for drivers, Punta Gorda Speedway plans to hold fewer extended-lap mega races. Those extreme events are a strain for racing teams because they burn too much fuel and wear out tires and engines.
The track also plans to allow drivers to use it for testing and tuning at no charge, by appointment, according to Speedway Coordinator Greg Roeback, a former flagman.
Roeback, a local property appraiser, said heís also planning a series of events to involve kids at the track. The list includes bicycle racing, he said.
"We're going to be more family-friendly and driver-friendly," he said. "I mean, the economy has put a squeeze on us all."
Williams and Roeback were interviewed at the track Saturday, where they and other workers were preparing to launch a major cleanup. The speedway has set its grand reopening for May 29.
Both Williams and his partner, Mike Chase of Plantation, Fla., are avid former racers who have passed the sport on to their kids. .
Both partners also own businesses. Williams has owned Southwest Florida Cable Constructions, based in Whidden Industrial Park, for the past 14 years. Chase owns Chase Insurance in Plantation.
"I've always been a motorhead," explained Williams, 47. "I've always been into fast cars and racing."
Williams said he and his family relocated to Charlotte County in 1987 and raced at the county speedway from 1993 to 2007.
He said he's dreamed of owning the Charlotte County speedway almost since it was built in 1991 by Leroy Davidson.
Davidson sold the track to Bobby Deihl in 2006.
As the economy tanked within the past year or two, attendance fell from as high as 4,500 to as low as 200. The track wasn't doing well, acknowledged Kathleen Coppola, Airport Authority member.
"The new owners ìseem like two industrious, enthusiastic gentlemen who share an interest in racing," she said.
A new road to serve as a gateway to the airport will run right next to the speedway. Construction began last month on the Piper Road extension.
E-mail: gmartin@sun-herald.com
By GREG MARTIN
Staff Writer
http://www.sunnewspapers.net/article...ch2.htm&pnpg=0
PUNTA GORDA - Charlotte County's stock car racing speedway is getting a fresh start with new owners, a new name and a new driver-friendly attitude, speedway officials said Saturday.
"The goal will be to ìbring grassroots racing back," said Kevin Williams, one of two partners in the new corporation, Punta Gorda Speedway LLC.
The company bought the lease from the former Charlotte County Motorsports Park and renamed the track Punta Gorda Speedway, Williams said. The trackís landlord, the Charlotte County Airport Authority, unanimously approved the new lease Friday.
"We're going to bring the Saturday night, short-track racing of the past back to reality," Williams said.
First off, he said, the speedway is slashing ticket prices for bleacher seating from $15 to $10.
Also, to make racing more affordable for drivers, Punta Gorda Speedway plans to hold fewer extended-lap mega races. Those extreme events are a strain for racing teams because they burn too much fuel and wear out tires and engines.
The track also plans to allow drivers to use it for testing and tuning at no charge, by appointment, according to Speedway Coordinator Greg Roeback, a former flagman.
Roeback, a local property appraiser, said heís also planning a series of events to involve kids at the track. The list includes bicycle racing, he said.
"We're going to be more family-friendly and driver-friendly," he said. "I mean, the economy has put a squeeze on us all."
Williams and Roeback were interviewed at the track Saturday, where they and other workers were preparing to launch a major cleanup. The speedway has set its grand reopening for May 29.
Both Williams and his partner, Mike Chase of Plantation, Fla., are avid former racers who have passed the sport on to their kids. .
Both partners also own businesses. Williams has owned Southwest Florida Cable Constructions, based in Whidden Industrial Park, for the past 14 years. Chase owns Chase Insurance in Plantation.
"I've always been a motorhead," explained Williams, 47. "I've always been into fast cars and racing."
Williams said he and his family relocated to Charlotte County in 1987 and raced at the county speedway from 1993 to 2007.
He said he's dreamed of owning the Charlotte County speedway almost since it was built in 1991 by Leroy Davidson.
Davidson sold the track to Bobby Deihl in 2006.
As the economy tanked within the past year or two, attendance fell from as high as 4,500 to as low as 200. The track wasn't doing well, acknowledged Kathleen Coppola, Airport Authority member.
"The new owners ìseem like two industrious, enthusiastic gentlemen who share an interest in racing," she said.
A new road to serve as a gateway to the airport will run right next to the speedway. Construction began last month on the Piper Road extension.
E-mail: gmartin@sun-herald.com
By GREG MARTIN
Staff Writer
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