Any update on Firebird/ SpeedWorld Phoenix

[Mark Yacavone]

I have permission to post this here..and in my Southwest Drags section.
Please pay particular attention to the part about supporting the remaining events.
Your support of the SWND's in March will determine whether we attempt to move our events to another venue in the future.
Thanks, Mark ,Spike



Good morning everyone, I hope this message finds everyone well and staying warm.

This email is to let everyone know exactly what is going on with Speedworld and the County/State situation. First I want to give you our schedule for the next few weeks.

This SaturDAY, January 19 - ADRA + Open Test & Tune, gates 9am
Saturday NIGHT, January 19 - Cruise-In Street Meet, gates 7pm
Next SaturDAY, January 26 - No races scheduled
Saturday NIGHT, January 26 - Street Meet, gates 9am
Friday Feb 1 - Open Test & Tune & move in for National Open Weekend - Gates 10, T&T Noon-7
Saturday Feb 2 - NHRA National Open Qualifying, big car Team Speedworld #1, Jr Team Speedworld #1 & Jr Divisional #1 - Gates 8am
Sunday Feb 3 - NHRA National Open Eliminations, Jr Team Speedworld #2 & Jr Divisional #2 - Gates 8am

There are additional races posted on our website through the end of the year: www.racespeedworld.com. That and our hotline 623-388-2424 are the ONLY places to get ACCURATE information. Do not believe anything else you hear or read except from those two places!

That said, there won't be races to the end of the year, as we have reached the end. Speedworld WILL be closing permanently, we just don't know exactly when. We are in negotiations with the state & county (as I write this) to try and formulate an exit strategy that works for everyone. This must be done before a hearing scheduled for Thursday, Jan 17. Don't ask me why, you don't want to know all the political bull**** that is going on. Suffice to say, it will be much better for us if we can negotiate everything before that hearing.

Like you, I'm pretty much devastated over this situation - and I've only been here 20 years! Speedworld is my life, my family, my home, and for most of you, I know you feel that way too. But after 3 years and about $300,000 in legal fees, the opposition has become so intense and has thrown up so many obstacles that we cannot continue to fight them, in spite of all the tremendous support from you, our racer family.

Let's look to the future. We have found an extremely suitable location for the dirt part of our operations that could possibly have a dragstrip sometime in the future. That would depend on the willingness of the property owner to sell the suitable land next to the dirt operation. Right now, we don't know if that's feasible. From a physical standpoint, it is doable. It will require two things we don't have right at this moment: time and money, but then you already knew that! We can pick up our dirt operations & equipment and move them, we can't do that with a dragstrip. But it IS doable, and I personally assure you, I'm going to do everything I can to see that the dream of a new dragstrip in the Phoenix area becomes reality. We'd probably be looking at nearly two years before racing could begin, but it could happen. We will keep everyone posted.

Now, back to the present. Please support every race that you possibly can, as this will help us considerably to make a new facility happen. AS SOON AS I KNOW A FINAL DATE I WILL TELL YOU! We're asking to run at least through the end of May, to complete our 'spring' schedule. This would include enough Team Speedworld races to qualify for the ET Finals, both Juniors and big cars. It would include the Heritage race, as well as the Lucas Oil Off Road race. But I stress that this is not yet cast in stone, we don't know how much they'll give us. We believe it's a very real possibility they'll allow us that much time, but remember who we're dealing with: self-serving politicians.

From all of us at Speedworld, thank you for your continued support over the past 52 years. We could not have gone on this long without this support, and we sincerely hope that someday soon we'll all be back racing at a new facility. In the meantime, we'll see you at the track!




Hal Sanguinetti
Speedworld Dragstrip
Track Manager/Publications Mgr/Announcer

[Andys dad]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

I have permission to post this here..and in my Southwest Drags section.
Please pay particular attention to the part about supporting the remaining events.
.
.
.
..

Now, back to the present. Please support every race that you possibly can, as this will help us considerably to make a new facility happen. AS SOON AS I KNOW A FINAL DATE I WILL TELL YOU! We're asking to run at least through the end of May, to complete our 'spring' schedule. This would include enough Team Speedworld races to qualify for the ET Finals, both Juniors and big cars. It would include the Heritage race, as well as the Lucas Oil Off Road race. But I stress that this is not yet cast in stone, we don't know how much they'll give us. We believe it's a very real possibility they'll allow us that much time, but remember who we're dealing with: self-serving politicians.

From all of us at Speedworld, thank you for your continued support over the past 52 years. We could not have gone on this long without this support, and we sincerely hope that someday soon we'll all be back racing at a new facility. In the meantime, we'll see you at the track!




Hal Sanguinetti
Speedworld Dragstrip
Track Manager/Publications Mgr/Announcer

That just SUCKS

I just licensed there in December and the track was in good shape

And here on this forum the whinners worry about NHRA charging $5 more - better get your priorities straight guys or there will be no drag strips at least out west (of couse since this is basically an east coast site - I guess that would not matter)

Sorry for the rant but this pisses me off

Ron

[owen]

I love that place! I grew up out there in the 80s. I won my first bracket race there in 1995. It will be missed. It was called Phoenix Raceway Park when I raced there.

[Bernie Cunningham]

Well, at least NHRA has stepped up to the plate here, HUH !!!

Follow the money ?

[Jeff Lee]

Speedworld:
1. Owner that loved his motocross track and was openly against the drag strip (not Hal; writer of the announcement); call it a necessary evil. Maybe he wasn't against it but the MC track was definitely his baby.
2. Track Manager Victoria Griffey was there 20 years and left a year or so ago. I believe it had a lot to do with #1 above. Hal took over and put his heart into it but, again, se #1.
3. Track owner decided all night "rave" type parties at the track with DJ's, booze, bikini contests, mud wrestling, etc., was what the track owner needed. A total cash cow. Unfortunately, 25 or so arrests by the County Sheriff for underage drinking, drug possessions, fighting, etc,. per event. I hardly think the residents surrounding the track appreciated those events. And it sure caught the eye of the County.
4. County starts looking into the facility which had been off radar for decades. County finds #1 above had gone beyond the original land lease agreement and had built out of the boundaries and had not obtained proper building permits, structure issues, grading issues and the big elephant; county says they need sewer connections @ MC track.
5. #1 above takes on county. Makes the big paper last summer. Interview with #1 above makes it obvious that #1 above was going to fight city hall and was going to do things his way. Doesn't adhere to the well known proverb "you can't fight city hall".
6. Track announces closing.

I'm pissed but I saw it coming in the order I presented with each # being another nail in the coffin. I have raced there since 1978 and the owner at the time, Mike Donnelly, gave the track(no charge) to me and my buddy Brian Griffey for the day with timers to test / tune and experiment with our '70 & '71 Challenger street cars that we raced probably 50 weeks out of the year. Imagine that today? Mike loved that track and so did all the other owners that followed. Except #1 above.
We see tracks closed all over the country to make room for a parking lot, commercial buildings and whatever else. We see them close because of external influences. But this track is closing because of one person and it is internal.

[RobbieRacer]

I have raced there for many years and this guy is the worst owner we have had. He has said many times he doesnt care about the Dragstrip. He has already found a place for the drit bike track.
I Like Hal but he is a Dirt Biker at heart.
I dont see Speedworld ever opening again, if Dan owns it that is. Sad. JMO

[Sean Marconette]

Sounds similar to KCIR ( Kansas City International Raceway). City buys track due to neighbors complaints, and politics. City says they need another park and after a couple of years now still sitting vacant. Oh and BTW, D-5 director was part owner in the track. Now latest rumor is that snakes have halted city from making it a park. The only snakes are the politicians and the D-5 director.

Sorry to hear about the track.

Sean

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by RobbieRacer

I.
I Like Hal but he is a Dirt Biker at heart.

Robbie, I think you ought to cut Hal some slack here..He's a car guy.He just likes those old pipe rack things..He did a lot of work at the M/C track., because that's where the business was..The drag strip under Dan, and I don't know before that, never held up it's end of the deal.
They tried Wed night , Fri night ,Saturday day and night, and Sundays, but the racers and T& T-ers never came out in any great numbers.
Some of our independent promotions did okay, and propped up the drag strip, but bottom line, the numbers just weren't there for what it costs to open ,staff light up ,and prep a dragstrip in this century.
This Valley was hard hit by the recession and paying spectators were scarce.
We talked to plenty of old timers with our race promotion at the various FREE cruise nights.
Most of the comments were ; Oh that ol' Mel Larson's place ?
They still open ? I haven't been out there since they started that " go too fast and lose stuff".
We'd manage to drag a few former racers and fans, and some of the younger retro guys out there for our nostalgia deal, but in reality , I think the market for a local strip dried up with the last century...at least in this part of the country.
It's a shame ...but that's how I see it .

[MattConte]

[QUOTE=RobbieRacer;365509I Like Hal but he is a Dirt Biker at heart.
JMO[/QUOTE]
That is not true at all about Hal. Hal is a HUGE lover of drag racing. If you ever saw what is in his little shop out behind his home. You would not say that.

That is my daughter sitting in Hal's front engine dragster. (Get the name in the cowl?)One thing I know about Hal. He has ALL of his heart into that dragstrip. Always had.