"Effective immediately: Atco Dragway is permanently closed. We will not be open from this point on. The remainder of our schedule for 2023 will be canceled. Thank you all for your patronage and memories over the years. Special thank you to our 29th annual Pan American Nationals racers & crowd for making Atco Dragway’s last event the biggest and best one ever. This isn’t the end for import racing in the northeast! To all of our staff, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sticking it out with us and being the best in the business!"
Posts: 13522 | Location: NJ | Registered: August 20, 2000
Lenny is an ******* and had no business trying to own a dragstrip. Word is sold for a use other than a dragstrip. I live in town and heard nothing recently up til today.
There are a lot of options our way. Galot, Rockingham(updated track and timing system), Darlington, Carolina HOH, SCMP, Union, Greer, and those are all <3 hour radius..
The everything is dying is an every generation psychological phenomenon. Dying implies dead as in non existent. I think that isn't going to happen for decades and decades.
Seen the popularity of street outlaws? ...racing cars ain't going anywhere for a good while....
BG it would be nice if they all raced more. Nothing at Piedmont, Galot, Pageland, or Rockingham this week. Only Darlington, and Farmington is closed for repaving. For me the others you mentioned, Greer, Union Co, etc are over 200mi away and I can hardly go to that 8 car payout at Rockingham anyway as they post Big Johns 25th annual memorial race. John was alive and well 25 years ago, even 15 years ago. Looks like Darlington is trying so racers need to pay attention. Rockingham--not so much
Posts: 6214 | Location: everywhere | Registered: March 15, 2007
Originally posted by 183N: Complete bleachers already on sale on Facebook for $390,000. Ad says they didn’t buy the track they’re just selling for the owner. Link: https://www.facebook.com/marke...343/?mibextid=6ojiHh
Ad was already pulled down. The whole thing just seems fishy to me...
Posts: 2433 | Location: Moving back to the door side | Registered: April 30, 2010
I live in Atco and know employees that were blindsided by this.
The owner, Len Capone and family are incompetent *******s. They ran off racers from day one of ownership. They had no idea how to run a racetrack. He has a history of running businesses into the ground.
The sale might be his only thing he has done in his life that made a profit because of large companies buying up properties for large sums.
There is a lot of talk about it locally but general census is warehouses. This effects the whole town because tractor trailers will be rolling 24/7 on a two lane road. The majority of the people in town would it rather be racetrack even if they didn't like the track.
I bought my house because of it being rural and to be close to the racetrack as did many racers. I'm exactly one mile away.
In closing, the owner was an ******* and he profited on it because of property values. If he was on fire, I'd put out the fire and set him on fire the next day and repeat.
while this is just another sign of the pending death of what we do, it does not come as a surprise. The owner has wanted to get out for years. It's HIS business to shut down and sell the assets as he sees fit despite what M120 and other locals think or wants. Where are all the bullshyters that said they were going to buy it? Answer...they were never buying it!
Posts: 13522 | Location: NJ | Registered: August 20, 2000
Originally posted by 1320racer: while this is just another sign of the pending death of what we do, it does not come as a surprise. The owner has wanted to get out for years. It's HIS business to shut down and sell the assets as he sees fit despite what M120 and other locals think or wants. Where are all the bullshyters that said they were going to buy it? Answer...they were never buying it!
I never said he couldn't sell it and don't blame him for selling to the highest bidder. The land was worth more to a corporation than someone to keep it a racetrack. He just got lucky that property values skyrocketed for the 170 acres. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.
The owner was/is an ******* regardless if he sold it or not. That was his M.O. for years before he acquired the track. He thought he could run the track better and he failed miserably. He is the main reason the track failed like his previous businesses. Many knew he would fail but thought he would sell for pennies on the dollar as a racetrack. Racers that come two or three times a year probably don't see things that weekly racers see.
I was just giving some background on the situation from my perspective. I may be a little biased since I live in Atco because of the track and being rural, but it sucks loosing the track and whatever that will take its place.
racers everywhere think their home track owner is an ******* so what, don't matter, he is the business owner and he makes the rules! It's his business to do as he wishes whether that be to run off the opinionated racers who always complain and think they can do better yet most have never owned a business much less a drag strip! As well he can sell the business/assets to who ever he wants whenever he wants at anytime without asking any racer, any employee for permission!
Further, Joe Sway wasn't known as a nice guy and the court determined he was liable for the death of a racer which is why he sold it to Lenny.
That said, I never had an issue with Joe or Lenny whenever I raced there, why would I? Every time I competed there for over 30 years, the track was prepped, there was a starter, a burnout box guy, a guy running the lanes as well the required safety crew which means both Lenny and Joe provided all I expected and payed for!
Be happy for what you had but also be truthful as well, you haven't raced/competed in many, many years so the fact that Atco is no more, doesn't effect you as it does Atco's "weekly racers" who have 2 choices, drive somewhere else to compete or sell and Sisko has already said he'll buy everyone's shyt for cash and then flip it.
Posts: 13522 | Location: NJ | Registered: August 20, 2000
The only thing we as racers can do to slow the loss of race tracks is to be courteous to the staff at the track, and help the track profit however we can. Sorry, but that's the cold hard truth.
Mike
Posts: 1566 | Location: Marietta, GA | Registered: December 09, 2005
