New Owners at Delaware Speedway

[Don Bini]

New Owners at Delaware Speedway

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nov 28, 2011

Delaware, Ontario

Effective December 1, 2011, Delaware Speedway will be operated by a new ownership group.  The members of this group are the de Melo and family and the Spivak family.

The de Melo family has been involved in Delaware racing for quite some time.  Having them join in this new ownership group is a great asset to fans and drivers at Delaware.  Their valued input in decisions will help tie the new ownership in with many aspects of the racing community.

The Spivak family has owned the land that Delaware Speedway is on for many years and has seen the track through many changes in that time.  Although for the past years they have only been involved as the land owners, they now join as part of the new ownership group and will be actively involved in working with the de Melo family.

Arlen Scherba has announced he will not be returning to Delaware Speedway.  The ownership group would like to thank the Scherba family for their countless contributions over the past ten years.  Arlen and his team have made many positive changes to Delaware Speedway and have put many hours of hard work and persistence into making Delaware Speedway the track it is today.  “I’ve had a lot of fun with this track, and can’t thank everyone enough for all your support and I wish the new ownership group success” Arlen states. The de Melo and Spivak Families wish the Scherba family the best in their future endeavor and many years of health and happiness.

The race track will be in full operation for the 2012 season.  The speedway has already secured some major race dates including the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and ISMA Super Modifieds.  The track is currently working on the official release of the full-season schedule.

“We would like to thank all the drivers, partners, and fans for their patience as we sort through the opportunities and challenges ahead of us as the new ownership group,” the de Melo and Spivak families said in a statement.  “We are very eager to move forward and can’t wait to work with everyone to continue to improve Delaware Speedway, the iconic track it is.”

The new team is aware there is a great deal of interest from the racing community and many questions about the ownership.  There will be a general meeting scheduled in December to discuss these changes and the opportunities that are ahead.  Drivers are encouraged to keep an eye to the speedway website for more information.

[Jason Katerberg]

That's reassuring. I suppose it's put up or shut up time down there now...

[Mike Lindsay]

and I noticed on another site that Ron Sheridan is no longer race director.

[Don Bini]

and I noticed on another site that Ron Sheridan is no longer race director.

Hopefully this means he'll be back on track with the #52 LM along with a few others who took a summer hiatus from Delaware in 2011.

[Jason Katerberg]

and I noticed on another site that Ron Sheridan is no longer race director.

Hopefully this means he'll be back on track with the #52 LM along with a few others who took a hiatus from Delaware from 2009-2011.

Fixed it for you.

[Don Bini]

FROM TODAY'S LFP :

Delaware Speedway has new owners who also happen to be old friends of the track.

Arlen Scherba has sold the half-mile oval just west of London to an ownership group made up of the de Melo family and the Spivak family.

The Spivaks have been involved with the track for many years. They're the owners of the land on which the track sits, having bought it in 1972 from Hugh Brodie, who opened the speedway as a quarter-mile dirt track in 1952. But the Spivaks have never been involved in the operation of the facility itself.

The de Melos are a racing family. Justin de Melo raced in Delaware Speedway's open-wheeled modified division, while father Manny is active in the enduro class.

John Houghton, spokesperson for the track, said the Spivaks participating in the complete involvement of the track's operation is "historic."

"For the first time (since Hugh Brodie) the landowners have a say in the day-to-day operations of the speedway," Houghton said. "It brings a sense of stability to everyone. When the landowner is part of the business it gives you the sense of stability and credibility that a lot of racers look at in an operation."

It would be especially easy if, and when, the track had any improvements to make to its property.

The de Melos brings their expertise not only in the competitive side of racing but their expertise in running a business (construction).

"The de Melos are a solid racing family," Houghton said. "Tie that in with the knowledge the Spivaks bring, this provides us with some great opportunities to bring some good stuff to the track."

"The track was in great shape and the new ownership group has nothing but the greatest gratitude and respect for Arlen Scherba and his team for the solid facility they're inheriting," Houghton said.

It took a "long time" for the sale to be worked out, he said. But with negotiations ongoing, there wasn't much news coming out of the track. It sparked rumours, including one that predicted it would become a "specials-only track," meaning only a limited number of events, as few as four, would be run there all year.

"That is completely false," Houghton said. "We have a weekly racing program lined up to come to bat with in the 2012 season. We will have many of the elements fans are familiar with."

The track has already lined up the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and ISMA super modifieds.

"Those are the only two we can announce but we are working on others," Houghton said. "We will be announcing a full schedule."

Houghton said everyone will know a lot more after the new ownership group meets with track staff on Thursday morning.

[Mike Lindsay]

what seems to have been lost (that is not reknewed) is the Whelen Mod Tour. The track seems to be following the precendent set by other venues (Merrittville WOO LMs for example) that if an event is not a huge financial hit immediately, it's not back. The talk on other boards of a shorter season likely means the Nascar Weekly sanction will be gone too as there won't enough events as a result to participate in the Nascar Regional points. The lack of reinforcement of Nascar memberships in 2011 in the top division, which cost the track champion points toward the Regional championship, may have been one of the final nails in the coffin. It's really sad to see the Whelen Tour cut back to a New England tour with a trip to Bristol. Lets hope Holland gets that ROC event to keep pancake mod fans happy.
 Makes you wonder what the track will do with the Whelen Mod that was purchased for DJK to drive?
 I agree with the track dropping the weekly mods where the car count was barely enought to fill one heat. Hopefully the orphans will be able to run Oscaar's newly proposed mod series.
 Sadly there seems to be no mention of repaving in the near future

[Mike Lindsay]

above-"financial hit" probably should read "financial success"

[Jason Katerberg]

I disagree with axing the modifieds, but I can understand why they did it at the same time. I think forcing guys to go tech and dollar-wise between Street Stocks and Latemodels (with both sets of rules as they are) is a big mistake long-term.

[Jayson Brown]

Was it Deleware that said we don't want the Whelen mods back or did Nascar say it's not worth the hassle for everyone.

[JAMES CONRAD]

  If fans want to see the Mods, why not book the ROC Mods. It would be less expensive than the Whelan tour.

[Jason Katerberg]

Was it Deleware that said we don't want the Whelen mods back or did Nascar say it's not worth the hassle for everyone.

I would guess it's a bit of both. Not so much the sanctioning body, but the Whelen mod fan/competitor base raising a stink.

[Jamie Grover]

  If fans want to see the Mods, why not book the ROC Mods. It would be less expensive than the Whelan tour.

The turnout of fans was pretty mediocre, and I would think it would be worse for the ROC Mods.

[Mike Lindsay]

I must admit I attended the Whelen show last minute after having to check the weather radar for a couple hours before heading out. Rain was a constant threat that day. My drive was a 200 mile round trip and I'm sure some other fans who had to drive further likely cancelled out due to the forecast and high cost of gas in the summer. It rained all the way home. I'm just wondering if the trend in the next year or two will be fewer major tours that a track can take a financial bath on if weather is involved. Ohsweken's last WOO LM tour race was poorly attended (two years ago), had weather problems (was run in a scotch mist) and they haven't been back.
 ROC mods would be interesting but I think there has to be more than one Canadian track involved to make it worthwhile for teams to get passports, etc. The problem with that series is that one of their final shows last year (at Dunn Tire-Lancaster) barely had 20 entries. Andy Harpell is apparently going to experiment this season to let the sportsman mods run with the ROC tour mods to help build car counts back up (using weight and carbs as equilizers). I'm still  praying Holland gets a show as rumoured earlier.

[Brian Powell]

You are right Mike the weather was a factor on that day. I think for the year it might have been one the better ones for Ontario tracks in regards to not having rainouts. It always seems sketchy weather appears just about race time, and is a tough call for any track in question. Some tracks have there own radar systems, plus green go on their Web sites or a last minute modification,  your distance and time from the track can create a wall. The team has done 400 to 1600 mile trips actually taking poles in the preliminarys only to be rained out, tires, gas, ect down the drain. The tour type races stand a better chance on 2 & 3 day shows more potential to remedy.