Hey everyone. Just wanted to give a heads up on what could be a huge new opportunity for people in the Braselton/Buford/Winder/Gainesville area.
It all started with me buying the TC3 RTR 1/10th scale car. I fell in love with the hobby, and started buying endless amounts of bodies, parts, etc. After I adjusted to the car, learned how to drive, how to set up camber, castor, toe, etc, I had planned on running the car at The Sugar Bowl in Sugar Hill. I found out soon after that the place had closed down.
Well, now what? I work at Road Atlanta in close relationship with Joey Green, track manager. I do some promotional work, as well as helping him personally with setting up for Drift Atlanta, The AMA Superbike Showdown, and the Petite Le Mans. Seeing as how my TC3 is a road racing chassis, it dawned on me that Road Atlanta had a perfectly good autocross course in the back of the facility between turns 6 and 7. We talked to Joey about just bringing our cars out to run on slow days. We scouted out the location, and ran into an immediate problem. The track was on the big side, and there was absolutely nowhere high to stand. Also, the pavement was in pretty bad condition.
Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Right across the street, at Lanier National Speedway, they just completed last year a high banked quarter midget oval.
We scouted the location and I can't begin to tell you how perfect it was. High banked, glass smooth, covered pit area, high places to stand, bleachers, lights, size, etc.
The first order of business was to find out who owned the place. I worked at LNS last season every saturday, so I knew Donnie, the owner. I approached him, but was told that he had nothing to do with the track, as it was built and sponsored by several companies.
Well, the biggest billboard I saw was Bowen Homes. I jotted down the 800-number and gave em a call.
After going through a few people, I eventually got in contact with the man who actually built the track. I explained that I wanted to race on his track on off days, and he told me that he had been contacted by a few R/C guys in the past, one of which was a huge supporter of The Sugar Bowl. He said a few guys had even gotten some money together and run a few times in the past. Well, this was perfect, so then not 5 minutes later, I was contacted by the person who had actually run up there before, with Speedway Motorsports. He explained his interest in it, and listened to mine, and we agreed to get the ball rolling on this.
HERE's the deal, agreed on by the owner of LNS, and the builder of the actual track:
THey would like a minimum of $500 for a weekend to race. This can be split up however we'd like. More drivers, less money per driver.
We can have the track on Saturday and Sunday nights, seeing as how they only race on Friday nights.
I've been told that if we do upkeep on the track, like mow the grass, and blow off the track and what not, we may be able to race for less than $500.
So now it's up to you guys. We need to spread the word, pick a date to start, and get the ball rolling on this. We have a beautiful paved oval in our backyard, and we have even discussed laying down cones or pipe for a road course in the freshly paved parking lot next to it.
My name is Nick, and you can reach me at 770-363-1683, or,
[email protected] for more information.
I guarentee that they are looking to see if people will actually show up, and if we get a big turn out each race we plan, maybe we can get something permanent started.
Please contact me, or John, at Speedway Motorsports, at
[email protected].
Thanks, and we'll see you on the track.