The Official Gateway "Death Notice"!

Bret Kepner · Post by **Bret Kepner** » Thu Nov 04, 2010 12:07 am

Details can be found HERE.

Waffles · Post by **Waffles** » Thu Nov 04, 2010 12:16 am

Well shit.....time to sell my honda.....

OWNED · Post by **OWNED** » Thu Nov 04, 2010 12:18 am

WHAAAAA!!!???? BOOOO! atleast Mid America Raceway is coming back... and its wayyy closer to my house than gateway! haha

Liquor Assassin · Post by **Liquor Assassin** » Thu Nov 04, 2010 2:37 pm

is anyone going to buy the strip and reopen?

The Artiste · Post by **The Artiste** » Fri Nov 05, 2010 5:55 am

So does anyone have any info on when MAR (mid america raceway) is going to reopen? And it would have to be 1/4 mile right? I tried to google it and find out, but didn't find any info

91beatuphatch · Post by **91beatuphatch** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 12:53 am

ive heard and read so much about gateway hatt its closing or isnt closing... also heard there only closing a part of it. as in the circle track and the drift course but leaving the drag track open... hell idk.

but where is mid america track. ive heard of it but i dont know where it is.

Bwill9886 · Post by **Bwill9886** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 6:09 pm

91beatuphatch;248917 wrote:ive heard and read so much about gateway hatt its closing or isnt closing... also heard there only closing a part of it. as in the circle track and the drift course but leaving the drag track open... hell idk.

but where is mid america track. ive heard of it but i dont know where it is.

Here is the link for the new mid-america track thread that was started in the Lounge:

http://www.stlhondas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19767

And the whole of gateway is being shut down, as you will see in that details link that was posted by the OP. Too bad, as gateway is WAY closer for me and I never had a problem with the track.

Liquor Assassin;248752 wrote:is anyone going to buy the strip and reopen?

Yea if anyone has any reliable information I'd like to know as well.

Liquor Assassin · Post by **Liquor Assassin** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 4:29 pm

there are so many people that have been going there for years... i just cant see the strip closing down and no one wanting to open it back up... last time i checked mid america was an 1/8th mile

Bad Bowtie · Post by **Bad Bowtie** » Sat Nov 13, 2010 3:58 am

The new MAR is going to be called MAR park. As for info concerning Gateway, this is from Brett from another forum:

I’m only responding to this thread because the article in Drag Racing Online is so incredibly wrong. I’m only going to type this once and I’m not going to respond with any more information. The reason for the lack of interest in a sale of Gateway International Raceway is no secret. There are several people on this board who know the details, (‘Goose being one with whom I’ve shared the basics), and, for the life of me, I have no idea why you people think this is such a conspiracy.

The reason nobody is interested in GIR has nothing to do with the economy, the management, the oval track or the dragstrip. In fact, the dragstrip is, (currently), one of the most successful in the country. Tuesday nights are doing great, Fridays (MM) are through the roof, and, despite the fact bracket racing has been in a horrible slump for a decade, even the Saturday bracket series holds its own quite well. Even the Outlaw All Stars program has shown notable growth. The majority of GIR’s major events are rentals so those races are fine, too. The NHRA National Event does very well for both GIR and the NHRA. However, it wouldn’t matter if the track was ten times more successful. It simply can’t possibly make money.

Chris Pook built the new Gateway in 1996 with $21.5 million in Illinois state bonds. Those bonds were deferred for ten years. Those bonds came due in 2006. For the past four years, GIR has been operating with an annual tax debt of $1.8 million. End of story.

Nothing…not even a NASCAR Cup date…could ever pull the track out from under that load. When it became obvious the track was never going to get a Cup race, Pook (wisely) got out. He knew an NHRA race, a NASCAR truck race, a Nationwide race or even his own CART events wouldn’t do it, either. As it stands, (with no major events at the oval), a new owner would need the equivalent of five good NHRA National Events in one season just to start at ZERO.

NOW start figuring out who’d say “Yes!” to such a deal. Can’t think of ANYBODY? Gee. I guess that explains why nobody’s in line to buy it.

If the tax nightmare could ever be figured out, THEN a prospective buyer could start looking into a way to deal with the three land owners and all the rest of the headaches involved in acquiring Gateway International Raceway.

I don’t care what anybody has heard, said, thought or read. These are the facts. If you don’t believe it, call Dover and ask.

There will always be hilarious rumors out there and, personally, I hope they keep coming just for the entertainment value. However, all the idiots who insist the track is closing because they wait in line for a run at Midnight Madness or the NHRA event was pulled because of racer complaints, (my favorite so far), need to get a clue about the business world.

None of this was ever a secret. All you had to do was ask. Get a grip, people.

I’m not posting this anywhere else. If you find somebody who’s spewing inaccuracies, feel free to cut-n-paste this whole response. The funny part is they’ll still believe the whole place went under because it wasn’t an “outlaw track”.

lagwagon21 · Post by **lagwagon21** » Sat Nov 13, 2010 8:27 pm

This really sucks for the area. I have been going to GIR since I was a kid.