Midnight madness 10/15

[motrayeg6]

could possibly be the last one for awhile or until someone buys the track

[The Artiste]

"IF" some one buys it. I heard the supposed buyer wants to take the track private.

[crxlilmikey]

theres a new drag strip beging built out side of troy mo by eolia

[The Artiste]

theres a new drag strip beging built out side of troy mo by eolia

1/4 or 1/8 mile? Hope it's the first one. I don't believe in 1/8 mile drag racing. 1/4 gives me time to pass the v8's after the dig, lol.

[Boosted_da]

yeah i heard someone was going to buy it and do away to the circle track and turn it into a parking lot but idk about the drag strip id hate to se it go

[The Artiste]

That would be strange, as I heard the circle track is their biggest moneymaker. Apparently NASCAR mandates that you have to have a certain amount of parking space to have an event at the track, and Gateway doesn't meet the requirements. If they shut down the drag track, street racing will explode in St Louis, I can tell you that

[My06_types]

I actually read somewhere on the internet that the reason they are shutting the track down is because the circle track racing companies are cutting back on races all together and having them in bigger cities starting next year. They also said something about tearing it down and just building a drag strip...
I dont see how the cops can say go to the tracks and race when there arent any tracks withing 2-3 hr and that one is getting shut down. They need to spend some state money to build a couple good local tracks.:drinkup1:

[Silver Knight]

I actually read somewhere on the internet that the reason they are shutting the track down is because the circle track racing companies are cutting back on races all together and having them in bigger cities starting next year. They also said something about tearing it down and just building a drag strip...
I dont see how the cops can say go to the tracks and race when there arent any tracks withing 2-3 hr and that one is getting shut down. They need to spend some state money to build a couple good local tracks.:drinkup1:

or maybe because they're in so much debt that they can't pull their asses out..

from the Bret man himself:

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”.

[5thgen]

time to race on the runways

and boat docks

[White91Hatch]

Is mm still on for Friday or what?