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2001
NEWS ARCHIVE
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Visit Florida Stock Car Racing Sponsors!
| Putnam County Gets Down To Business | Celebrates Opening Weekend
by Hans Nieborg
KARNAC.com took a stroll over to Putnam County Speedway Saturday night, March 24th to see how the new racing facility is doing.
Since this was the second night of racing at Putnam, the KARNAC.com message boards were already alive with some observations and insights of the previous night's activities and as such, we were on the lookout for some of the items that were mentioned. We did notice the sheds converted into refreshment stands strategically located in three spots around the track. We also noticed the main snack bar was open and tried a pound cheeseburger fresh off the grill. Not bad at all!
A unique feature of Putnam County Speedway was the 'Beer Stands", where you can enjoy a cool one in a reserved section of the track located in turns one and two. This location turned out to be a good choice for watching the race because many altercations occurred right there for all to see. From the center of the track, the Beer Stands took on a strange glow as you could see car brake lights from the cars parked on a little hill behind the beer stands. (Which seemed to provide a great spot for those who wanted to park on the hill and watch the race without paying.)
While walking through the pit area we came across none other than Speedo the Racing Clown! He was getting ready for his next show as we came up to his trailer to say "Hi!' A few loud groans from Speedo as he was putting on his socks told us something was wrong though. It turns out he had twisted his back and was having sharp pains whenever he moved. It looked like this would put a serious 'cramp' (pun intended) in his show, but Speedo's performance didn't seem to suffer from it in the least. Like he said, "The show must go on!"
We continued walking through the pits and decided to sit in the pit stands for a bit to watch the cars running hot laps for a while. Unfortunately, it looked like the track was a little greasy-slick as all classes of cars were constantly spinning out and couldn't seem to get the horsepower applied to the track. This situation held true throughout the evening. It was interesting to hear the announcer calling the action as the cars slid all over the track while standing in front of a small structure made of two by fours and a tarpaulin with a PA amplifier on a chair next to him, but the lack of an announcer's booth didn't seem to hurt the quality of his work.
It was also a pleasant surprise to see a playground setup in the middle of the main stands and a sandbox in the pit stands area too. Other amenities include: Concrete pads for the pits (I was informed they are planning to pave the entire pit area), a tunnel under the track to gain access to the infield via a golf cart, a separate line-up area to stage the cars for the next race, and lots of new sod everywhere.
Which brings to mind an interesting note. If you want to stay in Bob Potter's good graces, take care not to mess up the grass on the infield. A street stock was stuck in the grass on the front stretch and a tow truck tried to push it back onto the track. After a little wheel-spin, it was obvious the car was pretty well stuck in the grass. The first truck backed off the grass and another tow truck came along and pulled the car out with a cable from the edge of the track. After the extraction was done, Bob Potter hurried into the infield and let the first tow truck driver he wasn't pleased with the effect the truck had upon the new grass in the infield. So as a reminder, stay off the grass and give it a chance to grow!
All in all, Putnam County Speedway has some more work to do to be a well-rounded track, but the basic formula is there and the ownership is working hard to satisfy the needs of both the drivers and the fans. Besides, I wouldn't judge a whole season of racing based upon just two days of operation. A few of the problems mentioned after the first night of races were resolved by Saturday night (the lights stayed on this time) and other concerns are being taken into serious consideration. The track does have room for improvement, and it looks like those improvements are happening. Making something out of nothing takes time and effort. It will be great to watch as Putnam grows into what could possibly be one of the best tracks in their region.
Video Clips:
 Putnam Late Models
More Putnam Late Models
-Hans Nieborg
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