Ocala Speedway : New Ownership Thinking Outside the Box
The "12 Hours of Ocala" coming this Fall
By Jack Smith
Last winter we spoke with Mike Peters, the latest owner operator of Ocala Speedway, and we came away with the idea maybe, just maybe Ocala fans and racers had finally got a hold of an owner who was really going to make the place work.
The previous ownerships since Paul Petrie moved on each added improvements to the physical aspects of the speedway, with the Armstrongs, who sold to Peters, really doing a number on the place. New lighting, new grandstands and a clean facility were created under their ownership. But the racing program did not fare as well, and left a certain emptiness and unease with many fans and local drivers we have heard from.
Mike Peters, an airline pilot, was busy Thursday afternoon putting "jet engines" on the school bus he will be driving in Don Nerone's Crash-A-Rama Saturday night , the 22nd of April. "I think it's going great, it is a lot of hard work, but Angie and I are having a ball, we love it. We are real big customer service freaks, and when are coming and having a good time, and appreciate what we have done here, it fuels us even more."
Lou Trembley, let go by the former owners just prior to the sale of the facility, was brought back in to wear the General Manager hat, "Lou is a great guy, Lou has a good repore with everybody, and Lou and I work together and a team really effectively, we get along and work together extremely well."
This fall Ocala Speedway will host what is being billed as "the first Annual Twelve (12) Continuous Hours of Racing at Ocala Speedway" and is offering a $5000 cash prize to the winner of the event.
It is all part of a motorsports dream weekend called the Ocala Fall Bash at the speedway in Marion County, Florida. Friday October 20th, all the regular Ocala divisions get things started, these are the men and women, and youngsters who race the 4 Cylinder Stocks, V-8 Pure Stocks, Street Stocks, Sportsmans and the lightning fast Open Wheel Modifieds. The evening will be capped off with a hair raising figure eight event.
The exact time frame for the "12 Hours of Ocala" is still not set in concrete, but will likely either start start Friday Midnight, or Saturday morning, both ideas are being discussed, although currently the schedule calls for an overnight race.
On Sunday afternoon the roar of FASCAR Super Late Models will commence as the Sunbelt Series runs the third and final leg of the Florida Triple Crown, a 125 lap affair that likely will decide not only the triple crown winner but the series champion.
Ocala is a special place to watch the powerful super late models and we prefer turn four grandstands. The cars build up a lot speed on the long back straightaway and have to handle the very sharp turn four entry to a narrow front straight. If I was the photographer there I would lobby Peters for a photo stand right there in turn four, a place for the best shots at the speedway.
The "12 Hours of Ocala" rules will be out shortly, according to Peters, but some aspects of the race are already determined. This is a 12 hour long distance endurance race, and the winner will be "whoever completes the most laps in 12 hours, a three driver change, fuel stops and we will score with transponders", Peters said. A rundown of the basic rules are, "Any car, any motor, fuel injected is ok, minimum four point cage, 70 series DOT tires, a fuel cell, and of course a transponder to score the race", according to the track owner.
"The feedback we've gotten has been phenomenal, we've got guys coming out of the woodwork, our local drivers are already busy assembling their teams now, no advertising or promotion for the event yet, but so far but the response has been phenomenal," Peters explained, adding "I've told everyone to bring your tents, bring your RV's, just come on out to the track."
Itching to get back to the Crash-A-Rama school bus project, Peters said, "Maybe the kids will get a kick out of it, we are trying to figure out how to put some wings on it. I had even thought about maybe wearing my uniform too, because that's what I do for a living, I am an airline pilot, so I though maybe I would wear my uniform jacket and my hat too, and wave to the kids."
We had the opportunity to visit Ocala Speedway again last weekend for the FAST Motorsports Extravaganza, and were not disappointed. The track has clean bathrooms, clean well operated concessions, as friendly a staff as we have seen anywhere, and along the the visiting series ran a very smooth event, the action punctuated by the excitement of a very entertaining announcer, a local DJ with the name "Wolfman". The honest enthusiasm of the owners spills over to the staff and it shows.
Remember that guy, whoever it was, that said this racing stuff is supposed to be fun?
Mike Peters is certainly having fun and working hard to make it fun for his fans and drivers.
More information on events and contact information for the speedway is on the web site at www.ocalaspeedway.com
