| Putnam County Speedway Closes, At Least For Now | Staff Report
Putnam County Speedway, a dirt track in northeast Florida will not reopen for the 2007 season. At least not with the current ownership. The following letter appeared on the Florida Stock Car Racing fan forum yesterday from Stan Lawrence, the current owner:
Fans, Drivers, Crewmembers, Employees, Sponsors And Friends.
When I became a part of the Putnam County Speedway Park family back in April, I couldn’t believe the support we received from the fans and driver’s alike. Sure there were those few critics, but like I said in my last driver’s meeting, well you had to be there.
Coming from the asphalt ranks I never saw or had been apart of such a terrific atmosphere in my life. I have had the pleasure of meeting some of the most generous and loyal people of my life this past year. When we took over the track with the lease, everyone outside of the PCSP family said you wouldn’t make it a month, six months or even a year, but we did.
I have never in my life been more proud of myself or my accomplishments then I was this past year when you could see all of our efforts starting to pay off. The continued support, the smiling faces of the proud driver’s and employees, the applauding at the driver’s meeting, every time the National Anthem was played and sung, every time a driver was pulled from a wrecked car without injury and so much more made it simply one of the best years of my life.
This past year also taught me that life doesn’t revolve around racing but around the people that you are involved with. As the year progressed, I found myself surprisingly caring about the driver’s. Not their patronage or feelings, but their well being and health. I will never forget in my life standing on the back straight-a-way at 1:00 in the morning with tears running down my face as I walked away from the rescue crew, Heather and the PCSP track safety crew attending to Keith Briggs’ wrecked car.
Why did I walk away, because I knew then at that moment that I was emotionally attached to this track, PCSP family and drivers and I didn’t want anyone to see it? I will always remember Tiffany singing the Anthem, meeting such wonderful people like Phil Altus, Tera Gunter, Bruce Durden, Roger Crouse, Sue and Ronnie Rohm, Jim Pugh, Mike Tripp, Jason Lowe, Randy Moody, Kevin Mills, Wayne and Shawn Pawlak, Liz and many more.
Another thing I learned this year was just because things looked to be getting better and were possibly the best they had ever been on the outside, that didn’t make up for other misfortunes which brings me to the point of this letter. Lawsuits have been filed against me recently (One against me, one against PCSP, LLC) and trying to manage my track duties and defend my name and personal well being has become too much. I can no longer emotionally and/or financially support the track in the manner it needs to be done so it left me with no choice.
I had to make a decision between starting the season and possibly running out of money in the middle of the year do to the lawsuits or calling it quits now. The funding of the race track is currently being supplied by my personal funds and this pill would be harder to swallow in the middle of the year then it is now. The track or PCSP, LLC isn’t making money to defend it self in the lawsuit so I have to with my personal funds also. Depending on the out comes and time table of the lawsuits, I didn’t want to make this harder then it already is.
In short, my personal funds have to support the race track, two lawsuits and my personal well being and it may or may not be able to do that without knowing the continuing cost to fight the lawsuits. The only driver I spoke to about this even offered to donate thousands of his own money and to organize a fund racer to save the track, but like I told him it’s my problem and my failures and not of the supports and drivers. Every one of the drivers and supports opened their arms to us and that is what PCSP is all about.
I have been in countless meetings and conversations with both of my lawyers, friends, family, CPA and financial advisers to the point of emotional break downs for a month now doing everything I could do to avoid this to no avail. I even had two discussions with my lawyers today for one last hopeful miracle but it didn’t happen.
I’m more disappointed for the racers and fans then I am in the fact that I have failed to honor my commitment and word to the track supporters. I have tried all year to defend the race track from the no balls critics that hide in a group of many, but I guess now they can say I told you so.
This announcement was not planned nor did I even see it coming. The rule books and schedules had been printed for weeks now, but have been sitting in my office in hopes of working thru this so to continue with the season. All of this is a shame because to date we have 14 new cars registered for next year as full time competitors.
We had “Crash-A-Rama” type events on the schedule, we were starting on time in March, new sponsors were stepping up for this year but yet none of that can save the track for us but it just adds to what will go down as the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make. No one will ever understand how difficult this has been nor would I expect anyone to. A few years back I took six months off from my environmental work to build a new asphalt late model for my brother.
In only our first test out, a new light weight rear brake caliper bracket broke that no one wanted me to use because of that fact around lap 25. The result was a destroyed $60,000.00 racecar that burned to the ground while my brother sat in it knocked out cold. We pulled my brother out with only minor burns, a nose bleed and a few broken bones but not before I thought I had killed him.
This matches that same feeling in the point of on that day I didn’t kill my brother, but I had killed our dreams of racing that year just like what a lot of you are thinking I’ve done to you. The following week we loaded up and went to Michigan and picked up a new one and life went on. Maybe not the way we wanted, but it did.
All future racing and events have been cancelled effective immediately. I ask of a few last things from everyone who is a fan, driver, sponsor, crewmember or employee and that is to not give up hope that PCSP will survive. Keep racing at NFS or VSP until PCSP reopens. I also ask that all questions, comments or concerns be directed at me and not Billy Ausburn or Phil Genovar or any of the employees.
All of the employees including Billy are getting this news just the way you are. Me and me alone have failed you all so please don’t look down or take out your frustrations on them. Phil Genovar has been more then supportive of my efforts and has been behind me 100%. He continued to this day to work with me to the point of going far and beyond where the lease agreement could have stopped him. He stayed in consent contact with me and also helped in trying to keep the track open.
The phones will not be answered effective immediately. Everyone can email me or send me a PM (Personal message) thru the forum. I will be keeping the website up thru at least April of 07. If any of you at all that want to talk to me about anything, I mean anything I will discuss it with you 100% just like we did during the year. If we can’t talk about it over the phone, then meet me at Mema’s for lunch. Anyone that has paid for slabs or anything else will be refunded their money within the next thirty days. All tax 1099’s will be mailed in the next few weeks as well.
To those of you that are rebuilding cars, brushing off the old ones, or coming out for the first time, I’m sincerely sorry for this as I know first hand in how you feel. I have never in my life had to go thru something like this nor do I wish it on anyone. All I can tell you and to those few that I have spoken with about this, you can’t imagine what this has done to me emotionally. My family tells me that time heals all wounds, but I’m not to sure it will heal this one. In 1987 my family buried my grandmother, my only uncle and cousin on October 21st that was killed by a drunk driver.
It was my 13th birthday and I still haven’t gotten over that and this has the same kind of feeling. I’m sure in a few years time I’ll look back at closing the track as being the biggest mistake of my life, but I don’t regret the time I shared with everyone. As I sit here in my home office with tears identical to those of that night on the back straight-a-away and Davey trying to get in my lap, I say good bye and Thanks for all of the wonderful memories and hard work. I will cherish the memories for ever.
There will be an open house meeting on Monday Feb. 5th at 7:00 in the track office on the hill. If you have not received your refund for slabs or entries by then, you can pick it up there. The meeting is for anyone who has questions for me or simple to say good bye. I welcome everyone to attend and I will personally talk to any of you.
If you are interested in the facility you can contact Phil Genovar @ 904-824-4318
Sincerely,
Stan Lawrence
PCSP, LLC.
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