What was it that Leo Musgrave knew in 1957 when he started to thinking about building the now legendary speedway? Dairy farming does not necessarily translate into show business promotions. The story of this good old boy and a crazy dream has been told over and over, but maybe a rendering from a kid who grew up around it will shed new light.

Growing up in a central Florida small town was a great way of life. Your friends were next door and your entertainment was simple and inexpensive. Going to the races every weekend was really a cool treat for a young kid. It was a social event, and fun night out mixed into one.

Small tracks began to spring up all over Florida in the years that followed the forming of the NASCAR. The Daytona Beach races were very successful and many men and women saw the opportunities it presented. Leo Musgrave was visiting other local facilities in the Tampa Bay area to watch his new passion when he noticed something, something that really got his interest.

In the late 1950s and early 60s every true cracker could tell where an automobile was from by reading the numbers on the tag. I remember Polk County tags were numbered 5. So Leo noticed that most of the cars in the parking lots were from Pinellas County, his county. That meant that hundreds of people were flocking across one of two bridges, driving many miles, to make there way out to eastern Hillsborough County and Golden Gate Speedway. He checked the parking lot at Phillips Field, same thing. That must be when the farmer took a notion that racing should come to his side of the bay.

Now Mr. Musgrave was known for his business sense, but taking a chance on building a rural speedway in what was then the middle of nowhere, was still a little risky. When your only competition for local entertainment was the Mustang drive-in movie and later the Showboat Dinner Theater, you could feel fairly confident about some sort of success. So after selling off a few of the, less used acres, ground was broken on a ¼ mile paved track, right under the airport approach zone for the now St. Pete/Clearwater Airport. No one is sure Leo was smart enough back then to realize that as the airport grew, the roads would be improved, but his foresight has left his little speedway in good stead without noise abatement programs, traffic flow, and accessibility problems that many other tracks have fallen victim to.

Once the facility was built, he had to get people to it. Organizing the racing programs personally for the first few years, Leo made many new friends with his down home charm and straight from the hip delivery. Leo hired professional managers for a number of years after that, but was always found at the track and helping things along each week. In 1987, Leo's daughter Bonnie and her husband Frank took the rains of Sunshine Speedway. Understanding the entertainment value, while juggling the pay to compete novice racer and the big money sponsored professional racer has proven its value repeatedly for Frank and Bonnie.

Now competition for a families entertainment dollars is hot and heavy in the year 2000. The Mustang drive-in and Showboat theater have both been gone for years. Now a family can still go to the movie, but some new additions have been added in the Tampa Bay area. You can visit any one of 15 public attractions in the local area, from history museums to world famous major theme parks. Plus professional sports teams have moved in, by the dozens. Baseball has spring training here, then football, basketball, hockey, soccer and golf are big players in the family cash sweepstakes. We haven't even began to talk about the technological advances that bring cable TV into every home, don't forget computer games and of course the Internet.

Maybe someday all the racetracks will be gone. A mere historical memory for some future generation. Right now it's real, for 40 years it has been real racing, close competition, and lots of action at Sunshine "ACTION" Speedway. It happens every Friday or Saturday Night at your local track, so visit often and remember, " Because someone like Leo took a chance, you and I have a legacy of winners to enjoy."
Thanks Leo

"From Behind the MIC" by Bill Green

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