February 26, 2016 |
Fifteen years ago in 2001 Dale Earnhardt Sr. was buried in a
private ceremony. Richard Childress announced that Kevin Harvick would drive
the Goodwrench car that would be painted white and carry the number
30.NASCAR announced that the lap belt had broken on the Childress No.3.In
Winston Cup qualifying at Rockingham; Jeff Gordon took the pole with Steve
Park on the outside. Todd Bodine was the Busch Grandnational winner on
Saturday. It took two days to run the Winston Cup event as the red was
displayed after 51 laps on Sunday because of rain. Steve Park, who had run
in the lead pack all day, took the lead from Jeff Gordon on lap 338 and went
on to take the win. Park did a polish victory lap and in doing so, ran out
of gas and had to be pushed to victory lane.
Ten years ago in 2006 The New London
Day reported on February 23, that the bank that held the mortgage on the
Waterford Speedbowl was threatening to take possession of the racetrack,
claiming the owner had failed to make payments on his $1.7 million loan. The
Washington Mutual Bank, which has headquarters in Seattle, Wash., filed a
lawsuit in the Norwich Connecticut Superior Court stating that Speedbowl
owner Terry H. Eames of Groton and various business entities that he manages
had failed to make regular and accelerated payments on the mortgage taken
out six years previous. Eames' first court appearance in the case was set
for Tuesday, February 28. Eames said that the racetrack's financial problems
wouldn’t affect the Speedbowl's upcoming season, which was set to run from
April 1 to Sept. 24. According to the racetrack's Web site, open practice
for drivers was scheduled to begin March 25.
According to the lawsuit, Eames' companies and he himself were liable for
mortgage payments. As the main borrower, Eames was in default and, in
addition, liable because he owed back taxes, the lawsuit says. Eames manages
1080 Hartford Road LLC, which holds title to three separate parcels totaling
20 acres; T.H.E. Motorsports LLC, which leases space from the Speedbowl; and
Victuals Inc., which runs concessions. All were named as parties in the
lawsuit. An LLC protects personal assets like houses, cars and boats from
being attached. The bank also was suing the town of Waterford, which held
liens totaling about $36,000 on the property; and Finkeldey Inc. of Old
Saybrook, a waste-management firm. Finkeldey supplied portable toilets to
the speedbowl and was owed thousands. Eames had made arrangements with the
town to pay his back taxes, Town Attorney Rob Avena said. Eames' company,
1080 Hartford Road LLC, owns three contiguous pieces of property — 1080,
1084, and 1090 Hartford Road (also known as Route 85). The 20-acre piece
where the racetrack is located has a fair market value of $2.4 million,
according to records in the town assessor's office. The other two parcels
are worth as much as $157,000 each or more.
The bank's lawyer, James R. Byrne of Tyler, Cooper & Alcorn LLP of
Hartford, asked the court to allow the bank to foreclose and take immediate
possession of personal property. The bank also was seeking monetary damages,
lawyers' fees and other costs. Byrne had also asked the court to assume
jurisdiction over the property.
Another one who evidently didn't like to pay taxes was Busch East
competitor Matt Kobyluck. Kobyluck, who is the owner and vice president of
Kobyluck Sand and Gravel owed the town of Salem Conn. $7,914.52 in real
estate and personal property tax on equipment. Kobyluck owns a rock quarry
and had various equipment including rock crushers on the property. The town
had a cease and desist order against Kobyluck’s operation.
In Nextel Cup action at the California Speedway Matt Kenseth took the win
after early contenders Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart dropped out with engine
trouble.
Last Year, 2015, The wheels of
progress turn slow at times but at the track known as the Speedbowl the new
owner Bruce Bemer and new General Manager Shawn Monahan shifted into high
gear and are running wide open despite a heavy blanket of snow that covers
the Connecticut shoreline oval. First off the new manager and owner have
opted to take a step back as they have re-named the facility the New
London-Waterford Speedbowl. When the Speedbowl was built in 1951 it was
called that by the original owners. It was during the Harvey Tattersall
years that the name was shortened to the Waterford Speedbowl. Another tidbit
is the fact that the new management was considering a NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour Series event in addition to a Valenti Modified Racing event and maybe a
Tri-Track series event. Lets hope this happens!
As of the previous Saturday night, Feb 28 it was one down and two to go
as Shawn Monahan put the word out that the New London-Waterford Speedbowl
would be part of the Tri-Track Series. The Tri-Track Open Modified Racing
Series will make its Speedbowl debut with a Sunday afternoon show on Sept.
13. Said Dennis Perry, "So excited about the tri track event at the bowl. No
doubt in my mind this will be the premiere modified show of the year. With
the bowl offering the best in short track racing and the purses James
Schaefer and the racing guys put up this show could rival some of the big
dirt shows in cars and attendance." The Waterford event will be a non-points
race," said Tri Track series promoter James Schaefer. "Teams that have
already pre-entered with the Tri Track Open Modified Series will not have an
additional entry fee for this race." Even though the purse collection is in
its beginning stages, Schaefer said he expects the purse to be around $5,000
for the winner of the race. If everyone pre-registers, the lion’s share
could boost to as much as $10,000.
Snow had also buried the Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, the Staffoed
Motor Speedway and the Seekonk Speedway. Despite all that plans are in the
works for 2015 opening events.
The NASCAR big three were at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson
had to start in the back of the pack in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip
500, but the six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion was in front when it
mattered most. Johnson out-dueled Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale
Earnhardt Jr. on a restart with 14 laps to go, then held off a charge from
runner-up Kevin Harvick to score his 71st career win. The second- and
third-place finishers, Harvick and Earnhardt, were the same as in the season
opening Daytona 500. Polesitter Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth rounded out the
top five. Johnson started 37th after being unable to post a qualifying time
on Friday after his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS failed technical inspection
on its first trip. Jeff Gordon, in his final start at Atlanta, where he made
his Cup debut in 1992, suffered the same fate as Johnson in qualifying and
had to start 35th. Sunday was no better for the four-time champion. He was
involved in a multi-car crash with 69 laps to go that relegated him to a
41st-place finish.
Kevin Harvick continued his dominance at Atlanta Motor Speedway on
Saturday as he rolled to victory in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 250
and Matt Crafton was in a league of his own Saturday night at Atlanta Motor
Speedway as he cruised to his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
victory of the season during the Hyundai Construction Equipment 200.
That’s about it for this week from 11 Gardner Drive, Westerly, R.I.02891.
Ring my chimes at 401-596-5467.
E-Mail, smithpe_97_97@yahoo.com.
Phil Smith has been a
columnist for Speedway Scene and various
other publications for over 3 decades. |
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Looking Back Archive
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Source: Phil
Smith / Looking Back A Bit
Posted: February
26, 2016 |
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