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11/22/17, 5:07 PM   #11
Re: Bunker Hill (IN) possibly reopening? Anyone heard anythi
jjones752
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Whoa, now, let's leave MP just where it is...too far for me to make it on Fridays after work...
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Jim Jones
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Last edited by jjones752; 11/23/17 at 10:30 AM.
 
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11/22/17, 5:49 PM   #12
Re: Bunker Hill (IN) possibly reopening? Anyone heard anythi
stockracer
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I don't mind going to Kokomo,,but always a but...Gas City had an agreement to be sold but OConners would not give up Sprint Week date last year or for next year so at least one deal for Gas City fell thru...Cant really blame new owner-if he cant have USAC race it would be difficult to purchase. But are the Kokomo owners that scared to have the Gas re-open?
 
11/22/17, 6:19 PM   #13
Re: Bunker Hill (IN) possibly reopening? Anyone heard anythi
hoosier race fan
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Bunker Hill racing on Friday nights would make a lot of sense. Since Gas City appears to be nowhere near weekly racing again, Bunker Hill could easily fill that void. It is far enough from Lima, Bloomington, Hartford, Kankakee, and Route 44 that they wouldn’t have a lot of competition for drawing area fans and race teams. Certainly less competition than running on Saturdays with Plymouth, Montpelier, Shadyhill, Daugherty, Butler, Lincoln Park, Waynesfield, Oakshade, and on some weekends Eldora and Baer Field. They could run a complementary program to those held at Montpelier/Plymouth on Saturdays and Kokomo on Sundays. Classes could vary depending on events at those other area tracks, but there would be plenty of fans and race teams to pull from.
 
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11/22/17, 6:26 PM   #14
Re: Bunker Hill (IN) possibly reopening? Anyone heard anythi
BrentTFunk
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stockracer View Post
I don't mind going to Kokomo,,but always a but...Gas City had an agreement to be sold but OConners would not give up Sprint Week date last year or for next year so at least one deal for Gas City fell thru...Cant really blame new owner-if he cant have USAC race it would be difficult to purchase. But are the Kokomo owners that scared to have the Gas re-open?
Not true. The O Connors would probably love to get out of Gas City, they only rent it on race nights. The date belongs to Gas City. I just talked to a relative of someone who is trying to take it over for next year today.
As for Bunker Hill it has done ok as a stock car track. Open wheel has never done very well there. My neighbor ran a street stock there the last time it was open. He told me he liked it because you could drink beer in the pits. It has a neat shape and would be fast for a flat track.
The last sprint race I saw there only had 8 cars. Included in that group were Dave Darland, Tony Elliott, Terry Shepherd, Steve Butler, and a young Robbie Stanley. Randy Woodling took a nasty tumble, and I believe Darland won the feature.
I was young at the time, maybe someone older than me will remember, but I think that is where Tony Solomito was badly burned there. That would have been before they covered the pavement with dirt.
 
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11/22/17, 6:35 PM   #15
Re: Bunker Hill (IN) possibly reopening? Anyone heard anythi
RBurns17
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Not my quote, it's from the mayor and stems from conversations with the track. There's no denying that they have a good crowd on any given night, but over the last decade there has been a huge shift in the demographic that frequents it. Kokomo is on the crux of being a crowl jewel in the dirt world, but that has left a lot of old patrons displaced. I'm not knocking it by any means, but being from just blocks away from the track I've seen first hand how many locals have turned away from the facility as it shifts to large events and a wider appeal. Probably stubbornness more than anything, but for example when they tore down the back stretch bleachers to put in new ones there were people who stopped going altogether because the back stretch was like its own little community, a completely different experience for them than on the other side.

Bunker Hill was always a diamond in the rough for the stock car guys. The facilities were ****, track management was never particularly on the ball, it paid like ****, but there is a large group of loyalists who still hold it dear because the way it was set up made most people feel like it was "their" track. There is room for both approaches I think. I absolutely would never see it as a track that could sustain sprint cars for more than a few special shows. But as an experimental stock car focused track that caters to a group of fans who don't want to travel incredibly far, but want a more down home feel, it certainly could fit with the right promoter and draw enough fans to easily survive.
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Last edited by RBurns17; 11/22/17 at 6:37 PM.
 
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11/22/17, 7:40 PM   #16
Re: Bunker Hill (IN) possibly reopening? Anyone heard anythi
BrentTFunk
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That was my quote not the mayors. I was the person interviewed for that article. I was questioning the Sprintweek part of what was said. Local attendance started falling off when they switched to Saturday nights. People found other things to do. I did an economic impact study 2 years ago at my own time and expense. Those numbers were pretty correct.
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Last edited by BrentTFunk; 11/22/17 at 7:44 PM.
 
11/28/17, 5:27 PM   #17
racer-x
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I drove by Bunker Hill speedway today and there is no sign of anything being done on the circle track side. The for sale signs we're all on the old dirt track side of the road so maybe they are trying to split it from the Drag strip.

The sign on 31 has been changed and it looks like the building selling food is open on the weekends..

The only time I was ever at the track was for the nostalgic drag race day a couple years ago. Lots of old gassers and steel body coupes got to run down the track.. Great time!!

Anyone thinking you could make a profit on the circle track needs to go to there family doctor to get a brain scan!
 
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