[D.O.]

Announced in the drivers meeting tonight. Lease 3 years min.

:dologob:

I wonder if the O'Connors would be interested. Or if Tygart who is I believe leasing Montpelier might be interested in taking the lease or purchasing Gas City.

Or maybe one of the NASCAR guys buys the track. A couple names come to mind.

With Gas City being up for sale there a few scenarios that could take place depending on if it is sold to someone who would use it for something other than racing.

If sold to someone other than racing Kokomo could move to Fridays. Or have a Friday and Sunday show at Kokomo.

Just some thoughts on what could take place.

[Tim Watson]

This is got me wondering if we should go to Gas City the night before the 4 Crown instead of just heading right to Eldora? Is it possible Gas City sits "idle" next year?

[Mud Packer]

Originally Posted by Tim Watson This is got me wondering if we should go to Gas City the night before the 4 Crown instead of just heading right to Eldora? Is it possible Gas City sits "idle" next year?

Tim,

I would think that Gas City is a money maker. However, with the economic climate being what it is, anything is possible. Jack owns the speedway and Jiggs has done a great job promoting it. Finding that right person or team to carry this on will be difficult. It will take someone with money and also the energy to work long hard hours to keep it profitable.

I would like to see the O'Connors look at this possibility. They have done a very nice job with Kokomo and they have the expertise of owning and operating multiple race tracks before. With that being said, would they want the extra work and financial output to do this again?

With the location of the track, I could see this being sold and redeveloped into something other than a race track.:thumbsdown: I certainly hope that doesn't happen.

Should Gas City sit idle next season or beyond, I think Kokomo would benefit greatly from moving to Fridays. It would allow the schedule to start earlier and finish later, just like Gas City's does. They'd certainly get most of Gas City's regulars, and you have to think they'd get most of their unique regulars too. Most of those guys don't run Bloomington, with the exception of Stanbrough and maybe one or two others I'm missing.

As far as having both a Friday and Sunday show, I think that would kick ass but would they want to take on that challenge? How would the track hold up for that Sunday show every week? Maybe they could run the usual program on Fridays and just two classes every Sunday, so you would always get home early on a work night. Or maybe run every other Sunday, or just for special shows (Sprintweek, etc.)

I'm excited about the possibilites but I hope Gas City stays open.

[hoosier race fan]

If the track isn't sold or leased by next season, I would be willing to bet Jiggs would come back until they could find someone before he would let it sit idle for the year. In the past when Montpelier has struggled, Jiggs has said he would run it if nobody else would just to keep it open. As much as he loves Gas City and the effort he has put into it, I would say he would do the same there.

I don't see Tim Tygart being in the mix. He has had some difficult times at Montpelier this year and had signed a 2 year lease on that track. If he got out of his lease on Montpelier for next year, then maybe he would look into Gas City, especially since it is already well established and closer to his home in Kokomo.

One of my family members has talked to Jack Himelick in the past about the future of the track. I know he wants to sell it to somebody who is in the racing business that will keep it operating. I would imagine that is why there is an option to lease it, incase nobody in racing offers to buy.

I was really surprised the first response to this topic wasn't "Tony Stewart is rumored to be buying it."

Hopefully racing will continue next season at Gas City, no matter who the owner or promotor is. It may never be the same, or it may get even better. Jiggs has done a great job so that may be hard to do. He's a smart businessman, and with the economy like it is, I'm not surprised he decided it was time to step away from promoting the track.

[tjtomthumb]

If I understood things right, it was said if Gas City is sold, it would try to be with the agreement that the property would stay a race track for at least 3 to 5 years and also if they would lease the facility, they would want a 3 to 5 year commitment also. Folks, don't count Gas City out and yes Tim Watson, you and all the others that were thinking of going to Gas City, need to try to come to Gas City the night before the 4 Crown and continue to show them support. The folks at Gas City want things to stay as they are so this is not a time to turn your backs on the current owners. I think it's just the opposite, everyone needs to rally around and show them we all would like to see that great facility keep going as it has the last few years. I would think the fan support right now could be a very important factor in the future of one of the greatest racing facilities in the country. Let's get out to Gas City and show them we want them to continue as a race track.:thumb

[Tim Watson]

Originally Posted by tjtomthumb If I understood things right, it was said if Gas City is sold, it would try to be with the agreement that the property would stay a race track for at least 3 to 5 years and also if they would lease the facility, they would want a 3 to 5 year commitment also. Folks, don't count Gas City out and yes Tim Watson, you and all the others that were thinking of going to Gas City, need to try to come to Gas City the night before the 4 Crown and continue to show them support. The folks at Gas City want things to stay as they are so this is not a time to turn your backs on the current owners. I think it's just the opposite, everyone needs to rally around and show them we all would like to see that great facility keep going as it has the last few years. I would think the fan support right now could be a very important factor in the future of one of the greatest racing facilities in the country. Let's get out to Gas City and show them we want them to continue as a race track.:thumb

I hear what you are saying about supporting the track and last year we did hit Gas City the night before the 4 Crown. It's tough for us after driving 6 hours to get to Gas City and then get up in the morning and drive to Eldora so this year we thought of just going right to Eldora for Friday night but we haven't decided yet.

[B-square]

Make sure to check out Speed Sport News this week. I just finished a story for that magazine that touches on what Jiggs had to say regarding the future of the track and a lot of the rumors that are circulating regarding what might happen.

Brett Bowman

[Wallsracing]

good ole DA will be interested