[Gasman fan 50]

It wasn't the same track after K. Hall was booted! It will be missed! Just like me retired! Could be my last post.
Been a long time sense I been in here.
Then you have Bayland Raceway, Fremont Drags, 1/4 midget track, is car dealers and was going to be the Oakland A's new place to play ball!

[AustinSprinter]

Originally Posted by terrehautian Williams Grove used to also have a Amusement Park, but it is closed now. As for MAnzi.....just a general question about Arizona....is any lawns out there actually have grass or do they all have dirt or something that is not grass, never been out there. I know it gets hot.

Yep....but Rocks n' cactus' don't need water to survive!!........
__________
Brucer'

[terrehautian]

Originally Posted by AustinSprinter Yep....but Rocks n' cactus' don't need water to survive!!........ __________ Brucer'

Astroturf doesn't either, and doesn't need mowed either...:O:

Yes, Superduke, he is a businessman. Too bad this businessman chose not to keep promises he made to the community. Sad that money (and making more than one can spend in a lifetime) has become the sole purpose of many businessmen.
What about the car owners and drivers who built cars, bought parts and equipment, begged for sponsors? Apparently agreements with racing associations, track sponsors, employees, don't mean anything to the businessman. Everyone associated with racing here was led to believe races would be held at Manzanita this year- a new manager was hired, schedule published. I am not naive enough to think that things will stay the same- but I do believe there is a right way and a wrong way to do business. And, this in my opinion is the wrong way. To hell with history, tradition, loyalties, take that money to the bank.
:thumbsdown:

[Charles Nungester]

Originally Posted by SUPERDUKE :applaud:WELL MEL PAID 2 1/2 MILLION FOR IT 3 YEARS AGO AND SOLD IT FOR 10 MILLION! NOW TELL ME IS THAT BAD? I WOULD AND SO WOULD ALL OF YOU TAKE THE MONEY!!!! MEL USED TO PROMOTE THE AZ. STATE FAIRGROUND RACES! HES A BUSINESS MAN!:checkered:

Ok, Take two million of the profit build another track and still be 6 million ahead.

[sceckert]

CHighAZ-
Bravo for putting that perspective on it. I can see selling at the profit offered. I can see the purchaser wanting to make their usage quickly, but what galls me is that this looks so much like Take The Money And Run. Surely a track like Manzanita could have a "Final Season Farewell" that would be worthy of the Nostalgia that so many of us have for this mecca of dirt track racing. And in a state that has perpetual warm to hot to really hot weather, I can't be led to believe that the seasonal particulars lorded over the insistence that bulldozers begin moving in less than a month.
The season was set, and as you note, sponsors were secured, plans made, parts purchased and cars readied. I'll accept the inevitable ends of most dirt tracks in my lifetime, and it WILL make me cherish the ones I see today, and take my son to. But to have ZERO forenotice of this evaporation of a place with the legacy of Manzy just does not sit well.
I truly hope that another track emerges in the area (Paging Humpy Wheeler! Attention Tony Stewart!), but my guess is if it does appear, it will of course sit outside one of the turns at PIR and race about four shows a year and look like Vegas' surface. The Phoenix area is growing, frankly, quicker than it should, so I understand that real estate values for commercial purposes are going to put a crimp in anyone's plans to open an independent oval dirt track that won't be soon encroached upon and rendered into yet another truck-driving school, interstate warehouse or strip mall. Let alone one that is any kind of convenient short hop from any residential areas.
I, personally, would have made absolutely certain to get back there for one last weekend (perhaps two) if I would have known the time was this short. I would have bought my last ticket, my last rack of ribs, burrito, Foster's and shirts and programs, and reflected on the times I spent there with my father, brother, son, cousins and uncle, as well as so many friends and racers. At its best Manzanita was in the pantheon of great historical half-miles in history. That history will have to suffice for all of us now.

Originally Posted by sceckert CHighAZ- Bravo for putting that perspective on it. I can see selling at the profit offered. I can see the purchaser wanting to make their usage quickly, but what galls me is that this looks so much like Take The Money And Run. Surely a track like Manzanita could have a "Final Season Farewell" that would be worthy of the Nostalgia that so many of us have for this mecca of dirt track racing. And in a state that has perpetual warm to hot to really hot weather, I can't be led to believe that the seasonal particulars lorded over the insistence that bulldozers begin moving in less than a month. The season was set, and as you note, sponsors were secured, plans made, parts purchased and cars readied. I'll accept the inevitable ends of most dirt tracks in my lifetime, and it WILL make me cherish the ones I see today, and take my son to. But to have ZERO forenotice of this evaporation of a place with the legacy of Manzy just does not sit well. I truly hope that another track emerges in the area (Paging Humpy Wheeler! Attention Tony Stewart!), but my guess is if it does appear, it will of course sit outside one of the turns at PIR and race about four shows a year and look like Vegas' surface. The Phoenix area is growing, frankly, quicker than it should, so I understand that real estate values for commercial purposes are going to put a crimp in anyone's plans to open an independent oval dirt track that won't be soon encroached upon and rendered into yet another truck-driving school, interstate warehouse or strip mall. Let alone one that is any kind of convenient short hop from any residential areas. I, personally, would have made absolutely certain to get back there for one last weekend (perhaps two) if I would have known the time was this short. I would have bought my last ticket, my last rack of ribs, burrito, Foster's and shirts and programs, and reflected on the times I spent there with my father, brother, son, cousins and uncle, as well as so many friends and racers. At its best Manzanita was in the pantheon of great historical half-miles in history. That history will have to suffice for all of us now.

Your great post says it all Mr. Eckert. :applaud: :respect:

[cmakin]

Originally Posted by sceckert CHighAZ- Bravo for putting that perspective on it. I can see selling at the profit offered. I can see the purchaser wanting to make their usage quickly, but what galls me is that this looks so much like Take The Money And Run. Surely a track like Manzanita could have a "Final Season Farewell" that would be worthy of the Nostalgia that so many of us have for this mecca of dirt track racing. And in a state that has perpetual warm to hot to really hot weather, I can't be led to believe that the seasonal particulars lorded over the insistence that bulldozers begin moving in less than a month. The season was set, and as you note, sponsors were secured, plans made, parts purchased and cars readied. I'll accept the inevitable ends of most dirt tracks in my lifetime, and it WILL make me cherish the ones I see today, and take my son to. But to have ZERO forenotice of this evaporation of a place with the legacy of Manzy just does not sit well. I truly hope that another track emerges in the area (Paging Humpy Wheeler! Attention Tony Stewart!), but my guess is if it does appear, it will of course sit outside one of the turns at PIR and race about four shows a year and look like Vegas' surface. The Phoenix area is growing, frankly, quicker than it should, so I understand that real estate values for commercial purposes are going to put a crimp in anyone's plans to open an independent oval dirt track that won't be soon encroached upon and rendered into yet another truck-driving school, interstate warehouse or strip mall. Let alone one that is any kind of convenient short hop from any residential areas. I, personally, would have made absolutely certain to get back there for one last weekend (perhaps two) if I would have known the time was this short. I would have bought my last ticket, my last rack of ribs, burrito, Foster's and shirts and programs, and reflected on the times I spent there with my father, brother, son, cousins and uncle, as well as so many friends and racers. At its best Manzanita was in the pantheon of great historical half-miles in history. That history will have to suffice for all of us now.

Exactly. Even the loss of Ascot was tempered with a farewell season.

Here are some quotes from the newspaper when Mr. Martin bought Manzy- we all truly believed he meant what he said. ( bold emphasis is mine)

From the AZ Republic August 15, 2007


"Manzanita Speedway, considered one of the top dirt tracks in the country since it opened in 1951, changes hands today.

Phoenix businessman Mel Martin, who helped build the facility as it was being converted from a dog-racing track, and his son, Bobby, are the new owners. Both are lifelong fans who own race cars, and they offered assurances that dirt-track racing would continue.

"The (Kimbros) main interest was to protect the integrity of Manzanita and auto racing because they know how important Manzanita is to people all over the country," said Wood. "Mel Martin had the background."

"We want to tell them, 'thank you,' let them know we're moving on," he said, "and that it's going to be a racetrack for years and years to come."

This is why the racing community in Arizona feel like they were blindsided.

[sprinter25]

Originally Posted by davidm I fear the day that something like this happen to Williams Grove. The houses are getting closer every year.

And it'll start with noise complaints - homeowners complaining about the noise, the late night lights, the traffic and the dust.... So the grove will hold a few meetings, and take a few steps to address those issues....

And the houses will continue to get closer...the land will become worth more if it is sold for development than if they use it as a race track....

And the new home owners will complain some more....and the track will decide to sell out rather than try and address the various complaints, whether or not the complaints ar real or imagined....

Most folks don't follow or support racing, and have little or no interest in tradition or history in something that doesn't involve them...or their interests.... and eventually another race track with a storied history will bite the dust.....