[Z-man]

The clay is supposed to hold moisture, that is why it is used on race tracks. I would think that the quickest way to dry it out is to spread it on the track. I hope you all are wrong about mid July for an opening date.

[Eatin Dirt]

This Burg speedway construction has turned into a huge joke. Every week I stop down and look at the track to see if we might be getting close to seeing a race there, and every week I see basically the same thing I saw the week before. I am starting to feel very sorry for Dave R. he has to keep getting on here and telling all of us what is going on and that he hopes to have a race soon when actually who really knows when we will see a race at The Burg. I love racing and can't wait to see racing at the Burg, as for now I have to decide every week if I want to spend the time and money on the gas to ride to North Vernon (which is a very good place to watch sprints). Starting to wish we had the OLD Burg back. Bob Bressert

[FishBurger]

5/29 - 11:00 a.m. update: Noticed on our way home from Bob Evans (stove still broke...cook still on strike) that they are indeed moving dirt from the pile to the track this a.m. :thumb Don't know if the new pit area has dried out enough for trucks to haul in crushed rock, flyash, asphalt, or whatever the surface is going to be. Lighting installation could be underway however. Again, I'm nothing more than an interested bystander (47 years worth), so don't take my opinions for gospel. :checkered:

Tired of waiting . My sponsors are tired of the excusses .They are local and it does them no good to advertise in North Vernon. This is a load of garbage. Which is starting to stink like the rest of lawrenceburg.I think the mayor is getting a kick back and the fair board or who ever really owns the track is getting the shaft. Someone from RPM or the city needs to be down there every day with thier foot up the contractors you know what.Dave cant do it they have him running around doing damage control and rescheduling lost events. the only way to get the clay to dry out is to move it and spread it. As far as the infield flooding that should have been taken care of before all the track work began. The project manager on this job is an idiot,that has absolutly no time management skills.I stopped by the other day and the few workers that they had in there could have been clocked with a sun dial.There is no sense of urgency at all. Just totally frustrating.....

[Seadog]

When we do finally race, does anybody expect to have a perfect surface the first night or even the tenth night? It will be a crap shoot for a while before anybody knows for sure what kind of prep is involved with the new surface.

[Z-man]

I am guessing the surface will be less then perfect for about a month. No fault of the crew or prep work, just a new surface. If it is perfect from the get go do you think the contractor should get credit?:rolleyes:

[Charles Nungester]

Just for clarification purposes. The ditch project and new pits are a totally separate project. That area behind the motor cycle track is not yet part of the speedway. Just the fill they are digging out of the ditch.

But they are working on getting that land for use from the conservation dept, I believe the Corp of Engineers.

Chuck

[FishBurger]

Originally Posted by mudslinger 85 the fair board or who ever really owns the track is getting the shaft.

I've been told that the local American Legion post actually "owns" the fairgrounds property including the speedway and has leased it to the city of Lawrenceburg for 99 years at a buck per. The city, in turn, then negotiates a sub-lease for the contract operator of the track (RPM now), exhibition hall, the midway (for flea markets and such), and the motorcyle track. Further, it is my understanding with respect to the speedway, that the city gets it's buck regardless of success or lack of same by the promoter. There are some further wrinkles in special cases, WoO for example, but I'm under the impression that this is pretty much how it works. All that said, and though it's really none of my business, I am interested in the details. So, if anyone here can clarify, correct, or expand upon the above, without physical and/or ego damage to ole FishBurger, please do so. Thank You! I must be off. :checkered:

[itsanonwingthing]

Originally Posted by FishBurger Talked briefly with Bill Cunningham ('Burg mayor) at Kroger's yesterday a.m. He says that the pile of racing surface dirt behind the old pit area has been a mud bog and not yet workable to move to the track. This is the big hangup. Billy is really pumped up about the project and was telling me about "140 m.p.h." speeds and "six USAC events" per year. Not sure I'm buying all that but I've known Bill for a long time. He's a good guy and though I'm an outsider (Greendale resident), it seems to me he's been a fine mayor for The 'Burg. Stopped by the speedway yesterday. Not much going on. Guy in a front end loader digging around in the aforementioned pile of racing surface dirt. I would presume this is to help it dry out quicker. Workers and equipment were pretty much dedicated to ditch filling behind the main grandstand. New pit area looks to me like a major challenge to complete. All my race track construction experience mtells me.........O.K., I don't have any :doh: .....still, I don't see race cars circling the 3/8 'Burg oval for some time. JMO, as always.:checkered:

Is that the same Mayor who told the crowd at Funfest that the new work was to start as soon as the final checkered flag flew at Funfest, and then had NO work done for 2 months or more? And the contractor was going to work 24/7 and the track will be ready for a early April practice date, and "were not going to forget about the local racers" as he plans to build a track that will do nothing but hurt the locals racers?:rolling


Everything will be alright!!

When are the hundreds of thousands of dollars of Landscaping going to be done? I want to see some bushes and plants.

[FishBurger]

Originally Posted by itsanonwingthing Is that the same Mayor who told the crowd at Funfest that the new work was to start as soon as the final checkered flag flew at Funfest, and then had NO work done for 2 months or more? And the contractor was going to work 24/7 and the track will be ready for a early April practice date, and "were not going to forget about the local racers" as he plans to build a track that will do nothing but hurt the locals racers?:rolling

Yep, same guy Keith. :O: The same guy who has been portrayed as a big time racing fan. And he may well be for all I know. But, it must be some form of racing that I and other friends seldom frequent. I know Billy has been to Talladega, Knoxville, IA for nationals, and Eldora for Kings Royal. But, I haven't bumped into the lad at Bloomington, Gas City, Winchester, Salem, or Terre Haute in like....ever. Heck, I've only seen him at The 'Burg twice. Once to judge the "bikini contest :rolleyes:" and once for Lawrenceburg City workers night. Maybe he got there early, stayed up in the suites, and left late. Or maybe he is a straight line racer like Dave used to be. I know he ran a hemi powered Crosley at Edgewater back in the day. He gets major props for that. Seriously though, he's a hard working, well intentioned guy. I don't buy any kickback theories. I just think the city got in over their heads and relied upon some bad advice and depended upon some undependable people. Standard disclaimer: JMHO.