Two Down (Maybe), But Still Too Many More To Go

I was pleased to see the official announcement made last evening that Dave and Yvonne Sapp have reached an agreement to purchase the racing operations of the Lee County Speedway from Terry and Jenni Hoenig. For the full press release click here. I know that they would have liked to have made the announcement during last week's Shiverfest event at the speedway, but it was better to make sure that all of the details were worked out prior to making an announcement.

Former Lee County Speedway owner Terry Hoenig (left) congratulates new LCS owner Dave Sapp after the pair reached a deal for the sale of the racetrack Thursday evening - Photo provided to the Back Stretch by Terry Hoenig

I was also pleased to learn that Dewain Hulett has been tabbed by the Sapps to be the Promoter/Race Director at the speedway. Dewain has been the voice of the Lee County Speedway for the past four years and has experience with just about every other position at a speedway as he has worked at several, and in several roles throughout the years. His association with the Hoenigs and his familiarity with the drivers, pit crews, and track workers will make for a smooth transition into the new ownership. Now that we know that there will be weekly racing at Donnellson in 2012, we can sit back, relax and wait on the new management team to let us know their plans.

So that takes care of Donnellson. The message boards have indicated that Gary Jacobson will take over as the new promoter at the Fairmont Raceway, however a Google search does not show any official announcement of that so far. Other tracks such as Maquoketa, Oskaloosa, Bloomfield and Eldon are still without a promoter for weekly racing at this point, while a couple of others have promoters that are rumored to be on the way out. Here's hoping that something can be worked out at all facilities for a successful 2012 season.

The Back Stretch received a comment recently from an AWC stating that I practiced "shoddy journalism". If I considered myself a journalist, it might have hurt my feelings a bit, but I don't so it didn't. All comments are welcome, both positive and negative, but as I have always said throughout my years of writing during the internet era; If you believe enough in what you are saying, then make sure that people know who is saying it. Put your name to it.

I am in tough negotiations with my beautiful wife to see if I can attend the Saturday night portion of the Fall Nationals at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Missouri. If I am successful, I'll see ya there!