Commentary by: Langley Austin ~ [email protected]
Floyd, VA(August 30, 2011) — It’s been a while … I admit, maybe I’m a little rusty, but I thought it was time to get back to doing a little thing we like to call “Analyze This”.
February 21, 2011 – That was the date of the last edition of “Analyze This”, an often edgy version of commentary from yours truly. I sort of wrote the most recent version a week back with the article on the Bassett Family, but that turned into a much longer piece and a great article that got a lot of feedback from the racing community.
I know when you saw the “Analyze This” header on the home page, you were expecting me to rip on some driver, group of drivers, series, track or other, but honestly that’s not what’s on my mind today. Rather we’re on to much brighter outlook. The transformation of one our regions most storied tracks, which has new lease on life after some off season changes.
Once known only on RACE22.com as “the track in Asheboro” after the track management decided not to allow our staff to cover their races due to comments from one of our writers on another website, that isn’t operated by RACE22.com. The track over the years has played host to some of the best racing in the region, but in recent years had fallen from grace with nearly non-existent car counts from regular races and “big races” that weren’t really that big at all. Owned and operated by Russell Hackett, Caraway Speedway had seen it’s best years, years when Mike Skinner and Greg Marlowe had packed the stands from some of the best Late Model Stock Car racing ever.
Days when the stands were packed and the concession lines were long … days when the track was making money and had a repuatation as one of the best race tracks in the region not just for the on track racing, but as a place that everyone wanted to race. In the economy today it’s unrealistic for anyone to think that any race track could sustain the level of success that tracks through the 1980’s and 90’s had.
Caraway’s days however weren’t yet finished, but possibly only the beginning of a new era at the 4/10 mile track located in Asheboro, NC. Over the winter, Russell Hackett stepped away from his leading role at the track after a 34-year run. Hackett turned the reigns of the track over to his son, Darren and his wife, Renee, two of the people who helped the elder Hackett keep the track going over the years. It was the first change in management at the track since 1977, but many thought that it was a change in “name” only.
However, by the time the schedule for the season was released and the announcement of the Super Five Series for Late Model Stock Cars was made, it was clear that even if it was only a change in name, it came with changes in strategy. The track also made some changes for the competitors, one was a tire change from Goodyear to Hoosier and though both tires have proven solid for racers throughout the region, it was a move to try and attract some of the Virginia racers from Motor Mile and South Boston, who race on the same tire weekly.
With a clear cut strategy in place, the season opened on Sunday, March 13th with a $5,000 to win Late Model Stock Car race for the first of the Super Five Series races and a NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified race. It was clearly a step out on the ledge with the Super Five Series as all the races boasted at least a $5,000 payday and offered bonuses for drivers who could win atleast three races and a $25,000 bonus if one driver could win all five.
The bonuses and the race day payout drew a solid 20-car field, certainly not as many as the tracks management would have liked, but a the names in the field set the tone that the changes had the track going in the right direction. Virginia track regulars Frank Deiny, Jr., Davin Scites, Tommy Lemons, Jr. and Mike Darne along with multi-time Ace Speedway champion, Rodney Cook were among the outsiders invading the track regulars for a shot at $5,000. It was also a huge victory in the grandstands as one of the tracks biggest crowds in a while were in attendance for a great evening of racing.
The first race was a success, but the challenges facing Caraway weren’t going away as with any track they had to hope that they could keep up the momentum and build upon it this season to resurrect the once prominent track. Weekly car counts since have been up for the track over the last couple of seasons and the big races for the Super Five Series have steadily had 20’ish car counts with decent crowds for each of the races.
With the Super Five Series as well as six NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Series races, the track had a strong 2011 schedule planned even from the start. However in recent months they’ve really been adding to the end of the season with some additional non-sanctioned Modified races, one of which is one of the biggest for the tour-type cars. They first added twin Modified races to the schedule for the Mid-Atlantic Championship race on October 16th, a compliment to the already scheduled fifth of five races in the Super Five Series for Late Model Stock Cars.
More recently they were able to add a marquee event with the addition of the North-South Shootout for tour-type Modifieds. With the untimely death of the founder of the North-South Shootout, Charles Kepley, his company C&C Racing Promotions made the decision to move the event to Caraway Speedway for 2011. The November 5th race will now be the eighth tour-type Modified race on the Caraway schedule and a fitting way for the new management to end their season with one of the marquee events for Southern Modified racing fans.
Darren and Renee started the 2011 season with fans and racers alike questioning the “changes”, but after a successful 2011 season to date and with the addition of one of the biggest races in the South there’s no denying that things have changed at Caraway Speedway. Once just the “track in Asheboro”, today Caraway Speedway is rebuilding it’s reputation within the racing community and hopefully their success will be a guide for other race track management teams to turn their race tracks around.
OK, so maybe next time I’ll be more grumpy when I write one of these commentary’s, but for today I hope you enjoyed reading about one of the many good things happening in local racing despite a terrible economy and other tracks struggling to keep their gates open.
