The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
NEW TRACK OWNERS REV UP 2018 SEASON
Couple looks forward to fan enthusiasm, track upgrades
Despite what many have considered spring’s absence, The Painesville Speedway’s new owners are bracing themselves for a stellar 2018 season.
Denise Maggio who, along with husband, Randy, bought the former Lake County Speedway in August, said in a recent phone interview that the first few weeks of the venue’s season, which began April 21, were soggy, at best.
“It was cold and rainy and the turnouts were not so good,” she said June 4 of the first few weeks at the track this year. “Some cars showed up. And some fans showed up. But it wasn’t until these last two weekends that we had really good weather and a good turnout.”
She said the venue did offer rain checks to those die-hard fans who showed up on Saturdays between April 21 and May 19 and that, “as long as Mother Nature isn’t too moody” the rest of the summer and beyond will be full of good times for all at The Painesville Speedway, 500 Fairport Nursery Road in Painesville Township.
The Maggios bought the venue Aug. 23, following a few unfruitful attempts by its previous owner, Andy McCartney, to sell the venue as a turnkey business.
McCartney first tried to sell the race track, auction-style, in April 2017. But, save for the
$400,000 opening bid, the auction yielded no takers.
Following that offering, McCartney said he was a little bummed there wasn’t more interest.
“Oh, it’s disappointing, for sure,” he said immediately following the live, open-cry auction April 21, 2017 which lasted only a few minutes.
He said he decided to offer it initially through an auction because it would hasten the deal’s closing and make way for it to operate as a functioning race track in time for the 2017 season.
That wasn’t in the cards for the venue, though.
“I wanted to give somebody the opportunity to still run it as a track,” he said immediately following the auction. “Now, we’re on to plan C, D and E. It’s not even plan B anymore.
So now it’s just time to reevaluate and look for another buyer.”
Thankfully for McCartney and race fans from all over Northeast Ohio and beyond, the Maggios stepped up and bought the place about four months later, leaving enough time to get a few races in before Old Man Winter made his entrance at the end of 2017.
“We’re definitely excited about it,” Denise Maggio said in a phone interview Aug. 25. “We’re looking forward to welcoming the family that was (the old) Painesville Speedway and that which made up the (more recent) Lake County Speedway into a whole new family.”
The Maggio family, which calls Cleveland home, had already been involved with stock-car racing, with Randy having owned a racetrack in the past, Denise said, and son, Randy James (R.J.) Maggio being involved presently with racing, himself.
“We want to keep the family alive and racing,” Denise said of the folks who have been dedicated to the race track at 500 Fairport Nursery Road for generations. “We want to make sure that love and enthusiasm gets passed on to upcoming generations. We want the younger ones to get up off the couch and get involved with something other than computer games and the TV. These kids need to be active and this is a great way to get involved with something like that.”
McCartney and the Maggios officially closed the deal for the venue Oct. 31, 2017.
She said June 4 that, thanks to a grant from the Painesville Community Improvement Corporation, “we totally improved the concession stands.”
“Now we have fried foods, like fresh-cut French fries, chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks and fried cauliflower, which have all been
big hits,” she said. “My husband sided a tower for our sponsors to go into if they want to get out of the weather to watch the races and we’ve just been making a lot of improvements to the buildings on the property and overall.”
She said while the venue used to have a “beer shack” on site, where folks could get a cold one to go, there’s now a barn where they can not only order up a brew or two. They can also get out of the weather and sit a spell if they feel the urge.
Overall, she said “people are happy to have the speedway there. It’s been a tradition and a home for so many people for so long. And we’re so glad to be able to help keep that going. It really means so much to so many people.”
As far as the season has gone so far, Denise said what started out chilly and gray is starting to see nicer days.
“It started off cold and dreary,” she said. “But it’s
starting to look better. Fans and drivers are starting to come out and we just had two really great weekends.”
She added that May 26 and June 2 were the better and best weekends, respectively, that the venue has seen so far this season.
Check The Painesville Speedway’s 2018 schedule. Regular races are slated for Saturday nights at 6 p.m., with the main gate opening at 3 p.m., through the end of October.
Visit http://painesvillespeedway.myracepass. com/schedule/, for a full schedule, including special events and other attractions at The Painesville Speedway.