The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
GRAND OPENING BRINGS OUT FANS Weather fails to dampen race fans’ spirits at track
It may have been cold and rainy in Painesville Township Saturday evening.
But the thousand or so race fans, drivers and crew members who turned out anyhow for The Painesville Speedway’s grand opening speaks volumes about the popularity of this beloved track.
Sold not even two weeks ago, the venue, formerly Lake County Speedway, has made headlines in recent months, ever since its previous owners held a live auction for the property in April that failed to attract any bidders.
But on Aug. 23, former owner Andy McCartney said, new owners Denise and Randy S. Maggio signed the paperwork to make it theirs.
Two days later, Denise said she, Randy, their business partners and family are all excited to keep the racetrack tradition alive in Painesville Township.
“Oh yeah, we’re definitely excited about it,” she 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.”
It may as well have been a family reunion Sept. 2 during The Painesville Speedway’s grand opening, even though officials called the race due to rain and the wet track that resulted from it.
“I mean, look at this,” said longtime speedway affiliate Jerry Smith, now a partner and promoter of The Painesville Speedway. “There have got to be at least a thousand people here. And it’s raining. Imagine what it would look like if it wasn’t raining!”
Smith said The Painesville Speedway has always had a lot of heart, thanks to the people who race there and those who have filled the stands over the years — many of whom represent multiple generations.
“What makes this race track different than any other race track, with all our fans, all our drivers... The best word I could use to describe all of it: pride,” Smith said just minutes before the race was called.
Two such examples of the pride Smith referenced were
79-year-old Mentor resident Jean Shawke and her daughter, Wendy Heiss of Painesville, who have been race fans for decades.
“I’ve been going to the races since, I’d say, 1956,” Shawke said, naming off some of the area’s tracks she and her dad, who was a mechanic and did a little racing himself, used to frequent: the defunct Cloverleaf Speedway in Valley View, Lorain County Speedway and a dirt track that used to call Burton home.
Her daughter has fond memories of area racetracks, as well.
“Oh yeah, I’ve been going to the traces since I was 4 ½ years old, I’d say,” Heiss said as she and her mom sought shelter under some big umbrellas as they waited for The Painesville Speedway’s grand-opening race to get underway before it was called.
Both women agreed it’s a good thing the 15-acre property, with its 1/5-mile oval race track, sold to folks who wanted to keep racing there.
“Oh, I think it’s wonderful,” Heiss said. “I couldn’t believe it when they said they were going to sell it (in April), and then, that nobody was buying it. I just couldn’t believe it. And I was
just hoping they wouldn’t just sell it to a developer. That would have been sad.”
Shawke agreed, adding how many generations have raced, and watched racing, there.
“A lot of people have been coming here with their families for a long time — fathers, sons, the sons’ sons — different generations of people,” she said. “Plus, it’s a good Saturday night out if you like racing.”
As if the endorsements of the racetrack from Heiss and Shawke weren’t convincing enough, Mentor resident Mickey Kastning, who used to baby-sit Heiss and her siblings, was also on hand to join in the fun, with her 6-year-old grandson, Colton.
Kastning said she started coming to the venue at 500 Fairport Nursery Road back in 1967, got away from it for some time, then started coming to the racetrack again.
She said she’s such a fan of the track that she came there Wednesday to personally care for the section of the stands in which she and her friends like to sit.
“Yeah, I just came here with my country music on a little speaker and just started cleaning up. See that
blue (trash) barrel down there,” she said, pointing through the bleacher seats to a receptacle below. “I filled that whole thing up. I just used some elbow grease and cleaned up our spot.”
She said someone from the track came up to her af-
ter hearing her little speaker playing country music, wondering where the tunes were coming from.
“I said: ‘I know. I’m just a fan. But I’m doing my section,” she said.
Likely much to the joy of fans such as Kastning,
Randy Maggio said the track is slated to run races through October. For more information, schedules and other information about The Painesville Speedway, visit its Facebook page.