ILIANA SPEEDWAY
JUNE 27, 2008

As president of Illinois Vintage Racing I would like to extend a sincere apology to all of the disappointed race fans who came to Illiana Speedway to see our scheduled event. I owe our fans, drivers and their friends and family an explanation of why they did not see what was promised to them.

In the spring when I was making decisions about our upcoming racing schedule, the management at Illiana Speedway approached me asking us to book an event. After several telephone calls, our standard agreement was reached; 2 pit passes and a small amount of gas money. No contracts were signed. Racing events scheduled at our local tracks have always been sealed with a verbal agreement. For the record, we are not talking about a huge amount of money. We are not even talking about enough money to meet our racers expenses to tow to Illiana Speedway from as far away as Michigan, Kentucky, Iowa and Peoria, Illinois. These racers are always towing at their own expense.

Our club is dedicated to bringing back the enjoyment of racing as it used to be. Racing for the love of it and for the joy it brings to the fans. We are not about greed or demanding tracks pay us large sums of money. We are about delivering enjoyment to race fans of all ages. A trip down memory lane for the older fans, a glimpse of yesteryear for the young adults and a look at race cars that the younger children have never had the pleasure of watching race.

A comment on the Short Track News Forum stating it was a simple misunderstanding in part is true. It is simple, it is a simple situation where the management at Illiana Speedway chose not to honor an agreement made with Illinois Vintage Racing. It is our position that Track Management chose to conduct itself in an unprofessional and dishonest manor. Management refused to honor our agreement at the pit shack for our passes and refused to come out of the office trailer and made no effort to straighten out the escalating situation. Instead Steve Bectal, who is the Pit Stewart, was used by management as a go between and that was an extremely unprofessional way to do business. I did not make the agreement with Steve, I made the agreement with Illiana Speedway management. Not only didn’t management honor their agreement, they did not have the dignity or show any professional courtesy to come out and discuss the situation like honorable men face to face.

It wasn’t a matter of money, it was a matter of honoring ones word and commitment. Our Club has an excellent reputation of honoring our commitments and for delivering exciting and enjoyable entertainment at relatively no cost to promoters. We have built our reputation on honesty and trust. This year Race tracks contacted us to schedule events because last year we delivered the type of entertainment that race fans enjoyed and the fans requested our return.

I telephoned the club members who were not at the track yet and discussed their feelings about racing at an establishment that had management not willing to honor their agreement. The club drivers agreed 100% and the decision to turn back was their way of supporting the integrity and spotless reputation of the Illinois Vintage Racing Club.

Like all new disagreements, people will have their own opinions about what should or should not have been done. As the president of Illinois Vintage Racing, I had to make the painful decision to cancel our event. The race that took place at Illiana Speedway on June 27th was not a sanctioned Club event.