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Selinsgrove Speedway Rescued
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Selinsgrove Speedway's future has been in limbo since the first laps were turned at the facility to kick off the 2015 season.
Ever since promoter Charlie Paige decided he wasn't going to renew his lease with the fair board, there has been plenty of speculation.
Fair board president Dawayne Betzer was at ground zero for the entire process. But now, a group headed by Sprint Car owner Mike Heffner and promoter Alan Kreitzer has picked up the lease and guaranteed there is going to be racing at the Snyder County oval in 2016.
"The world has been lifted off my shoulders," Betzer said. "This process has been going on for quite awhile. We just couldn't say anything.
"There is a lot of work ahead, but this is huge. A lot of stress has been lifted off me, and we are excited."
Continued Betzer, "You couldn't ask for two better people [to take this over]. We went through a roller coaster with a lot of concrete walls. We went through them and made it work in the end. We kept plugging away, and it was well worth it."
Heffner, who owns race teams including a 410 Sprint Car driven by Greg Hodnett, is the majority shareholder in what will be a corporation with Kreitzer and other investors. The group named Steve Inch, who has been at the speedway a total of 24 years, as the new promoter.
According to Kreitzer, who also co-promotes Lincoln Speedway, there are no plans to change the regular Saturday night program, which is headlined by the 360 Sprint Car and Late Model divisions.
"There are good people involved with this," Kreitzer said. "I think it can be fun as well as quite an undertaking. We want to try and assist in elevating Selinsgrove Speedway.
"It's going to be fun working with all these guys, and we are going to see what we can do as a team."
It wasn't easy getting to this point. There were months of negotiating before Betzer and the board could start entertaining another promotional team.
The hang up was a rift between Paige and the fair board over assets. Rumors swirled and left some drivers and fans to believe Selinsgrove Speedway was in jeopardy of closing.
Finally, the two parties reached an agreement. That opened the door for Heffner and Kreitzer to close the deal and save a piece of central Pennsylvania racing history.
"First and foremost, it was the history and my love of dirt track racing," Heffner said. "Second, it was something I felt had future financial potential.
"Losing all that history, it would be like any organization that goes out of business. Something closes, and the history dies with it.
"This is a labor of love. I would rather race than eat steak. I would rather eat of a can than give up racing."
Ever since promoter Charlie Paige decided he wasn't going to renew his lease with the fair board, there has been plenty of speculation.
Fair board president Dawayne Betzer was at ground zero for the entire process. But now, a group headed by Sprint Car owner Mike Heffner and promoter Alan Kreitzer has picked up the lease and guaranteed there is going to be racing at the Snyder County oval in 2016.
"The world has been lifted off my shoulders," Betzer said. "This process has been going on for quite awhile. We just couldn't say anything.
"There is a lot of work ahead, but this is huge. A lot of stress has been lifted off me, and we are excited."
Continued Betzer, "You couldn't ask for two better people [to take this over]. We went through a roller coaster with a lot of concrete walls. We went through them and made it work in the end. We kept plugging away, and it was well worth it."
Heffner, who owns race teams including a 410 Sprint Car driven by Greg Hodnett, is the majority shareholder in what will be a corporation with Kreitzer and other investors. The group named Steve Inch, who has been at the speedway a total of 24 years, as the new promoter.
According to Kreitzer, who also co-promotes Lincoln Speedway, there are no plans to change the regular Saturday night program, which is headlined by the 360 Sprint Car and Late Model divisions.
"There are good people involved with this," Kreitzer said. "I think it can be fun as well as quite an undertaking. We want to try and assist in elevating Selinsgrove Speedway.
"It's going to be fun working with all these guys, and we are going to see what we can do as a team."
It wasn't easy getting to this point. There were months of negotiating before Betzer and the board could start entertaining another promotional team.
The hang up was a rift between Paige and the fair board over assets. Rumors swirled and left some drivers and fans to believe Selinsgrove Speedway was in jeopardy of closing.
Finally, the two parties reached an agreement. That opened the door for Heffner and Kreitzer to close the deal and save a piece of central Pennsylvania racing history.
"First and foremost, it was the history and my love of dirt track racing," Heffner said. "Second, it was something I felt had future financial potential.
"Losing all that history, it would be like any organization that goes out of business. Something closes, and the history dies with it.
"This is a labor of love. I would rather race than eat steak. I would rather eat of a can than give up racing."
