Optimism pt. II

I had planned a "part II" to my earlier Optimism Pt. I editorial. Instead of another list of events at area tracks that we should be thankful for, I was detoured by the news of the closing of Manzanita Speedway in Arizona.

Throughout it's illustrious history, the track hosted such events as the Western World Championships, on nearly the level of the Knoxville Nationals, and was the site of the experiment that was the Slick 50 Series, in which Outlaw Sprint cars took to the desert half-mile in the live, prime-time, dead of winter event.

In the wake of the news, there's been recounting of memories, and of course, the inevitable "Save Manzy" campaign, in which supporters are encouraged to sign a non-binding petition to stop the multi-million-dollar-profit-and-escape-from-environmental-regulation bulldozer that is going to bury the track.

But really, what does all this pining and whining do? The bogus petitions remind me of the letter-writing campaigns to save flagging TV shows in the 80's and 90's. Really...even if the campaign was successful, the program was not given a resurrection, but merely a kick of life support long enough to give the show a "proper burial" as opposed to just yanking the plug.

I'm sure that most everyone reading this has seen tracks they went to die.

We've also seen new ones born.

Capital Beach died, and Midwest Speedway filled a void. It too died, only to have Eagle Raceway pick up the slack. Within the past 15 years, we've seen I-80 Speedway, Butler County Motorplex and Junction Motor Speedway come to life. Sometimes the show just changes address. Others, it splits and becomes a new event. Across the country, tracks at Las Vegas, and the complex at Wheatland, MO are just a few of the places where NEW memories and new legacies will be born. Knoxville has transformed completely compared to when I was there 12 years ago; and was a different place compared to the 70's and 80's. Eldora is undergoing a 21st century transformation. They have to change, or they die.

Langhorne, Ascot, Manzanita, and on an on all died. But racing survives. Racetracks are inanimate objects. They're carved out of cornfields, convenient terrain...even temporary facilities in expo halls. What builds them is the living spirit in us that has the passion for RACING. There's time to be bummed, but now our job is not to spend our time pining for what's lost, but put our efforts into making what we have succeed, so when that track goes away (and they all will), we have plenty of time to remember all the years of good times we had back when...while enjoying the new place that our passion for the sport built.