[Jeff Lee]

Speedworld:
1. Owner that loved his motocross track and was openly against the drag strip (not Hal; writer of the announcement); call it a necessary evil. Maybe he wasn't against it but the MC track was definitely his baby.
2. Track Manager Victoria Griffey was there 20 years and left a year or so ago. I believe it had a lot to do with #1 above. Hal took over and put his heart into it but, again, se #1.
3. Track owner decided all night "rave" type parties at the track with DJ's, booze, bikini contests, mud wrestling, etc., was what the track owner needed. A total cash cow. Unfortunately, 25 or so arrests by the County Sheriff for underage drinking, drug possessions, fighting, etc,. per event. I hardly think the residents surrounding the track appreciated those events. And it sure caught the eye of the County.
4. County starts looking into the facility which had been off radar for decades. County finds #1 above had gone beyond the original land lease agreement and had built out of the boundaries and had not obtained proper building permits, structure issues, grading issues and the big elephant; county says they need sewer connections @ MC track.
5. #1 above takes on county. Makes the big paper last summer. Interview with #1 above makes it obvious that #1 above was going to fight city hall and was going to do things his way. Doesn't adhere to the well known proverb "you can't fight city hall".
6. Track announces closing.

I'm pissed but I saw it coming in the order I presented with each # being another nail in the coffin. I have raced there since 1978 and the owner at the time, Mike Donnelly, gave the track(no charge) to me and my buddy Brian Griffey for the day with timers to test / tune and experiment with our '70 & '71 Challenger street cars that we raced probably 50 weeks out of the year. Imagine that today? Mike loved that track and so did all the other owners that followed. Except #1 above.
We see tracks closed all over the country to make room for a parking lot, commercial buildings and whatever else. We see them close because of external influences. But this track is closing because of one person and it is internal.