Bye Bye Firebird Int'l Raceway (Arizona) after 30-yrs

I hope that a new track is built in Phoenix area and the Vegas track is used as a model to build the new track. They should put the cooling tubes under the track like they have in Denver.

on another site i go on it was said Charle Allen is out!!the bonderont driving school now has there own 7 year contract with the indians. Lucas oil sighned a simular deal for the drag strip,lake(drag boat racing)and off road track.can any one confirm this?

That's what Chuck has said.. The Tribe was negotiating with Bondurant for a new lease.

Actually a good sign.. They (the tribe) won't be building hotels etc. on the property if they leave that track there, and the Lucas Oil stuff too..

Seems likely that they just wanted Charlie gone.. Seems NHRA felt the same way..

My gut feeling is they are going to lease it to someone else, or run it themselves..

But there must be improvements that NHRA has requested for years..

Charlie didn't want to do them, and is taking the money and running..



As for the Havasu deal.. It's all about $$$$ to start it up.. The city gave them the land and their good graces.. Now it's put up or shut up.

I know someone who was on the board, and he said too many chiefs..

BTW Walt Austin is/was part of this deal..


Chris..

Taken from LHDRA "club news" on their web site:

"LONDON BRIDGE RACEWAY PARK"

The London Bridge Raceway Park Development Group is in the process of a Reorganization. This became necessary because one of the partners could no longer be involved in the project. The remaining partners are still in place and moving forward with both the proposed NHRA "Tribute" Museum and Motorplex project. While the unforeseen event delayed the November ground breaking and ribbon cutting that we had looked forward to, it has not dampened our enthusiasm and dedication in establishing a first class racing facility in Lake Havasu City. We are aggressively looking to replace the partner and hope to have news soon. We knew from the very first day, a little over eight months ago, that there would be many ups and downs in introducing a state of the art Motorplex to Lake Havasu City, but this goal was never based on it being easy, because we knew it would be worth it. We want to thank the Lake Havasu City Council members and the Partnership for Economic Development (PED) for their support, plus all of the LHDRA members for their willingness to help and their continued encouragement. As the reorganization is completed, and new target dates established you will be informed. London Bridge Raceway Park Development Group & National Museums of America, Inc.


I know what you're all thinking.......Banning!!

Yay a track in Havasu, becuase we need another place to race when it is 120 out Maybe a nice indoor stadium venue to race at out here in the desert

A friend in Phoenix that is keeping me sort of informed, on both Firebird and Speedworld, sent me some information that indicated Lucas was trying to act as a go-between (negotiator?) with the Tribe and NHRA. That information indicated that Lucas did not want to go into the Drag Strip business unless all else failed. I had not heard of any track in/near Havasu on the drawing board. Racing at 120°? Try it at 20°. Studded slicks just don't work........

I talked with the NHRA guys at the SEMA booth. They said Charlie was out, the Tribe was going to hire a track manager and they were trying to make a go of running it themselves. The improvements would happen and there would be racing in 2014. Who knows? Such a rumor mill.

I think,, if you read everything, and find that in the middle is the issue,, The current owner /manager has not keep the place up to date top notch facility as promised , so both the Tribe, and NHRA wanted change, The end is very near for this facility, if not already, Much like Pacific Raceway in Seatle ! Lucas wants really nothing to do with a drag strip what so ever, But if it means that his drag boats, and off road truck deals go away he will step in to keep them alive, but has no intention of the drag strip , much as he has done in his mid Mo track!!
Miss-management seams to be a 'theme' in the drag racing world for some reason,,

I moved to AZ because of Firebird. 22 years old, sick of the short mid-West racing season, I packed up everything I owned and headed to the desert. Unfortunately I blew the engine in my car three months after moving here and that put an end to my racing for 25 years.

These days I live on the opposite side of town, right near Speedworld... and that track is threatened by closure as well.:(

Agent 1320 has learned that the previously announced closing of Phoenix International Raceway may not happen. Current operator Charlie Allen will not be involved in the future of the track but DRO has confirmed that the Indian tribe that owns the Phoenix-area property has had meetings with NHRA president Tom Compton and his management team and have been interviewing some very high-profile talent for the position of track manager.



Apparently the tribe had plans in place to build additional casino-related structures but the struggling economy has shelved those plans and they have now decided to keep the track open.

The Agent has also learned that one of the NHRA’s requirement to keep Firebird on the schedule was a long-term contract. NHRA wants to keep racing in the Phoenix area since it is the sixth-largest market in the U.S. (Ron Lewis photo) [11/16/2012]

www.competitionplus.com

So are there any updates on this - behind the scenes? Should I drag myself and the kids out there on Saturday and catch the "final" show? Anyone else going to be there?

Phoenix rising?

There is news out of Firebird Raceway near Phoenix that there will be more racing at the old track even after this weekend’s absolutely, positively, final, I’m not kidding, last race with Charlie Allen in charge AA/FC race.

The word out of Arizona is that the tribe that owns the track has named a new exec to run the facility. One racer called the Agent to say that the track announcer recently was dropping hints about new management and that the racers and fans should be thinking about things like covered grandstands or maybe 4-wide racing. Make your own rumors from this info.

One last bit of information: an NHRA official told the Agent that regardless of what is being said, they feel confident the NHRA will return next spring. [03/28/13]

http://dragracingonline.com/agent1320/2013/1320-xv_3-44.html

Hopefully if they are going to continue with Firebird - they won't wait until August to start racing... then complain that the car count is down.

Also - with Speedworld gone as well - whichever track is resurrected the quickest will reap the rewards.

Got this e-mail today..

Subj: ADRA Track update



ADRA Racers and supporters,

First of all, on behalf of ADRA, I wish to give condolescences to the family of AZ racer Derek Sanchez who just recently passed after a crash in Vegas.

I also thought it appropriate to give an update on the (3) Arizona race tracks. There are still lots of rumors out there, but this is simply what I have learned first hand.

SPEEDWORLD - According to Hal, Speedworld is officially closed. The scoreboards and tree were even removed recently. The sad thing is that a lot of the guard railing; light posts; and other metals are simply being scrapped. There are still rumors about folks that are interested in doing something with the track after Dan is gone, but none of them have been confirmed. According to Hal, A.D.O.T. will most likely be using the land for equipment storage. This is a sore subject for me, so I will refrain from stating negative opinions about how the whole situation was very poorly managed!

FIREBIRD - I was able to have lunch with the new "president/ manager" of Firebird about a week ago. I also invited Mike D. and Jack. The new manager (hired by the Gila River Indian Tribe) is Dick Hahn. He has been around racing (mostly Nascar) for many years and was the V.P. of Operations for Daytona for 20 years. He is a very nice guy and was very welcoming to the local racing scene as well as our questions. Three other members of the new management team also joined us. Although Dick has been around racing for many years, none of the members we met with have specific experience with drag racing. Sounds like they have a steep learning curve, but my impression is that they will make some nice improvements to the track and complex. Unortunately, Charlie Allen and the tribe did not come to an agreement to retain some of the equipment including the timing system and track prep equipment. I was told that a new Compulink timing system has been ordered but will take another month or so to receive and install. Dick is also looking for a track manager to hire. If you know a good candidate, please let me know and I will forward their name and contact info to Dick. Mark Yacavone and Steve Barcak have both been trying to schedule SW Nostalgia and Pontiac Heaven events but the track is simply not ready and does not have the necessary equipment or staffing yet. Steve told me last night that even the May 4-5 event has been cancelled for now. The latest news indicates that there are some internal lease agreement issues amongst the tribe and council going on as well. On behalf of ADRA, we shared with Dick that our intention for 2013 is to finish our program at SIR. However, we would like to schedule a "Memorial" race at Firebird in November if possible. We took a vote on this at our last meeting and the vote was unanimous to stay at SIR due to the fact that SIR has been so supportive of ADRA this year.

SIR (TUCSON)- Unfortunately, I found out about a week ago that Phil Gray (track manager) is leaving SIR next week. A new track manager has not yet been hired (to my knowledge), but we will miss Phil greatly. He has been great to work with and has been very supportive of ADRA. Phil is leaving by his own choice but told me we will still see him around the track as a racer. Thanks Phil!

Next ADRA club meeting will be held on May 7th at Fuddruckers! Please come out for a meal and to show your support of the club!

Next race #5 will be a SIR on May 11 (Sat 4pm gate time)! Tell your racer friends and encourage them to race with us.

Scott



That's the latest..



Chris..

Ya, me too. Still looks like it will be several months before they are up and running again - if they can find a competent manager. I think the new operators are drag strip clueless.

Thanks Chris. I'm sure I'm not alone in my hopes that the track gets updated as well as being thankful that we will still have one.

FWIW the current scuttlebutt travling the rumor mill is the internal disagreements amongst the tribe and it's "governing body" are pretty substantial. What I heard was they came to lease agreements that they were not allowed to do. At this poitn ALL events had been cancelled including Bondurants stuff. Apparently there is some sort of struggle amongst the governing group as to what exactly can and cannot be done. Does not sound like the process is going well. Also heard the grandstands were being taken down, hopefully that is a good sign of coming omprovements.

SIR (TUCSON)- new track manager John Mabry - announced today 4/17. Retired USN Chief.

May 11 looks like an event I need to put on my schedule.

ADRA event. I just can't make it due to other commitments

I drove pass firebird yesterday and there where people there working on the grandstands, it did look like they were takng them down.

Think new bleachers with press boxes of luxury/vip suites!

The Old Compton Terrace sign was exposed the other day.

The Tribe has stated tht they will install new VIP suites to comply with what the NHRA wants. And due to many complaints about the sun being a problem for spectators, I am going to stay positive and stand behind my statement. And, NO, I do nt have any inside information on this subject!

If they shade the stands that would be great. But not holding my breath, just fingers crossed.

Here is another sad article..

Speedworld..

http://www.arizonaautoscene.com/archives/21433


Chris..

Scortched earth......Dan Mathews!

....so it was the moto X track that killed it!

The MX was the start, but it was Mr. Mathew's way of conducting business that was the end!