Does anyone know what the heck happened here...
Looks like they just made an announcement on a few social media sites and then shut down all comments.

https://www.inquirer.com/news/new-jersey/atco-dragway-closed-new-jersey-racing-20230718.html


There last Facebook post prior to the Closing announcement, was only 23hrs ago, and was talking about a returning event next year.

"Thank you 🙏 to everyone who attended the 29th Annual Chris Miller Racing Pan American Nationals & made it the biggest one yet! While it didn’t end the way wanted, we hope everyone had a great time & we’ll see you all next year for the 30th"

24hrs later.... BAM!! closed forever... no comments.

""Thank you 🙏 to everyone who attended the 29th Annual Chris Miller Racing Pan American Nationals & made it the biggest one yet! While it didn’t end the way wanted, we hope everyone had a great time & we’ll see you all next year for the 30th"

24hrs later.... BAM!! closed forever... no comments.[i][/i]

Sounds like a check in the mail never got mailed.

Their money man cut them off

nothing "happened". owner has been trying to sell it for a few years. guess he found a buyer. he had it sold a couple years ago and the pineland commission shot down what the buyer wanted to do with it so it fell through.

The real truth may, or may not come out. Time will tell.

We lost our local dirt track under strange circumstances. The track owner decided he didn't have to pay the bank loan back, so it was going into foreclosure. The track was operated the last year be a management team that did a great job running the track, it may well have bumped along for several more years as it was that last year. A mobile home park had moved in across from the track several years before, and the owner of that park was a constant complainer about the track to the city. Apparently the people at the bank were not paying much attention to who was paying the real estate taxes, because they found out just in time that the mobile home park had paid the last 2 years of taxes owed. 3 years in a row makes the property belong to whom ever has paid the unpaid taxes. The bank paid that 3rd year, which forced the property into the foreclosure sale.
There was a buyer in hand that would have bought the track and kept it a race track, but that new buyer was running a business that was a direct competing business with the failed owner's family business. The failed owner couldn't stand the idea that his family competitor might run "his" track. The evening before the auction, the failed owner took a back hoe to the track, and tore down the entire front straight cement wall safety barrier. The cost of replacing that wall put the price of the track out of reach for the perspective new owner. The mobile home park won the auction and the track is no more.

From what I read about Atco, the track ran well past the curfew imposed on it at that last event. The racers protested the things a perspective new owner wants to do with the track, and they didn't much like the current owner. That is 3 strikes in my perspective. The ignored the local governing body, the created an unhappy possible new owner, and they were on bad terms with the old owner. To make matters even worse, the people that ignored the local government with the curfew violation expected to be able to do it again the next year.

Wonder why the track closed?

Not sure how they ran past curfew when they quit racing and canceled the rest of the event due to rain b4 5PM on Sunday.
That was what they were referencing with the "didn't end the way they would have liked" comment.

All water under the bridge at this point though... another track is gone.
Makes me wonder how long Maple Grove will last. It survived the last sale, but the writing is likely on the wall long term. Almost all of the land around the track has been purchased by investment groups over the last 10+ years. You know they are just holding the land until they can finally get their hands on the track, close it and start building McMansions.

Not if the Chinese bought it....

Just what I read in one of the links. "racing went well past the curfew on the last event" was what it said.

As dirty as it seems would it of been better for the seller to announce ahead of time this sale?

Was ATCO a good source of income for the seller while open or has it been suffering like many tracks?

May have been making profit now, but what would projections be 5,10 years down the road? Steady or declining?
Venues like these seem to "last" when there's a hereditary-bond to them.
Even that type bond doesn't offer a guarantee, as others scenarios involving family has shown.
Shame: they use to put on some darn good thrill show type events years past.

why do "outlaw" type tracks seem to be doing good ? [or at least make the appearance of doing so]

Atcos closing had nothing to do with the curfew .. he tried to sell it in the last few years but racers protested at local town meetings and the sell didn't go through , he sold the place to an investment firm that is building a warehouse to grow pot. He went around the town and went to the county directly to get his approvals. He is a very spiteful guy he knew the sale was coming but chose to not tell anybody just like the family that owns Englishtown. He had a chance to sell it to a group of racers with $$$ but out of spite didn't. I wouldn't worry about Maple Grove it was purchased by a family with a deep passion for racing and plenty of money for improvements which they have already began.

It's a shame.I had my 69 383 roadrunner at a show there years ago.Ive probably been there twice unfortunately never raced there like I did in calfornia.

I always thought of Atco as the arm pit of tracks. It was no comparison to Englishtown. I remember when they had the wooden bleachers. It was nothing like it was before they closed for the first time along with Englishtown. They tried having a only Mopar day but it never caught on like other tracks. Seems more ricers where taking over then V8 powered cars. Sad it closed but hopefully somebody will breath new life into it.
https://atcodragway.com/

owner made sure he sold it to someone who wouldn't use it as a track

I believe that to be true Joe, but what for? Why? What is his motive for it not being a track?

^^^ Apparently because spite is more important to him than the racers ?

That seems to be the concensus.
This was on Hellcat.org and I found it interesting and more in line with what my thoughts have been .


https://www.inquirer.com/news/new-j...ford-sale-jersey-pinelands-20230721.html

Video on Dad telling stories of Atco

I had dad give a few stories from Atco.