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Mansfield Dragstrip update #87826
07/12/08 11:57 PM
07/12/08 11:57 PM
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Akron, Ohio
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1970 Challenger, all aluminum 528 Hemi, HDK suspension, Tremec 5 speed manual
Re: Mansfield Dragstrip update [Re: ProSport] #87827
07/13/08 12:16 AM
07/13/08 12:16 AM
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Mt. Vernon, Ohio
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Let's just keep hoping they get it all worked out soon.


Light travels faster than the speed of sound,,,this is why some people seem bright untill you hear them speak.
Re: Mansfield Dragstrip update [Re: dartman366] #87828
07/13/08 12:43 AM
07/13/08 12:43 AM
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Rob McCurdy: Mansfield's drag strip delayed, not dead
By ROB MCCURDY • News Journal • May 29, 2008

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The proposed Mansfield Motorsports Park drag strip could be coming back to life. In fact, it's closer to a resurrection today than anytime since construction was halted in the early spring of 2007.


Why?

"Why not?" MMP owner and President Mike Dzurilla said in a wide-ranging exclusive interview. "Why am I talking about this now? Why not?"

Timing is everything and big projects take time. From the start, both were off.

The announcement in late summer of 2006 that MMP was building a drag strip to host the International Hot Rod Association's World Nationals was rushed by circumstances. Summit Motorsports Park reached a deal with the NHRA to move its event from Newark to Norwalk, leaving the IHRA's biggest event without a home.

Dzurilla, who has strong ties to the drag racing community, saw an opportunity to complete his dream by building a world-class drag strip, and the IHRA saw a way to save some face with a positive announcement after losing an important date in its schedule.

It was a win-win situation -- if things went according to plan.

That didn't happen. Dzurilla is one who never likes to show his hand until after the game is played out. This time, he made the announcement before all the cards were dealt. Hoping he had pocket aces, it turns out he was stuck with an off-suit deuce and trey, hardly a pot-stealing play.

He found the financing in the fall of 2006 and construction started in the winter. It was halted within days because of issues with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. Construction started back up only to be stopped again.

"The issue is a stream and it is a stream," Dzurilla said. "They've classified it as a stream, so it's a stream. Now it's under the Clean Water Act where you have to be careful of streams."

While trying to figure out how to build the quarter-mile strip without messing up a waterway, then General Manager Chris Mize contacted the News Journal to complain about the EPA stifling the project. He did this without Dzurilla's blessing.

"We ran into an EPA issue. It wasn't a problem. A problem is when they're fining me every day and sending me certified mail; now I have a problem. We had an EPA issue. The drama blew that way out of the water," Dzurilla said.

Then other issues surfaced.

Wade Rich, hired on to run the drag strip and see the project through, left. Mize resigned abruptly in April of 2007 less than six weeks before the start of the season with the annual NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race looming. Legal issues with Mize sprung up later that summer which caused more distractions.

Also in the interim, yet another issue emerged.

"We all know the situation the banks are in now," he said. "That source of funding I had a year-and-a-half ago is gone now."

Adding to the frustration was two companies were in talks about naming rights for the new track, but neither would sign until it was built. Dzurilla said he couldn't get the lending needed unless he had a naming rights contract in hand. It was a catch-22.

So, he made the decision to back-burner the drag strip to concentrate on the half-mile oval and its special events-only schedule while grooming new general manager Bill Conn. He said he felt tired and beat up by the project and needed the last year to refocus and recharge.

"I've never lost sight of it," Dzurilla said. "Of course, I would have liked to have seen it built two years ago and certainly last year, but I'm eating the elephant one bite at a time."

He's going back to the way he did business before.

"We always (did announcements) after the fact, that way if we ran into a regulatory issue or a financial issue or a weather issue, it wasn't that big of a deal. That seemed to work really well," he said.

Dzurilla vows he's not going to make any more proclamations until the concrete is pored.

"There are so many things that can happen that I have no control over," he said. "I didn't mean to get people's hopes up. There was nobody more disappointed that it's not built than me."

Knowing all that, what's the best case scenario regarding the future of the drag strip?

"We meet with the EPA and they say let's do it. You adopt me and I spend my inheritance early and build a drag strip," he joked.

What isn't a joking matter is that Dzurilla met with EPA officials last week.

"They were very receptive and we had a great beginning dialogue and we'll continue to have these dialogues," he said after Saturday's successful NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ohio 250.

So the drag strip is not a dead issue.

rmccurdy@nncogannett.com 419-521-7241



Wow ...I would think the future of any race-track financing these days would be on parallel with the HOME LOAN garbage.

Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: dIc dOc Deity !] #87829
07/18/08 12:52 PM
07/18/08 12:52 PM
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Well something must have happened in the few weeks since Dzurilla's May 29th interview.

A story published on Wednesday, July 16 by Mansfield New Journal sports editor Rob McCurdy includes a statement from Mike Dzurilla tied into a claim by Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course ownership that they lost out of a chance for future SCCA National runoffs due to high rates charged on race weekends by area hotels and motels.

Dzurilla wrote:

"This is one of the determining factors in me deciding NOT to build a Dragstrip at this time."

Click here for McCurdy's story and Dzurilla's statement.

I'm not sure if McCurdy's 'editorial' comments near the end of the story have anything to do with a pretty big flip-flop over the status of the drag strip in the span of 7 weeks.

Read McCurdy's words for yourself and see what you think.

"Mike also knows he's cried wolf before and that hurts his credibility a bit when he lashes out like in that post. Folks are going to wonder if it's real this time. He's also hurt by past actions of former MMP regimes and he's still trying to mend fences and rebuild bridges. It's going to be hard for him to get sympathy when working men and women are getting squeezed like never before, too. Let's face it, there are other more pressing issues in this area than whether we have a drag strip..."

Re: Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: triplenickel] #87830
07/18/08 04:42 PM
07/18/08 04:42 PM
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Col. Ohio
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He was in more trouble with the city(mansfield) and EPA-Corps than he leads on let me tell you. Im not sure he had enough money to redo the stream and wetlands he was trying to damage/restore. Costs alot of money to do that stuff, like $17k an acre is probably the cheapest ive seen, and he was looking at quite a few acres.

Re: Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: The Avg. Valiant] #87831
07/18/08 05:50 PM
07/18/08 05:50 PM
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The Grand State of Confusion-O...
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Quote:

He was in more trouble with the city(mansfield) and EPA-Corps than he leads on let me tell you. Im not sure he had enough money to redo the stream and wetlands he was trying to damage/restore. Costs alot of money to do that stuff, like $17k an acre is probably the cheapest ive seen, and he was looking at quite a few acres.




Bull hockey......his trouble wasn't with the EPA or the city.......HIS trouble is with money and his mentality. Period.


Karma has no menu. You get served what you deserve.
Re: Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: SKR8PN] #87832
07/18/08 07:46 PM
07/18/08 07:46 PM
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Your absolutely right, his mind and dreams are alot bigger than his pocket book. From what ive read he had wetland and stream mitigation that need to be done as well on his property along with alot of grading(from what I hear I didnt think the property was that hilly). But I know the mitigation and permits alone were over 100k+ to be built and dealt with(consultants are VERY expensive). Let along all the other trouble he would have had with getting people to trust him to pay bills, it would have been hard for him to get anyone to work for him I think.

Re: Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: The Avg. Valiant] #87833
07/18/08 08:26 PM
07/18/08 08:26 PM
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Yup.......he has shot himself in the foot so many times, I am surprised he can even stand up.
He has also shot the toes out from under his employees so many times, it is a wonder he can get anyone to work for him........
It really is to bad, because I would LOVE to see him get this track up and running. I can darn near throw a rock off my back porch and hit the facility!!


Karma has no menu. You get served what you deserve.
Re: Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: SKR8PN] #87834
07/18/08 11:36 PM
07/18/08 11:36 PM
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So in your guys opinion you think it is going to open? I started going by about once a month to see the progress he was having and the project looked like it was going good and all of a sudden the work stopped.

I heard that he ran into a Eagles nest, does anyone know the truth to that?

I just wish this would be a go..such a nice location and to have a state of the art drag strip that close would be great. Now don't get me wrong it will be hard to take over the best track award cause of Norwalk, but I think if Mike can he would provide us a very very nice track.

Just my

Re: Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: mprrlz] #87835
07/19/08 07:14 AM
07/19/08 07:14 AM
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I'd like to see the track built as much as anybody, but.............

From competitionplus.com

Re: Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: Locomotion] #87836
07/19/08 08:13 AM
07/19/08 08:13 AM
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I didnt know about any eagles nest, but there have been talks that the trucks wont be back, or thats what jayski has said a couple times now. He did wrong to many of his employees and treated some local business people that supported him from the beginnning just as bad. Its a beautiful race track with alot of potential, just the wrong guy is running it.

Re: Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: mprrlz] #87837
07/20/08 08:24 PM
07/20/08 08:24 PM
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Quote:

I started going by about once a month to see the progress he was having and the project looked like it was going good and all of a sudden the work stopped.




They moved dirt for something like 8 total days in nearly 2 years. How much "progress" did you ever see?

Re: Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: triplenickel] #87838
07/20/08 08:27 PM
07/20/08 08:27 PM
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Mt. Vernon, Ohio
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only progress I have seen in the last 2 years has been the weed's.


Light travels faster than the speed of sound,,,this is why some people seem bright untill you hear them speak.
Re: Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: dartman366] #87839
07/20/08 10:34 PM
07/20/08 10:34 PM
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bill you need to go down piper road. the heavy equipment has been moving alot of dirt in the past few weeks. dzurilla says one thing,the paper says something else. but several acres have been graded near the end next to piper ???????????? who knowes

Re: Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: junkyardmaxie] #87840
07/20/08 10:38 PM
07/20/08 10:38 PM
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Quote:

bill you need to go down piper road. the heavy equipment has been moving alot of dirt in the past few weeks. dzurilla says one thing,the paper says something else. but several acres have been graded near the end next to piper ???????????? who knowes


guess I need to make a road trip,,,Thank's Bob


Light travels faster than the speed of sound,,,this is why some people seem bright untill you hear them speak.
Re: Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: junkyardmaxie] #87841
07/21/08 01:09 PM
07/21/08 01:09 PM
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Quote:

bill you need to go down piper road. the heavy equipment has been moving alot of dirt in the past few weeks. dzurilla says one thing,the paper says something else. but several acres have been graded near the end next to piper ???????????? who knows




You mean these 600' long roads that look like a small, future housing development?


Forget the dragstrip, Dzurilla just closed all of MMP [Re: triplenickel] #87842
12/17/08 10:36 PM
12/17/08 10:36 PM
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From the Mansfield News Journal...

===================================
Breaking news: Mansfield Motorsports Park closing
News Journal staff report
December 17, 2008

Mansfield Motorsports Park is closing its doors.

“As of right now, we will not be staying open. We have no events planned,” track owner Mike Dzurilla said. “I dealt with the unfortunate task of telling my remaining employees that, by Christmas, they would be unemployed.”

=====================================

http://mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20081217/UPDATES01/81217027

This follows the announcement earlier today that the Mansfield's 2009 NASCAR truck event has been moved to Iowa Speedway because of Dzurilla's "inability to meet the requirements necessary to remain a NASCAR-sanctioned facility."

http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/truck/12/17/iowa.cwts.date/index.html

In spite of the Ohio drag racers and fans who have seen Dzurilla's "world class drag strip" soap opera drag out for multiple years as he promises, then doesn't deliver... it is MMP's track employees that I feel for the most.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time that Mike Dzurilla has pulled the rug out from under people who relied on him or his business for their livelihood. Just ask Dave Conley about losing his ride while leading the NHRA Pro Stock points championship a few years ago or the supporters of the oval track's weekly race program that was canceled after only one year.

Re: Dzurilla now says he will "NOT" build dragstrip... [Re: triplenickel] #87843
12/17/08 11:12 PM
12/17/08 11:12 PM

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I heard the dragstrip would infringe on the game preserve..And I guess there was a issue on the surveying..It ended up some of the track was on the farmers land that he would not sell???

Re: Forget the dragstrip, Dzurilla just closed all of MMP [Re: triplenickel] #87844
12/17/08 11:13 PM
12/17/08 11:13 PM
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Park Forest, IL
slantzilla Offline
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Hmmmmm, sounds kinda like this place. Lots of promises, but not much activity.

http://www.i39rpm.com/


"Everybody funny, now you funny too."
Re: Forget the dragstrip, Dzurilla just closed all of MMP [Re: slantzilla] #87845
12/18/08 12:44 AM
12/18/08 12:44 AM
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I used to live in Mansfield. I watched races at that track when I was a kid...back when it was dirt, the bleachers were wood, and they still had figure 8 races.

The facility is really nice now, but it takes so much money these days to do that, not to mention the EPA garbage that seems to creep into anything that anyone wants to do. If there's a stream there it probably runs right under the new Correctional Facility out there, but the politicians wanted that done, so it got done.

Mansfield's Mayor is an idiot, and according to someone who used to work with him her husband was a thief who stole from his employer (the old Ohio Brass), and would've gone to jail if his boss/dad wouldn't have bailed him out by repaying the company for what he had stolen. She's a joke, but I don't vote there anymore.

I know little about Dzurilla except that he made a nice facility out of what was there. It does sound like he may have walked on some folks to do it. If so, what comes around goes around, I guess.

Hopefully the whole thing won't end up abandoned and left to decay. Maybe a new owner will come in and be able to finish what was started.

It all makes me glad to be 16 miles from Beech Bend in Bowling Green, KY. It's not a "super-facility" with suites and all that, but it's a great place with a long Division 3 history and a small-track atmosphere that you just don't find at places like Trails or Norwalk anymore.....kind of like Pacemaker's if you gave it Enzyte and had the weather to race from Valentine's Day to Thanksgiving.

I'm sorry it didn't work out for all the guys in the Mansfield area, I know it can get to be a hassle hauling everything to Norwalk, 42, MCIR, or Trails. Hopefully something can be built closer someday.

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