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ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!!

Posted By: hemi-itis

ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/21/12 03:23 AM

Atco Raceway Sold / Press Release Inside

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Atco Raceway Sold

Atco, NJ Wednesday December 19, 2012 –Atco Raceway was sold in its entirety to Mr. Len Capone Jr. of Berlin, New Jersey. The negotiation for the oldest continually operating drag strip on the East Coast took over 16 months and has concluded on a Win light for all…the track will continue to operate as it has in the past.

The Capone families are very familiar with the racing scene and have a great passion for the sport of drag racing. Len Capone Sr. a racer himself who was present for the 1960 opening day of Atco Raceway worked in the tech department on Memorial Day weekend. Len Capone Jr. started as a sportsman racer and is very well known for his Top Alcohol Funny Car “The Bear” that raced the strip in the late 80’s and 90’s.

Joe Sway has been retained as Director of Operations and is under exclusive contract for 2013 and 2014 with 3-1 year options to follow.

The 2013 tentative schedule will be posted on the web site AtcoRaceway.com mid January. There are no major changes to the race schedule for 2013~a couple of new races will be added but for the most part you will see our lineup has not changed.

Atco Raceway would like to thank everyone for their participation in the 2012 race season. We are positive that the continued support of all racers, fans and patrons will continue to make this a racing destination and the #1 track on the East Coast.

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Posted By: DusterDave

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/21/12 03:39 AM

Capone must have made them an offer they couldn't refuse...
Posted By: fig426

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/21/12 03:41 AM

With Island being closed, they should see a decent increase in racers at their track.
Posted By: Ari440

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/21/12 03:41 AM

did they get seued by a racer there ,he had an accident
Posted By: one bad fish

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/21/12 04:19 AM

Quote:

did they get seued by a racer there ,he had an accident

Yes sir
Posted By: jim sciortino

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/21/12 04:30 AM

Quote:

Capone must have made them an offer they couldn't refuse...

Now THAT is funny.....
Posted By: hemi-itis

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/21/12 05:56 AM

Not sure how this will be circumvented.



http://www.morellilaw.com/our-blog/morel...ot-rod-associat

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Posted By: jamesc

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/21/12 06:11 AM

you can best believe the buyer did due diligence, no one would spend that much money without research on the existing liability
Posted By: MIKES_DUSTER

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/21/12 11:52 PM

Was the land included in the price or is it leased??
Posted By: slantzilla

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/22/12 02:23 PM

Quote:

Quote:

did they get seued by a racer there ,he had an accident

Yes sir



By his widow and estate. She is suing the NHRA too.
Posted By: Kevins493

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/22/12 08:40 PM

Quote:

Not sure how this will be circumvented.



http://www.morellilaw.com/our-blog/morel...ot-rod-associat


Why can't people just accept the risk we all take when we stage the car? You do something that is dangerous, that you know can potentially get you killed, so why blame someone else when something happens?
Posted By: jamesc

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/22/12 10:07 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Not sure how this will be circumvented.



http://www.morellilaw.com/our-blog/morel...ot-rod-associat


Why can't people just accept the risk we all take when we stage the car? You do something that is dangerous, that you know can potentially get you killed, so why blame someone else when something happens?




money, plus personal responsibility is a thing of the past...our country continues to spiral down the commode 2¢
Posted By: MIKES_DUSTER

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/23/12 12:01 AM

I know he was killed but what exactly happened??? Didnt he sign a waiver that states the track is not liable for any wrong doing?? I always had to sign one.
Posted By: slantzilla

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/23/12 12:09 AM

Quote:

I know he was killed but what exactly happened??? Didnt he sign a waiver that states the track is not liable for any wrong doing?? I always had to sign one.



A waiver isn't worth the paper it's written on, it just means if anything happens there will be a lawsuit.

The suit itself is based on the track ambulance/fire truck not starting and the driver being very seriously burned. Driver was supposedly gotten out of the car by his son, not track safety personnel

The other side of the coin is the driver supposedly did not have the proper suit/equipment for the ET he was running, but had been passed in tech.

It's a mess for sure.
Posted By: hemi-itis

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/23/12 02:14 AM

My guess is the track got sold,the corp. that sold the track will go POOOOOOOOOOOF
Posted By: n20mstr

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/23/12 03:40 AM

DIdnt SuperStockRacer buy a track ?

Oh wait yea thats right, he bought Island Dragway
Posted By: hemi-itis

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/23/12 03:47 AM

He wanted his OWN sandbox
Posted By: 440Jim

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/23/12 03:50 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Not sure how this will be circumvented.



http://www.morellilaw.com/our-blog/morel...ot-rod-associat

23. After CRUZ crashed, the ambulance that was owned, operated and maintained by ATCO failed to start and was unable to get to CRUZ in order to put out the fire and offer him immediate medical assistance. The fire was put out by CRUZ’s son, who ran down the track to assist.


Wow...
Posted By: cheapstreetdustr

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/24/12 08:15 AM

a #$50 million dollar wow..
Posted By: DusterDave

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/24/12 02:12 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

Not sure how this will be circumvented.



http://www.morellilaw.com/our-blog/morel...ot-rod-associat

23. After CRUZ crashed, the ambulance that was owned, operated and maintained by ATCO failed to start and was unable to get to CRUZ in order to put out the fire and offer him immediate medical assistance. The fire was put out by CRUZ’s son, who ran down the track to assist.


Wow...


Oh boy....yeah, that situation had lawsuit written all over it.
Posted By: tubtar

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/25/12 08:00 AM

I am thinking Cruz had no issue with racing there.
His widow , on the other hand..............

But as stated , the corporation that sold the track retains liability and the new owners should have no issue.
NHRA will still be involved and will share liability with the former owners , or entity which claimed ownership.
NHRA in my estimation took sanctioning fees from them , like so many other tracks , and then handed off a set of guidelines , rules and requirements that the track should have followed.
Few do.....at least not to the letter of the rules.
Most do a pretty fair job from my experience , but we have all seen lapses in varying degrees of severity.
The insurance carrier for the track 's former ownership will eat the bulk and NHRA will maybe be on the hook for a portion if this plays out according to Hoyle.
This sounds like it was probably avoidable to a certain extent , and that indicates fault.
He may well have still died with a top notch safety crew and equipment that worked , but a jury is going to hear otherwise if it gets that far.
I smell a settlement , and personal responsibility has nothing to do with it......though greed might.
If this does get to a jury , I doubt it would end well for the defendant.
Posted By: HemiDart68

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/26/12 03:00 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Not sure how this will be circumvented.



http://www.morellilaw.com/our-blog/morel...ot-rod-associat


Why can't people just accept the risk we all take when we stage the car? You do something that is dangerous, that you know can potentially get you killed, so why blame someone else when something happens?



I couldn't disagree more. Yes there is a level of risk assumed when you pilot a race car. However, if a track takes your money they accept certain responsibilities as well. The ambulance that you are paying money for not being in working order is completly unacceptable and irresponsible.
Posted By: B5 Bee

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/26/12 04:55 PM

"the ambulance that was owned, operated and maintained by ATCO"

How common is this?
I've been to a dozen tracks and they contracted outside ambulance services.
Posted By: DANA60

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/27/12 02:27 AM

This will be settled, no question. The insurance company and or bond holders(s) will drag this for years, then settle. Sorry to say, the rescue equipment didn't start and lent no assistance, dispite any waivers signed, and they will mean little. The sale means nothing. They (Atco, et al.)will not want this to go to a jury, they will get killed there.

high 6 fig, but probably low 7.

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Posted By: Qwik426

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/27/12 04:09 AM

THE WIDOW OF a drag-racer who died after crashing into a wall at South Jersey's Atco Speedway is suing the raceway, claiming negligence.

Jose Cruz's 1999 Chevy Monte Carlo caught fire after he crashed into a wall during a run on the track on Sept. 15, 2010, according to the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Camden.

With the vehicle unable to start, Cruz's son, the Atco owner and other staffers ran to help douse the flames, according to the suit, filed by his widow, Evelyn Cruz of Brooklyn.

Cruz suffered second- and third-degree burns and had both legs amputated; he remained hospitalized until his death, 10 months after the crash, at age 52, his attorney, David Ratner, said.

"When you're inviting people in to engage in what everyone knows is a dangerous activity..."

"Inviting people"? Excuse me, Mr. Crooked Liar, I mean Crooked Lawyer, no one "invited" Cruz, he chose to be there and to "engage in dangerous activity", as you call it, all on his own.

"you owe an obligation to those people who you invite and make money off of to provide the safest possible venue to do that," said Ratner, a New York lawyer. "Atco failed to live up to that obligation."

Evelyn Cruz seeks $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages from Atco and the National Hot Rod Association, the California-based group that promotes amateur and professional drag-racing in the United States and sanctions Atco races.

Jose Cruz, a janitor and a father of two grown children, was a skilled drag-racer who had experience at Atco and other tracks, Ratner said.

Joe Sway Sr., Atco's owner, denied the lawsuit claims.

"The ambulance was on scene; it has to be when we're racing. The ambulance was functional. And we have a fire-suppression system on a pickup truck, which was operational and did respond," Sway said, adding that Cruz was out of the car when the first responder got to him.

The 52-year-old speedway in southern Camden County claims to be the nation's busiest legal drag strip, due in part to crackdowns on illegal drag-racing in Philadelphia and Atlantic City.

Anyone can race, as long as he or she pays the fee, wears a helmet, has a driver's license and drives a street-legal vehicle.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20120822_Widow_of_racer_sues_speedway.html?c=r

I never realized that Atco Dragway's ambulance doubled as a fire truck! Am I missing something here? I was under the impression that the ambulance's crew were on the premises to treat crash victims (if treatable on the scene) and/or take them to the hospital but according to this absurd lawsuit, they're supposed to put out fires, too!

Pete
Posted By: slantzilla

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/27/12 08:55 AM

Quote:

"the ambulance that was owned, operated and maintained by ATCO"

How common is this?
I've been to a dozen tracks and they contracted outside ambulance services.



US41 keeps an ambulance on site and staffs it with a couple local EMT's. There was some crap a couple years ago when it was discovered there was no medical equipment in it. Ask OUTLAWSS/AA about it.
Posted By: OUTLAWSSAA

Re: ATTCO RACEWAY SOLD!!!! - 12/27/12 09:45 PM

Quote:

Quote:

"the ambulance that was owned, operated and maintained by ATCO"

How common is this?
I've been to a dozen tracks and they contracted outside ambulance services.



US41 keeps an ambulance on site and staffs it with a couple local EMT's. There was some crap a couple years ago when it was discovered there was no medical equipment in it. Ask OUTLAWSS/AA about it.



I learned a hard lesson. It doesn't matter if there's an ambulance there or not, if there's nothing in it,it midus well not even be there. I was lucky to not get injured or else I would've been up the creek. For those who never saw the carnage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uymFkysEdWo
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