New owners have big plans for Myrtle Beach Speedway
The soon-to-be new owners of Myrtle Beach Speedway are hoping that improvements on the track and the addition of a new program that allows fans to drive a stock car will lure new fans and bigger races to the area.
Speedway Group Inc. - which consists of Leonard Ray Watts, owner of Apex Homes, Inc., based in Cornelius, N.C.; Bob Lutz, president and CEO of the NASCAR Racing Experience in Concord, N.C.; and Marshall Biddle, president of the Biddle Law Firm in Carolina Forest - has a contract to purchase the speedway, located just off U.S. 501 near the Tanger Outlets, and the estimated 48-acre property from co-owners Nick Lucas and Billy Hardee.
The group is hoping to take advantage of Myrtle Beachs tourism market and the tracks rich NASCAR history to propel the speedway into a must-see attraction as it was back in the 1980s and 90s.
We want to be one of those destination tracks, Watts said. Itll be a good shot in the arm economically for the area.
One of the many highlights of the deal will bring NASCAR Racing Experience to the speedway. The Racing Experience allows fans to drive an authentic stock car formerly driven by one of their NASCAR heroes.
Theres a lot we can do with the facility, Lutz said. Itll surprise a lot of people.
There are plans to make several upgrades to the facility - Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barriers, new fencing, and the possibility of repaving the track - in an effort to draw more fans, drivers and possibly some of the top series in NASCAR.
Theres quite a bit that has to be done, Watts said. I think its going to cost a good bit of money. Were committed to getting after it.
It also means the end of an era for Lucas and Hardee. Lucas bought the speedway in 1968 and had the dirt track paved in 1974. Lucas brought on Hardee as a co-owner in 1987.
We had some good times and some bad times, Lucas said. I met some of the finest people in the world with the racing folks. But time goes along and you start getting that gray hair and its time to let somebody else handle it ... who has the time and has the money. Its been an experience.
Key players
Speedway Group Inc. has a licensing and leasing agreement until the close of the sale which is expected April 1, Watts said.
While the terms of the deal have not been made available, the new ownership group credits former Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer with making it happen. Watts said Bauer helped broker the deal.
He wants to bring economic development to this area, Watts said. He is all about trying to bring tourism dollars to the area. He deserves a lot of credit for this.
Bauer, a candidate for the 7th Congressional seat, is a lifelong racing fan and attends several races a year. Last year his campaign sponsored a car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Darlington Raceway.
Bauer said he got more involved in NASCAR several years ago when he was serving as lieutenant governor, in part because of how much money it spends with the state.
Its a huge deal, Bauer said. What its going to do is provide a great source of entertainment and elevate us as far as NASCAR. Its going to mean millions of dollars for this community. This will bring jobs and this will bring investments. Thats what Myrtle Beach needs.
Bauer said he introduced Watts and Lutz at a dinner and that they put together a great concept.
I went out to the track with them [last week], Bauer said. This is going to be a fun place to go. They have two guys who are willing to spend money and do it right.
Watts also has racing is in his blood. His father, Gary, raced stock cars in South Carolina and North Carolina before NASCAR started, Watts said.
I spent a lot of Friday and Saturday nights on a racetrack, he said.
Watts, a real estate developer, said he has developed homes in such Myrtle Beach area subdivisions in the Myrtle Beach area as Myrtle Woods, Cypress Bay and Azalea Lakes among others.
Lutz founded the Richard Petty Experience before selling it in 1998. A noncompete agreement kept him out of stock car racing schools for five years. But during that time he started the open-wheel Mario Andretti Racing School at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Lutz then founded the Jeff Gordon Racing School in 2005. When Lutz and Gordon were both pursuing race careers in the late 1980s, they were roommates in North Carolina.
In 2009, the former Jeff Gordon Racing School was rebranded into the NASCAR Racing Experience.
Its amazing. Bob doesnt do anything half way, Bauer said. This is a great opportunity for him. Bob is a marketing genius. He has done very well.
Bauer hopes that many NASCAR drivers will come to Myrtle Beach as the Racing Experience gets started and the upgrades are made to the facility.
Every one of the drivers knows Bob on a first name basis, Bauer said. I think you will see a lot of celebrities here.
Aiming high
Part of the plan is to bring top-level racing back to Myrtle Beach. Watts said he and Lutz spoke this week to Robin Pemberton, vice president for competition of NASCAR, about the new track ownership.
He is wildly excited about Myrtle Beach being a destination, Watts said. Hes excited about the potential. It could bring a lot of money here. We will not be able to get in all in the next year. The bigger races will be next year, if we can. We still have some hurdles, for sure.
The last NASCAR upper-tier race was the Busch Series race in 2000.
But to bring a huge race to Myrtle Beach - whether its a NASCAR Craftsman Truck race or an ARCA Series race - significant upgrades will need to be made to the track and the facility. SAFER barriers and new fencing around the track will need to be in place before a top series will return here. Upgrades will need to made to the bleachers, luxury boxes and infield technology center. The new owners also are determining how much it will cost to have the track repaved.
The improvements to the track are on the top of the list, Lutz said. All of this is happening fast.
Grass roots
The new owners stressed that while they are looking to new ways to lure fans to the track, that their No. 1 goal is revitalize the weekly series that races from April to November.
Car counts in the five series at the track have dwindled in recent years. In 2011, the NASCAR All-American Whelan Late Model Series, the top series at the track, was forced to run with the Limited Late Model class in an effort to have car counts in double digits.
Biddle said the new ownership plans to increase the size of the purse for the drivers, make transponders available to help teams track lap times, and streamline the communication between the drivers and track officials.
We want the drivers and the teams to have a voice, Biddle said. We dont want to add another level of bureaucracy.
And despite all of the renovations and upgrades that are expected, new ownership isnt expecting any major changes in prices for fans to attend.
Its going to be a price point that families will be able to afford, Lutz said. So many of the shows that exist in Myrtle Beach are so pricey. They are over $100, $125, $150 for a family. We need to be in the range of $35 to $40 for family.
The season is expected to start during the middle of April.
Looking back
The speedway opened as Rambi Raceway and as a dirt track in 1958. Lucas bought the track in 1968.
From what I understand it was closed for four years before that, Lucas said. I had never even attended a race. So you know Im crazy.
Lucas had the track paved in 1974 during a renovation project. Hardee became a co-owner in 1987 and was the more visible owner at the speedway for the last decade.
The track has plenty of history with drivers with the last names of Earnhardt, Jarrett and Petty among others turning laps at the .538-mile semibanked oval.
In the early 80s I could call up Bobby Allison and make a deal that hed come run, or Richard Petty and Cale Yarbrough and it didnt cost an arm and leg to get them there, Lucas said.
Myrtle Beach Speedway hosted the NASCAR Busch Series races - now the Nationwide Series - until 2000. More than 15,000 fans jammed into the speedway areas for the annual race.
At first the Busch Series was great, but then we had to fill the stands to make a purse, Lucas said. It got to be too much.
But even during the tough economic times in the last 10 years, Hardee and Lucas kept the track open and allowed local drivers to show off their talents.
They kept that track going when I dont think anyone else would have, Biddle said. I told both of them they are welcome at that track anytime and they never have to buy a ticket. They are ready to let the new guard take over and move on.
updated by @stars-radio: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
