Sunny South Raceway already has started its racing season. Mobile International Speedway will hold its first local races on Friday night in conjunction with Mosquito Patch Pole Night for the ARCA Mobile 200 . Five Flags Speedway starts racing on March 28. But Deep South Speedway doesn't have a 2014 race schedule yet.
Michael Darby, whose family owns the Loxley dirt track, said no one has leased the facility to operate it for the 2014 season.
"We're still looking for that right person," Darby said.
The "right person" will be someone interested in sticking with the track to re-establish it on the regional racing scene, Darby said.
"We've leased it with probably four or five different names over the last few years," Darby said, "and it's just not doing any good. Somebody needs to get the racetrack and keep it for 10 years, or at least five years. Somebody that wants to do racing. That's it, plain and simple. Somebody that wants a racetrack, not just tries to make a dollar off it. Somebody who has a little passion for the place."
Although Deep South is "in the middle of the woods," Darby said the track's "perfect" location on Alabama Highway 59 between Interstates 10 and 65 should keep it viable.
"I know they didn't make much money (last year)," Darby said. "But it's more of a five-year plan than a one-year plan. The car counts were down. It's a different time. The first four years I ran it, and we averaged about 85 cars, and they were lucky to average 40 cars last year. That's a big difference."
Anyone interested in leasing Deep South Speedway should contact Max Childress at SouthPoint Real Estate at 251-945-5050, Darby said.
"I hate to see it sitting and not be racing," Darby said. "Somebody could come along and still get it, but right now we don't have anybody to lease it."
