Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Phil Parsons, ARCA Youth Initiative, New Grandstands Headline
Annual Press Luncheon at Toledo Speedway
(TOLEDO, Ohio) - Over a span of 30 minutes in which he answered numerous questions relating to the business of racing and his personal memories, SPEED television commentator and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car owner Phil Parsons gave guests at Toledo Speedway a terrific glimpse into the best of racing's past, present, and future.
Parsons was the featured guest speaker today at the annual ARCA, Toledo Speedway, and Flat Rock Speedway press conference and luncheon, held at the Toledo Speedway Bar & Grille.
"It's a little bit surreal being here," he said upon taking the podium, "because all I ever wanted to do was come to races and as long as I can remember, I came to races here at Toledo Speedway and at Flat Rock because of my family. I've really been blessed to be a part of the sport and to be involved locally, because that's all I ever wanted to do."
Born and raised in Detroit, Parsons made regular trips down the interstate to Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways in his youth, setting the foundation for a career in which he won races in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards (in 1980 at North Wilkesboro, N.C.), the NASCAR Nationwide Series (twice), and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (1988 at Talladega, Ala.).
Parsons' earliest influence in racing came first from his father, and then his late brother Benny, the 1968 and 1969 ARCA champion and 1973 NASCAR champion.
"My dad was a huge race fan, and he preceded Benny in being in racing, because all of my dad's friends were racers," Parsons said. "We had a gas station back in Detroit, at 6 Mile and Woodward, and all the racers would come by. Someone came by one day and said, 'We're going to an ARCA new car race in Ohio.' That's what we called it, the new car race. That was in 1960, and Benny jumped into the car. He'd been going to them ever since, up until to his passing in 2007. By extension, that's all I've ever done: go to the races. I can remember coming down I-75 and seeing clouds in the sky, and saying, 'Please, don't let it rain.'"
In recalling his childhood days at the race tracks, Parsons remembered being too young to enter the garage. That memory contrasted well with an earlier presentation at the press conference, in which ARCA president and CEO Ron Drager talked about ARCA's youth driving initiative, which will allow more young drivers to develop under the ARCA banner.
Drager had opened the press conference with a recollection of ARCA's history and further information on ARCA's 60th Anniversary Season celebration, and then highlighted the fact that drivers as young as 14 can compete this year in ARCA-sanctioned races - a new mark for youths. As part of a new partnership between ARCA and the Champion Racing Association, 14-year-old drivers will be allowed to compete in the ARCA CRA Super Series. Likewise, 15-year-old drivers will compete in several weekly divisions at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
Drager even introduced Toledo driver Austin Nemire, who will turn 13 in May and currently races in the regional USAC Ford Focus Midget Series. The local seventh-grader spoke briefly, saying one of his aspirations is to develop his career to the point where he can race in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.
Said Parsons, in reaction: "I really like the youth initiative. I'm really happy that the youth movement is upon us and ARCA is embracing it."
Drager also highlighted the new grandstands being installed at Toledo Speedway. The track is currently using local labor help to install structures which previously stood at Michigan International Speedway. Above-ground steel work began this week, giving track visitors a solid visual of what's to come at the Toledo half-mile.
Drager looks forward to the project's completion, and feels that the new grandstands - one of the top capital improvements since his and Roy Mott's 1999 purchase of the race track - will only continue positive momentum for ARCA and Toledo Speedway.
"We're very proud of that," he said. "We feel that's state-of-the-art and where we need to be with the quality of the facility. We're going to continue our trend of challenging ourselves to be one of the top sporting events in the city of Toledo on any given day. In the projects we do here, we make every effort to use local businesses and the local labor force. We're in the city limits of Toledo, Ohio. We believe we're a part of the city, and we believe in the city, and we're going to continue to invest in the city of Toledo by investing in our facility."
He continued, discussing more positive momentum for the companies.
"The last time that we could see an upward trend in business from one season to the next was from 2006 to 2007," he said. "Since then, we've seen our numbers either flat or down. Now, we're seeing that from 2011 to '12, our numbers are up. We're using hard numbers to benchmark that.
"We're tracking and trending the first quarter, and I've got to tell you that it's very encouraging. We feel good with where we're at and where we're going. We believe in the sport of auto racing, and we will continue to invest in the sport of auto racing."
Scott Schultz, the general manager of Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways, released the year's schedules and highlighted the participation of the companies which will sponsor each weekly racing division at Toledo and Flat Rock, including: Allegiant Travel (Gold Cup Series); Moran Chevrolet (Late models, Flat Rock); Parts Galore (Figure 8, both tracks); Acme Dismantling (Sportsman, Toledo); DTS Drive Train Specialists (Street stocks, Flat Rock); and R&M Recycling (Street stocks, Toledo).
Among other top announcements Schultz made were that Flat Rock will celebrate 50 years of Figure 8 racing this season, and most notably on May 12 at the track. BCSN will televise 10 events this season as part of its Sunday Night at the Races program: April 29 (Toledo), May 4 (Toledo), May 11 (Toledo), June 15 (Toledo), June 23 (Flat Rock), June 29 (Toledo), July 6 (Toledo), July 28 (Flat Rock), August 17 (Toledo), and September 29 (Toledo).
The full race schedules are available at ToledoSpeedway.com, FlatRockSpeedway.com, and ARCARacing.com.
Mark Gundrum, vice president of corporate partnerships and business development for ARCA, spoke on behalf of similar initiatives, saying that Maumee-based CGS Imaging has extended an agreement to work with ARCA as an official sponsor through 2014. CGS will work to enhance the overall appearance of the two tracks and continue to be a sponsor in the ARCA Racing Series.
Northwest Ohio Beverage and the Miller Brewing Company have signed a three-year agreement as the Official Beer of the tracks, promoting the Miller and Miller Lite brands. The Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group and 7UP Bottling of Toledo have signed a five-year agreement as the Official Soft Drink of Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways. Cumulus Toledo, one of ARCA's top media partners, will remain the primary media sponsor for the Summer Racing Series at Toledo Speedway.
Gundrum also announced Menards' return as title sponsor of Sunday, May 20's Menards 200, the year's lone ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards event at Toledo Speedway. The Wisconsin-based home improvement retailer also acts as a co-primary car sponsor for driver Frank Kimmel in the ARCA Racing Series, as well as the series' presenting sponsor.
The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season. This year, the series visited Alabama's Mobile International Speedway for the first time. In June, the first event at Minnesota's Elko Speedway will give ARCA a race in a 29th state.
Founded by John and Mildred Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in three professional touring series and local weekly events.
CONTACT:
Griffin Hickman, ARCA
(419) 574-2685 (mobile)
ghickman@arcaracing.com
Don Radebaugh, ARCA
(419) 450-0611 (mobile)
dradebaugh@arcaracing.com
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