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Legal go-round over track settled
County Fair Board to take over operation of Wilmot Raceway BY DENEEN SMITH
[email protected]
WILMOT — The Kenosha County Fair Board is taking over operations of the racetrack at the fairgrounds after a legal dispute with the previous operator.
Fair Board President Randall Rossi said the previous operator’s lease on the track expired in January. The board opted not to renew the lease.
Instead, the association will take over promotion of the track for the 2009 racing season, changing its name to the Wilmot Raceway.
“We just needed to go in a different direction,” Rossi said.
He said the fair board is still working out legal issues with the previous operator, Local Motion Entertainment, but declined to talk about the details of the dispute. He said the previous operator is maintaining the name Wilmot Speedway.
According to court records, the fair board filed an eviction complaint against Local Motion Entertainment of Antioch, Ill., along with Gary Brown and Michael Simons, in January. The case was scheduled to go before a judge for an eviction hearing March 12, but the case was settled two days before the hearing.
Local Motion Entertainment could not be reached for comment.
The fair association owns the dirt racetrack at the fairgrounds, and has for many years leased the track to an operator. In recent years, Rossi said, the fair board has hired a separate promoter to operate the track during the county fair, while the track tenant has run the track and the racing events the rest of the season.
Under the new plan, which is still being finalized, Rossi said, the fair association will take over promotion of the raceway and handle concessions at the track. In the future, Rossi said, the fair association may hire a promoter to handle the track operations.
This season’s racing schedule has yet to be finalized, Rossi said.
But according to a statement from the board, the season will include the “Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series,” Badger Midget Auto Racing Association events, and the Midwest Enduro Series. The season will also include traditional Wilmot racing classes such as mini-sprints and street stocks.
The “grand re-opening” of the track will be in mid-May.
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