Forum: Oklahomatidbits.com General Forum (go)
Moderators:  /  David Smith Jr

I never would have imagined spending the 16th anniversary of my dad's death at the fairgrounds loading up "souvenirs" of our beloved home (SFS). This was a very difficult task though one I was thankful to be a part of.

It was definitely a strange feeling to see the track with grass grown all the way around the track. That put the real lump in my throat and then it just got worse from there.

Yes Erich some of the number plates were still on with the original steel rivets though were not going to be left behind to be thrown away. Just as the flag stand was cut down and taken to a good home so it would not be hauled off as scrap material.

Topping all this off a guy from Manchester, NY showed up about 7:15pm in the parking lot where we were reminiscing and talking. This man had come to watch the races as he did 2 or 3 times a year when he was sent to OKC for training through his job. He has done this for many years and very surprised when he showed up to see they were tearing the grandstands down. He was upset and felt he had nothing to look forward to any more when he was TDY to OKC. So this is where the lump in the throat turned to full fledge tears.

Farewell SFS, you will be missed, thanks for bringing the family together you did.

These stories from the dedicated souvenir crew are enormously sad.

Of course the cavalier weasels behind this grotesque waste of history and tradition (Clay Bennett, Ann Simank, Tim O'Toole, Mick Cornett) simply do not care. They'll be slapping each other on the back and sipping pricey imported adult beverages in their taxpayer-funded luxury boxes at tax-subsidized Thunder games while many of Central Oklahoma's taxpaying racing fans contiune to mourn the beautiful track we loved (and the 50+ years of REAL THUNDER we all enjoyed).

The hypocrisy is that a relatively few crumbs from Mick Cornett's bloated MAPS III table is all it would have taken to address all of the Speedway's trumped-up "defects" AND build a proper noise abatement berm on the 5/8th mile horse track. A noise berm should have been enough to shut up ANN SIMANK and the selfish minority of total losers who MOVED NEAR THE TRACK DECADES AFTER RACING BEGAN THERE AND COULDN'T STAND LESS THAN TWENTY HOURS OF ACTUAL RACING A YEAR!

Here's a newsflash for the anti-noise jackwagons: Even without 25 "nights" of racing, most of your ancient houses are still beat-down pieces of inner-city crap! (Sorry if you have to live next to one of these NIMBY poltroons or if you think I'm being too hard on the "10th and May" neighborhood groups that HAG Simank sold out the rest of Central Oklahomans to "protect," but ALLEGED NOISE, not ADA and not the phony electrical lies are what really drove the politics of destroying our Speedway)

Demolition Update: Monday, August 9 PM.

More of the lighting was down. A couple of the huge transformers at the heart of the phony "electrical problem" were sitting out at the motorcycle parking area.

Midwest managed to do what hundreds of weekly races failed to do -- mangle the guard rails from around the track into twisted pretzels. Usually when ODOT removes guardrails, they're fit for surplus sale (I've seen some farmers make fences out of old ODOT rail). But the unskilled Midwest vandals apparently don't know ODOT's "secret" for removing guard rails without destroying them. More senseless waste from too much haste.

The metal cladding on the South side of the grandstand had been breached so that more interior debris could be strewn about.

Correction: As of yesterday night, the blue metal folding-style chairs in the box seat sections had not been removed.

Is there anyway to check the original building plans to see if asbestos was used anywhere in the grandstands or any other part of the facilities?

I was licensed in asbestos abatement until a couple years ago.

I always wandered the same thing. To be honest when walking up the ramps there were fittings around many of the pipes that had crumbled - I couldn't help but think it probably wasnt asbestos - because if it was it would have been friable and a more severe liability to the fairgrounds than anything they could possibly pull out of their ass (like the electrical stuff). The time around which it was built kind of makes it a close candidate though - although asbestos was generally used far less post World War II.......when it could no longer be covered up what it was doing to everyone who worked with it so much - especially at the naval shipyards during the war.

Department of Labor is who presides over most of it.....its their inspectors who go around and check everything - thats who to call to find out........of course........thats if that hasnt been outsourced too along with most everything else these days........

How much would could a wouldchuck chuck if a 
wouldchuck could chuck would

I know the fence is down along the 1/2 mile. I went out this evening. The lights on the half mile are gone so is the scoreboard. The deck of lights that where on top of the grandstand are also gone. I did not go into the track but I thought the stange might have been gone as well.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands 
in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he 
stands at times of challenge and controversy." 
Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Erich Petersen 

I really think my days of going near it are done.

I quit going to the fair yrs ago, partly because of no racing during the fair,partly because I used to work for a co. that had a booth in the Made In Ok. bldg. . Do that 3 or 4 yrs in a row, you would be sick of the fair too.

All we can do now are reflect on the happy times.sad times, the thrills and enjoy the sense of camaraderie we as race fans have.

No mayoral committees, no city council meeting, no sportscaster-turned mayor or judge can take away the relationships I have because of racing.

It doesn't matter whether I am in Meeker, OK or Lawton,OK every week or Knoxville Iowa later this week. I will see & chat & have good times with people I met because of Fairgrounds Speedway.

If the fans of the Thunder,Redhawks or whatever the hockey team is called this week can say they have been watching their favorite sport in OKC for 40 yrs like I have,

then good for them. But I seriously doubt any of these 3 will be here 40 yrs from now.

People who don't follow racing ask me how I feel about The Speedway being destroyed.

Imagine being an OU football fan & Owen field being destroyed .If you're a golfer,imagine your favorite course where you shot a hole-in-one is now suddenly a trash dump. If you're a fisherman, imagine bein told,"Sorry ,this trophy bass lake is now a sewage lagoon".

That was the best summation I could come up with .

Hope everyone gets out & supports racing somewhere this weekend.We can't let this happen again.

Mitch

It feels like the slow execution of a good friend who did nothing wrong.

Boycott, your play by play antics are becoming sickening. We all knew the track was going away, and we do not need grime reminders as if where a Soap Opera. Bottom line is it's gone, get over it.

Maybe your Chronicles will make a good novel, but most all of us feel like it's a death of one of our family members and do not want to harp on it.

I appreciate your passion and concern, but lets all work together in bringing Dirt Track Racing back to OKC. Everybody seems to be so divided right now. A group effort is stronger than a single voice.

Uncle A, I agree that what's happening is sickening.

But I'm sorry . . . I can't just "get over it."

The mouthbreathing low-lifes that caused this want Fairgrounds Speedway to disappear quietly. They don't want anyone to notice. They want their "crime against history" to be soon forgotten.

So as much as I want to look away, I cannot. Each time I return to photograph the waste and destruction, it gets harder and harder. The weight of the City's injury against us becomes more difficult to bear each day.

We all deal with grief in various ways. Some want to rationalize it away. Some want to bury it. Some want to ignore it. And some of us have to face it head-on in brutal detail.

I understand those who now have to look away. But I cannot. I must stare into the face of this evil and burn its horrible details into my memory. And I sincerly feel that I cannot let this awful event just disappear without notice or comment.

Look at it this way, at least I've not posted the photographs.

As for a new track in OKC: The vague promise of an inferior substitute track somewhere in the boonies has always been a diversion. They used the false promise and the "puffing" to divide the racing community. That division is one of the things that helped the City get away with wasting a beloved public resource that would likely cost $25-$30 million to replace.

Think about it. If the City is so "broke" that they cannot afford to make minor repairs to Fairgrounds Speedway, how are they going to be able to do anything but make token contributions for a new track?

What did Bruton Smith spend for the dirt track at Texas Motor Speedway? As I recall, it was in the $12-$15 million range. And TMS already had the prime land, roads, parking and other support amenities on site.

Look at Bruton's Texas market. The six counties of the DFW metroplex alone have a larger population than the entire state of Oklahoma. So the "capture rate" to make dirt racing a success there is much smaller than it would be here.

Even with all these advantages, Bruton's dirt track grandstand is a cheap, quickie metal contraption. There's no canopy. I don't recall any concrete or brick in its construction.

The basic structure of Fairgrounds Speedway would have lasted as long as Rome's Colosseum. A cheap "erector set" grandstand (e.g. Lawton, Creek County) won't. Fairgrounds Speedway was a landmark. A small, remote, hastily-built substitute won't be.

But the larger problem is that just as the Thunder or the Redhawks or any other Oklahoma sports team cannot afford to build a stadium on its own dime, Oklahoma's racing community simply cannot pay for a facility even half as good as Fairgrounds Speedway was. That's the cold, hard, sickening economic reality.

Will dirt racing ever return to OKC? Not to the "real" OKC. Maybe it will come back to an outlying area of the City (Distant land that should have never been annexed into OKC in the first place and that isn't really a genuine part of the City). There will never be a "stage" as grand or wonderful for dirt racing as Fairgrounds Speedway was.

And there is ZERO CHANCE that any replacement facility will have the quality and the impact of what has been ripped from us.

If there is anyone who could "write the big check" to build a replacement speedway, I would strongly recommmend that it NOT be within the city limits of OKC. As we now know, the City government simply cannot be trusted. And anyone who does trust them is a fool beyond help.

Oklahoma City no longer deserves the honor and privilege of dirt racing. While Central Oklahoma needs a showplace track to serve the fans and elevate the fortunes of the sport, that track should NEVER be built within the corporate limits of Oklahoma City.

An accurate (but saddening) "sitrep."

They didn't even try to salvage the fence. It's just in a twisted pile. Such waste is appalling.

The wall that stopped so many errant race cars is in huge, broken chunks (I still wonder where the concrete and bricks are going . . . I'd like to salvage some of it)

They were breaking up the stage with a couple of grotesque Komatsu demoliton machines yesterday evening.

Somebody finally removed the lighted Toyota sign from the where they used to have the Tundra parked on the front approach ramp. I guess O'Toole or one of the OSF brainiacs finally realized that it was in all the photos and made it appear that Toyota was sponsoring this mess.

(Actually, by doing nothing to help us and by subsidizing current Fairgrounds operations, Toyota IS a de facto sponsor of the demolition. Make your buying decisions accordingly)

I'm glad the Toyota sign is gone. It took everything within me not to take out my growing frustrations on it. It was a constant reminder of the Skip Wagner/Tim O'Toole mismanagement of the Speedway. And it always was a tasteless defacement to a facility constructed through the hard work and sacrifice of WWII vets and which featured a half-century of American automobile racing.

August 12: A veritable platoon from Delta Environmental is on-site today, apparently for remediation of an environmental hazard in the office area. Asbestos lawyers are probably already looking for clients . . . .

The Midwest Vandals have hauled away almost all of the stage and wall. The unnecessarily mangled guardrails have been hauled away somewhere (I still don't know where they're taking all the concrete and other ruined debris) All remaining signs are down. Salvage efforts appear to be over.

The City/OSF's portion of the salvage effort was always a joke. For example, a couple of large piles of twisted filing cabinets and office furniture show that the manifestly incompetent hatchetman running the OSF, Tim O'Toole, couldn't be bothered with following the city council resolution to save whatever could be used at a new track . . . .

(That was just another lie, anyway. . . they've got no intention to ever build another speedway . . . the vermin who really run the City cannot understand why anyone would want to see dirt racing in the 21st Century. And they (erroneously) think that "redneck" spectacles on dirt are contrary to their collective fantasy that OKC is a "major league city." Besides, nobody in Gaillardia or Nichols Hills runs a sprint car).

At least they could have sold this office equipment to a used dealer or at auction. BUT NO! In their haste, laziness, and incompetence, they destroyed them. It's emblematic of the senseless waste that marks this infamous breach of the public trust.

Hey Boycott, who are you?

"They're steering them sum bi***es with their right 
foot!"

Fan I would like to know as well.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands 
in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he 
stands at times of challenge and controversy." 
Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Erich Petersen 

All I can say is "enjoy the ride" if you care to read it. Maybe he/she will post who they are after all is said and done - or maybe not.

This is just my opinion, I don't mind what is being posted and read it as I can. Ole Skippy is the one who put the nails on all sides of the coffin and O'Toole and Micky got the sledge hammer and is now ponding. I think that they used somebody else until this came to an end but I will keep my thoughts quiet on that.

I meant what I said about nobody supporting the State Fair or any part of the once "fairgrounds" facility, except when it comes to Greg Deatherage and his Oklahoma City Racers Trade Show and Auction - which is already booked for 2011.

You can ask Tillison and other NCRA modfied south regulars what their thoughts are on Route 66 Motor Speedway in Amarillo. As Tilly told me (and others) "this is exactly what OKC needs. And I truely think we could get those casual race fans and other people who just went to the races to "hang out" as well. It isn't Lucas Oil but it isn't average either.

Sorry for highjacking the thread - carry on!

David Smith Jr.
www.oklahomatidbits.com

mossomet of the concrete and stuff is going to sw 15 mcarthur along the river midwest owns the property some going to sw 21 west of meridian turn right atwindom motelall the way to dead end

Have they torn up the stage yet? Just wondering if they discovered the tunnel that runs under the stage to the grandstands.

Mike

As a matter of integrity, I must disagree with many of you that I have nothing but the highest respect for. David, Jeff, Allen, you guys are great and always look forward to each talk with each of you.

But I think what boycott doing is INDEED important. For a dozen reasons. This final chapter needs to be recorded.

It is the end, my only friend, the end.
It hurts to set you free, but you'll never follow me.
The End of laughter- and soft cries
The end of nights we tried to die
THIS IS THE EEEEEEND - Jim Morrison/The Doors

Boycott, I believe it is important you keep doing exactly what you are doing. take every picture, get every angle, pluck each word and charge it to their ass! I myself at times do not want to read your postings - but at the same time - I believe it is important for you to record what is happening. You need to be the 1 man to record everything it should have been - for everyone that should have been there. The material will be absolutely priceless - but yet be used many times over both locally and nationally.

So whereas I may or may not read your updates (much pends on me mood) - I think it's excruciatingly important for you to not just continue - but to try at it harder. read em or not - it's info and pictures that need to at least EXIST. Keep on Boycott - I personally commend your efforts.

How much would could a wouldchuck chuck if a 
wouldchuck could chuck would

Stage was being torn upTues.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands 
in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he 
stands at times of challenge and controversy." 
Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Erich Petersen 

I agree with ya Cody. I was just wondering who he/she is. Any fan of that place is a friend of mine. Hell, I drive by everyday to check on progress trying to burn that place in my mind before it is completely gone. No qualms here with Boycott.

"They're steering them sum bi***es with their right 
foot!"