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Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
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Topic: "after he sold Manzanita Speedway"
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BIGFISH
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January 09, 2010 at 12:03:56 PM
Joined: 01/02/2007
Posts: 5252
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This message was edited on January 09, 2010 at 12:07:25 PM by BIGFISH

This is in the Feb 2010 issue of flat out magazine and posted in the forum section at...http://www.abcmotorsports.com/

It's rare and generally frowned upon in the Hall of Fame community but the Arizona Motorsports Hall of Fame took the extraordinary step to expel Mel Martin from their ranks after he sold Manzanita Speedway to developers. In a letter to Martin from the eight member comittee, Martin was accused of "turning you back on the fans, car owners, sponsors, drivers and others involved in the sport and therefore we take this action to keep this Hall of Fame for persons dedicated to the sport. We further feel that your actions this year far outweighs the things you did for the sport in the early years." Adding a final insult, in the paragraph , Martin was asked to return his induction plaque.


Half the lies they tell about me aren't true. 

filtalr
January 09, 2010 at 12:26:38 PM
Joined: 01/06/2005
Posts: 1872
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LOL!! excellent!!


Phil Taylor

home-theater-systems-advice.com


jeff24
January 09, 2010 at 04:56:45 PM
Joined: 11/18/2007
Posts: 464
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Can't agree with this one. Even if the guy is a multi-milliionaire, it is his business what he does with his property. Would all of us have said, "he11 with the money, I'm keeping racing alive at Manzy. Only exception I could see is if he had bought the track a year or two ago, promised to keep it open and then sold it for a huge profit or if he is on record lying about what happened (or something similar).


Adding $6 trillion of debt in his 1st term and now if 
elected again he wouldn't have to worry about an 
electorate in 2016 so the sky is the limit.And his EPA 
would continue to put the screws to oil drilling and 
mining for coal.Can you say bankruptcy.

IBRACN
MyWebsite
January 09, 2010 at 05:09:00 PM
Joined: 11/26/2004
Posts: 1001
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A plaque or millions of dollars.....I choose the millions of dollars he got for selling the property. It is B.S. that they are kicking him out of the hall of fame for doing something that EVERYONE on this message board and on that committee would have done if in his shoes. What was it, 11 million for that property......I'm sure he isn't to upset.


www.ibracn.com
#PaulsToTheWall
GO SAMMY!

cshuman
January 09, 2010 at 06:41:31 PM
Joined: 10/31/2009
Posts: 29
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Reply to:
Posted By: jeff24 on January 09 2010 at 04:56:45 PM

Can't agree with this one. Even if the guy is a multi-milliionaire, it is his business what he does with his property. Would all of us have said, "he11 with the money, I'm keeping racing alive at Manzy. Only exception I could see is if he had bought the track a year or two ago, promised to keep it open and then sold it for a huge profit or if he is on record lying about what happened (or something similar).



That is exactly what happened Jeff.. It was sold to him, at a very discounted price on the basis that he would keep the track and racing alive in the valley. Then a couple short years later, he sold, for a HUGE profit, and what really struck a nerve in the Valley is he never let anyone know it was for sale or gave someone an opportunity to buy it and keep it a race track. There are some pretty strong allegations that he stepped in and stopped some last minute negotiations with the new owner to keep the track alive and work some sort of land swap.



cheroger
January 09, 2010 at 06:57:25 PM
Joined: 11/30/2004
Posts: 1022
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I flew in and out of Phoenix last December, after the season would have ended and from what I saw from the air, they could have made the season. There was only a few pieces of rigging equipment and the track looked in tact. I find it very hard to believe that he could not have sold the property with the condition that the 2009 season be completed as planned. In my opinion The Arizona Hall of Fame acted properly. The damage caused by the early closing had a price tag that would surprise everyone. Local hotels, restaurants, service stations, airlines, rental car company's etc suffered huge loses because of special events being cancelled. City, county, state taxes suffered. And the racing community? All the money spent, just to run Manzy and now spending more to run other tracks and the travel to and from. Area suppliers of racing equipment and parts and fuel took a big hit. And the local sponsors that are so difficult to get on board these days? They also got the shaft. Mr. Martin belongs in the "Hall of Shame"

Maybe any of us would have sold out for Millions of dollars profit, however I bet most of us would have given a more reasonable time-line to closure and finished the season.



BIGFISH
MyWebsite
January 09, 2010 at 07:02:43 PM
Joined: 01/02/2007
Posts: 5252
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This message was edited on January 09, 2010 at 07:35:34 PM by BIGFISH

"promised to keep it open and then sold it for a huge profit or if he is on record lying about what happened (or something similar)."

He got it for a spit because he was Mel Martin, a longstanding member of our community and would keep it open... He only had it a few years... He sold it out the back door in secret, without giving anyone in the community a warning, or a opportunity to make a offer.

He said in Sprint car and Midget magazine the reason he sold it was "to save his family"... Yes, he was fighting with Bobby about how to run the place, but why the timing, and why in secret?

If you knew the truth about this sale, and how it was done in a way that seemed to have been purposely done so that would hurt everyone in the community as much as possible, you just might get it.

No one has ever said it was not his right to sell it, but the way it was done was not only wrong, it went against the trust that was given to him by the former owners, and everyone in our community.

Kenny


Half the lies they tell about me aren't true. 

nowingsallballs
January 09, 2010 at 08:03:10 PM
Joined: 10/18/2007
Posts: 608
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Hilarious!! Yeah, Martin still has his cash, but that has got to sting. I hope he is humiliated. And to hear the track is basically still intact..what a sad, sad result. IBRACN, you take awesome pictures, but, lets hope you don't get the chance to own a track.

Sean,

Tucson


!!SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL TRACKS!!
!!Get Well Shane!! 

Krysl56k
MyWebsite
January 09, 2010 at 09:04:53 PM
Joined: 08/06/2009
Posts: 171
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: BIGFISH on January 09 2010 at 12:03:56 PM

This is in the Feb 2010 issue of flat out magazine and posted in the forum section at...http://www.abcmotorsports.com/

It's rare and generally frowned upon in the Hall of Fame community but the Arizona Motorsports Hall of Fame took the extraordinary step to expel Mel Martin from their ranks after he sold Manzanita Speedway to developers. In a letter to Martin from the eight member comittee, Martin was accused of "turning you back on the fans, car owners, sponsors, drivers and others involved in the sport and therefore we take this action to keep this Hall of Fame for persons dedicated to the sport. We further feel that your actions this year far outweighs the things you did for the sport in the early years." Adding a final insult, in the paragraph , Martin was asked to return his induction plaque.



NICE!!!! he should have never did that. thats like a slap in the face to the sport. like selling your soul to the devil. i just cant believe he had such a beautiful trakk and facility and he sold it. he should have had alot more pride in what he had.
I'd rather be in Knoxville.

jeff24
January 09, 2010 at 09:09:57 PM
Joined: 11/18/2007
Posts: 464
Reply

I'm up here in the frigid North country where it was 34 below in Bismarck Thursday nite and 21 below here in Fargo, anywho, I'm far from "where it happened" (Phoenix/Manzinita). I hope we get some more responses from people "in the know" and then maybe the AZ Motorsports Hall of Fame did the right thing, but that is a lot of money to turn down, no matter what the circumstances. I hope there wasn't the deceit claimed here but even if there was deceit on the owners part, that's a bucket of money dangling like a farmer dangles a carrot in front of a horse.


Adding $6 trillion of debt in his 1st term and now if 
elected again he wouldn't have to worry about an 
electorate in 2016 so the sky is the limit.And his EPA 
would continue to put the screws to oil drilling and 
mining for coal.Can you say bankruptcy.

watkinsgrady
January 09, 2010 at 10:18:36 PM
Joined: 12/05/2004
Posts: 856
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: jeff24 on January 09 2010 at 09:09:57 PM

I'm up here in the frigid North country where it was 34 below in Bismarck Thursday nite and 21 below here in Fargo, anywho, I'm far from "where it happened" (Phoenix/Manzinita). I hope we get some more responses from people "in the know" and then maybe the AZ Motorsports Hall of Fame did the right thing, but that is a lot of money to turn down, no matter what the circumstances. I hope there wasn't the deceit claimed here but even if there was deceit on the owners part, that's a bucket of money dangling like a farmer dangles a carrot in front of a horse.



jeff

I donn't have a timeline but here are a few of the details about this deal,

1. Keith Hall owned and operated this track for a number of years

2. Mr. Hall had some financial problems and this property was acquired by {Kimbro}

3. Mr. Hall continued to operate the track now with a partner {Kimbro}

4. Kimbro went to court to have Mr. Hall removed from the track

5. Kimbro operated the track for a couple of years then sold it to the Martins

6. Martins bought the property next door, numbers for these two purchases reported to be 5 million

6. Martins made investments in the track of around 400 grand

7. Martns lost around 300 grand during the time they operated it

8. An offer to purchase was recieved by the Martins for a reported 13.8 million, the offer was excepted.

While this is not all the personal details that happend to the Martins during this time it should reflect an account of what took place, I don't know if it is the proper thing to do to remove Mr. Martin from the Hall of fame or not. If it makes the powers to be at the Hall of Fame feel better then fine, my point would be that over time most property value changes for whatever reason and if this property has more value as a yard for cranes there is nothing I can do about it. There have been people that said this property was not offered to "the racing community" if there is anyone that has that kind of money in the racing community then why don't they buy some property in the Phoenix area and build a new facility. I will tell you it could be done for less than 14 million and have a state of art track.

Grady

 

 

 


. 

IBRACN
MyWebsite
January 09, 2010 at 10:40:13 PM
Joined: 11/26/2004
Posts: 1001
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Reply to:
Posted By: nowingsallballs on January 09 2010 at 08:03:10 PM

Hilarious!! Yeah, Martin still has his cash, but that has got to sting. I hope he is humiliated. And to hear the track is basically still intact..what a sad, sad result. IBRACN, you take awesome pictures, but, lets hope you don't get the chance to own a track.

Sean,

Tucson



I appreciate the props for the photos but I guarantee that if I offered you 5 million dollars for the very house you live in, you would do it in a heartbeat. This man was offered about $14 million for a piece of land that he paid about $5 million for that lost money on a regular basis and you question this. Give me a break......you can't tell me you wouldn't have done the same.


www.ibracn.com
#PaulsToTheWall
GO SAMMY!

BLUTEAM
January 09, 2010 at 11:49:40 PM
Joined: 02/12/2005
Posts: 680
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Reply to:
Posted By: IBRACN on January 09 2010 at 10:40:13 PM

I appreciate the props for the photos but I guarantee that if I offered you 5 million dollars for the very house you live in, you would do it in a heartbeat. This man was offered about $14 million for a piece of land that he paid about $5 million for that lost money on a regular basis and you question this. Give me a break......you can't tell me you wouldn't have done the same.



I don'tthink anyone could argue it was his property to do with what he pleases, and yes, money rules most decisions.

The problem I see is a guy being inducted into a Hall of Fame without a prerequisite being a lifetime of dedication to the sport. He's free to do with his property what he wants. But the sale of that staple of motorsports for a storage yard, land development, or gravel pit is hardly worthy of Hall of Fame accolades.

By his own admission he couldn't make a go of it at Manzanita in a short time span. Why was he in the Hall of Fame to begin with? Maybe I'm missing something.


The greatest knowledge is to know that you know nothing
at all.

BIGFISH
MyWebsite
January 09, 2010 at 11:55:57 PM
Joined: 01/02/2007
Posts: 5252
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This message was edited on January 10, 2010 at 12:11:10 AM by BIGFISH
Reply to:
Posted By: IBRACN on January 09 2010 at 10:40:13 PM

I appreciate the props for the photos but I guarantee that if I offered you 5 million dollars for the very house you live in, you would do it in a heartbeat. This man was offered about $14 million for a piece of land that he paid about $5 million for that lost money on a regular basis and you question this. Give me a break......you can't tell me you wouldn't have done the same.



"he paid about $5 million for" read it again... That number was what Grady say's Mel paid for the Junk yard, and another piece of property that was adjacent to the track, not what he bought Manzy for. If your going to agree with #'s that have mostly been pulled out of a hat, and slanted to look a certain way, at least get them straight.Are You There?


Half the lies they tell about me aren't true. 

BIGFISH
MyWebsite
January 10, 2010 at 12:10:34 AM
Joined: 01/02/2007
Posts: 5252
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This message was edited on January 10, 2010 at 12:13:35 AM by BIGFISH

"Why was he in the Hall of Fame to begin with? Maybe I'm missing something."

Mel and his brother had been promoting racing for decades in Arizona, and everyone was glad to see him and his son Bobby who also raced at Manzy acquire the track. In short, he was well respected and trusted as a steward for the track. The fact that he had been making huge improvements to the facilities up to the time it was sold out the back door had everyone thinking he was the right man to have stewardship of this historic race track.

To just give you a idea how long Mel and his brother Don, and later Mel's son Bobby had been involved in the racing scene in AZ, this is a program (below) that Mel promoted ( you can see his name, top right hand corner) that I went to at 14 years of age. You do the math..LOL

BobbyBallFairgrounds.jpg LAST RACE picture by grouper01


Half the lies they tell about me aren't true. 

BLUTEAM
January 10, 2010 at 12:14:10 AM
Joined: 02/12/2005
Posts: 680
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: BIGFISH on January 10 2010 at 12:10:34 AM

"Why was he in the Hall of Fame to begin with? Maybe I'm missing something."

Mel and his brother had been promoting racing for decades in Arizona, and everyone was glad to see him and his son Bobby who also raced at Manzy acquire the track. In short, he was well respected and trusted as a steward for the track. The fact that he had been making huge improvements to the facilities up to the time it was sold out the back door had everyone thinking he was the right man to have stewardship of this historic race track.

To just give you a idea how long Mel and his brother Don, and later Mel's son Bobby had been involved in the racing scene in AZ, this is a program (below) that Mel promoted ( you can see his name, top right hand corner) that I went to at 14 years of age. You do the math..LOL

BobbyBallFairgrounds.jpg LAST RACE picture by grouper01



That does cast a new light on the subject then huh.



The greatest knowledge is to know that you know nothing
at all.

BIGFISH
MyWebsite
January 10, 2010 at 12:23:04 AM
Joined: 01/02/2007
Posts: 5252
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This message was edited on January 10, 2010 at 12:25:03 AM by BIGFISH
Reply to:
Posted By: BLUTEAM on January 10 2010 at 12:14:10 AM

That does cast a new light on the subject then huh.




And so does the fact that he bought the surrounding property that was supposed to be for haulers, R V's, and Camping. It was too, for one race.


Half the lies they tell about me aren't true. 

cheroger
January 10, 2010 at 09:24:28 AM
Joined: 11/30/2004
Posts: 1022
Reply

It would be interesting to hear what Windy McDonald's thoughts are. Has he ever made a public statement?



BIGFISH
MyWebsite
January 10, 2010 at 10:11:22 AM
Joined: 01/02/2007
Posts: 5252
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This message was edited on January 10, 2010 at 10:35:59 AM by BIGFISH
Reply to:
Posted By: cheroger on January 10 2010 at 09:24:28 AM

It would be interesting to hear what Windy McDonald's thoughts are. Has he ever made a public statement?



Many times, and I can safely say that Windy played a part in the writing of the letter to Mel, and his expulsion from the AZ Motorsports Hall of Fame.


Half the lies they tell about me aren't true. 

watkinsgrady
January 10, 2010 at 10:12:19 AM
Joined: 12/05/2004
Posts: 856
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Reply to:
Posted By: BIGFISH on January 09 2010 at 11:55:57 PM

"he paid about $5 million for" read it again... That number was what Grady say's Mel paid for the Junk yard, and another piece of property that was adjacent to the track, not what he bought Manzy for. If your going to agree with #'s that have mostly been pulled out of a hat, and slanted to look a certain way, at least get them straight.Are You There?



The price for the track was 3.8 million the price for the junk yard next door was 1 million = 4.8 million, close enough to call it 5 million. Once again if you have different numbers put em out.

 

Grady


. 

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