Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I don't know Chuck and I've never been to Husets but I was pretty positive about what he was doing in terms of facility improvements, payouts, tow money, etc in 2016, however it has now turned into a complete gong show and I am sad that if things keep going the way theyre going now the racetrack is probably never going to open again.

The thing that I have never been able to figure out from Day 1 is what was this guy's motivation? Typically for people to purchase a racetrack (dirt track specifically) it is usually they have some sort of interest in racing. Whether that be a long time fan (late model or sprint car) that has money, former driver, family has been involved, car owner. Chuck seems to have been some sort of outsider and the race track was just another toy to add to his list along with the pawn shop and radio station. I don't know if it is true or not, but was he originally from Souix Falls? Maybe he was looking to comeback and prove something?

To me, I truely think he is a sociopath. There have been proven lies that he has told, he amplifies any truth in his favor, deminish any truth not in his favor, obvious irresponsiblity, and has this whole thing of trying to prove he is right no matter what even though he is wrong. Sociopaths can lie and believe it, so sadly I think that Husets will probably be vacant unless he really gets into a financal predicament. In order to get any racing in that area, the odds of a new track being built/created would be better than a Husets purchase.

I feel sorry for all the fans in that region. Of all the videos I have seen of Husets it was a great track and should be running but it will be awhile. Sadly, this was never about Chuck vs NST, or Chuck vs Tod, Badlands vs Knoxville, Friday Saturday or Sunday. This was all about Chuck's ego and his feelings.

In all fairness, I think he was more of a fan than people think. But that is all he was, just a fan, with enough money to not care. He sponsored the races for quite a few years as well as the high paying season ending 410 race, I think it paid $10k to win and was always sponsored by dollar loan center, there was a big deal all year long about how you needed to have a quick time or a feature win to be eligible for the race, it was actually a pretty cool deal, which is why there were people excited about Chuck coming in and buying the place, people thought he cared, myself included. I was always the first to have his back in the negativity, those days are gone. I have no words since the auction. I will still say though, to the people that did nothing but bitched the entire time he had the place, If I were him, I would have closed the thing down long before he ever did. Wanna bitch about something? Well, I'll give you something to bitch about. There are promoters all over the country that are trying to get out of this deal, because of exactly that, and I hear about it first hand from a company very prominent in the racing media industry. it is happening everywhere, and it will not stop unless we appreciate what we currently have before even more places start going away.

The tradition of Hussets sprint car racing on Sunday nights goes back along ways.Several top teams from Knoxville made the trip every week and the Minnesta and Dakota teams were always tough.The Rubins were ready to move on and CB seemed to be a step in the right direction.Its too bad He just didnt keep it the same with improvements over a few years.Now its just too much overhead for most everyone and the losers are the dedicated race fans and teams that helped support it for years.Jackson and Knoxville are having good turnouts and CB had the same opportunity but had to show Knoxville that two venues could work on Saturday night.Good racing is what draws fans not fancy facilities.

Exactly, this is the sad fact, the fact that we have a place that nobody is ever going to buy now because nobody can afford to buy the place plain and simple. I grew up going to the races at Husets, believe me when I say I want our track back again. But also believe me when I say that it was not solely Chuck that killed it. I personally know quite a few that never went back to Husets because "I do not like Chuck". That contributes just as much as anything anyone else did. I don't like the way Sanford made his money either, but I still go to Hockey games in a building with his name all over it.

Thing is the place did not close because the racing couldnt draw a crowd, best racing I saw in 10 years at husets was after chuck bought the place, and mostly in the 360 class too. Chuck simply wanted to prove a point that he doesn't care so he packed his bags and left.

Sorry if it came across that way.  I was actually laughing out loud at what an idiot Chuck Brennan is.  I have to laugh, otherwise I will cry.  This whole ordeal has been nothing but a bad dream.  I was actually laughing at the press release trying to make ryhme or reason out of it.  I in no way support Chuck or what he has done to Husets Speedway.  I apologize if it came off that way. 

     I'm not sure I can agree 100% with your assesment. I feel chuck was 95% of what killed it and in essence killed local racing in Sioux Falls. If chuck had bought Minerva's and ended up closing it because not enough people went there, would that be chuck's fault, or the fault of the people who voted with their feet?

No worries. I just wasn't sure we were on the same wavelength. So you're going to take chuck off your Christmas card list?

Brennan and his ego is the root of the problem. He came in thinking he was going to be top dog and show up all the other players, like Knoxville and Jackson. Some of us all along knew he was all smoke and mirrors and we figured he would end up the fire hydrant. Sadly, it's the race fans and race teams that ended up wet. And he's still doing it.

He's a great business man.  He keeps investing millions more in the place (according to his press releases) and asks for 1/2 of his investment back.   Maybe he'll stick another 10 mil in it over this winter and raise the price by 5?  

I hate what has happened to our race track and have never been on board with CB and surely am not now. Nor do I wish to take a shot at Mr. Lunstra or any of the bidders, but I have a couple honest questions that I'm hoping someone can shed some light on for me as I had moved away from the area when all of this went down.

When Huset's was originally sold, who, other than CB, had an opoortunity to buy it? Were the Rubin's approached by CB or was it public (or somewhat public) knowledge? If it was, where were these bidders/potential buyers then?

As Mr. Lunstra stated, typically if the reserve is not met, it's removed to generate some action. In my opinion anything less then the reserve price certainly does seem like a low ball offer. So why the expectation to buy a Cadillac for the price of a KIA? I somewhat understand the economics and at $3.1 million it's not a get rich quick opportunity but it is certainly a semi-long term investment opportunity that would pay off. I understand that's easily stated by a schlep like me but hey, it's fun to spend other peoples money.

Anyway, I'm going to go throw up now because I feel like I just stuck up for Chuck.

Not sure about who had the opportunity to buy it before CB so maybe somebody else can shed some light on that. The problem with trying to sale the property all has to do with return on investment. To some race fans yes the track might be worth 3.1million with all of the improvements but as an owner, if you are only going to make a little profit each year is it worth the risk?  Keep in mind it is not just a $3.1 million (if someone made a bid for that) investment, you are still going to have to put more money into the place when you consider purses, insurance, upkeep, utilities, etc. It is not just the initial investment, it is the continuing investment hoping to make the $3.1million back as quickly as you can which means you will have to find someone that has more than $3.1, or now $6.3million in order to pull this off well.

Basically this is not like buying a Cadillac for the price of a Kia. That is trying to buy a commodity for the best price for personal pleasure. This is more like buying a property in order to make money whether it be a racetrack, warehouse, strip mall, or land in general. An investor is looking for the best possible purchase price for an investment to make as much revenue as possible.

I hate saying I heard from someone...... but I did and the source is reliable.  Steve was talking to Chuck about sponsorships for the upcoming year and Chuck made a statement like, at that price I might as well buy the place.  

The rest is some shitty history for racing in our parts. 

Thanks for the insight on what he did beforehand. I agree mostly to the whole fans complaining as I am in agreement that sometimes fans tend to complain and bitch about the smallest things when it comes to sprint car racing, dirt tracks, or racing in general. At times it does seem like their is nothing anyone can to please everyone whether it is concessions, restrooms, track conditions, Schatz won, Sammy won, or my favorite driver didn't do well so its the track's fault.

Only thing though is that this is nothing new. People have always complained and bitch ever since racing has been around. We are just more aware of it now because of blogs, social media, and the internet. Some of the complaining is legitimate and a way for fans to point out what needs to be done better so that they continue to go. Some people do go overboard but if you are in any form of entertainment or anything that deals with the public, you need to have thick skin about it. Fans are your customers and you have to keep them happy or at least happy enough to buy tickets. I am not someone who ever complains after I go to a race because usually any time I go I count as a blessing and enjoy it no matter what the outcome is.

However, when I see an owner/promoter getting on social media and posting car counts of their track along with other tracks, and also some other promoters around posting things that start with : "To all the haters out there" it just seems childish and egotistical. If you are a business owner grow up, their are several people out their on a daily basis that deal with the same stuff day in and day out but handle it with a little class and professionalism. That is what did Chuck in & why people complained about him. Not due to the product really, but how he was as a person and in today's day and age people will not spend money if it means it will go into the hands of a person like him.

It was pretty obvious all along, & i don't know anything, been to S.Dakota once, 49 years ago. Here's what i said 4 days ago: " I don't know anything about this other than what I've been reading on HH, but I doubt if they even get the reserve bid of $3 million. If it gets sold, it will be after the auction at a lower price. Just my guess...."
Good luck to all you guys out there, could be worse (for sprint cars), you could live in Colorado (great weather tho!)

I appreciate your reply. That makes sense to me. I fear the worst for our race track.

    Expandng on the Cadillac/Kia question: We operate in a free market. In general, stuff sells for whatever someone is willing to pay for it. You could have the nicest Cadillac or the nicest track around, but it's still only going to sell for what someone is willing to pay for it. chuck set what he wanted for a minimum selling price. That's his perogotive. He doesn't have to sell it at a lower price if he doesn't want to. The fact that three qualified bidders, who have obviously done their homework weren't willing to start the bidding at chuck's minimum is very telling.

     It's saying that the three of them don't think it's worth $3,150,000. They think it's worth less. By not bidding at all, they were sending a clear signal that the price is too high for any of them to be interested. chuck had two options at that point. He could have lowered the opening price in hopes that the final price would be higher than $3,150,000 , or he could simply shut down the auction. He chose option #2.

     After that, things got stupid again. If no one is willing to pay $3 million, the answer is obviously to raise the price to $6 million or $9 million. There's only so many times you can act like a horse's patoot before people start to wonder if you are a horse's patoot.

Well said. I also believe that even if somebody would have bid the minimum the reserve could have been much higher than that. Guess he would rather pay the taxes and insurance and upkeep on the property than sell it for what it is actually worth to a race promoter.

If anybod feels bad for him you can pay the second half property taxes:

Property details for: 2012 S SPLITROCK

Property Information:

Street Address:2012 S SPLITROCK BLVD
Legal Description:SPLIT ROCK TOWNSHIP 101-48 TR 1 & 2 NW1/4 ( EX LOT 1 TR 1) 10 101 48
Parcel Number:010324
School District Code:492
Date Structure was Built:1970
Billing Number:772
Total Property Size:0.00
Township:SPLIT ROCK TWP
 

Valuations: Assessment Year 2017

Assessed Value:$2,930,704.00
Equalized Value:$2,707,970.00
Agricultural Land Value:$0.00
Non-Agricultural Land Value:$359,090.00
Agricultural Building Value:$0.00
Non-Agricultural Building Value:$2,661,637.00
 

Payments: Taxes Payable 2018

2017 Taxes Payable in 2018:$48,369.77

Tax Bill First Half due April 30:$24,184.89 (Paid)

Tax Bill Second Half due October 31:$24,184.88

    In reading the auction information beforehand, I don't believe there was any kind of "reserve", only the minimum bid.