15 replies to this topic

[bobvogtjr30]

It's official that it is closed. Its a sad day, but rumor is someone else is going to step up. We will see. Hopefully someone does, it's a great little track with some of the best racing around

[The Legend]

If it loses money it's better off staying closed ....

[racefan62]

Ace Speedway suspends season amid messy breakup

Published  10:08 AM EDT Jun 24, 2015

 

Ace Speedway is shutting down for the time being in the wake of what has been depicted as a cut-and-run departure by track operator Bill Catania.

“He disappeared. Just gone,” track owner Abraham Woidislawsky said Tuesday. “He didn’t pay rent. He doesn’t answer my calls. He doesn’t answer my emails. Checks were bouncing left and right. He’s just bad news.”

Woidislawsky was adamant in saying he expects Ace to reopen in a couple weeks and return to competition minus Catania, whose Short Track Management company had been leasing the speedway.

Woidislawsky said three people have approached him as general manager candidates, a position that became vacant with Randy Myers’ recent resignation.

“Don’t fear, Abraham is here,” Woidislawsky said. “I care about the people. They like it. It’s an avenue for entertainment. I’m not closing it. It’s going to be open.”

For now, though, Ace, the only auto racing facility of its kind in Alamance County, will go silent in the middle of its 59th season. Midweek practice sessions won’t be held tonight as the track enters an uncertain interim future.

It registers as the latest predicament for Ace, which often has endured messy, roller-coaster-style changes of course through the years.

And it arrives one week after Catania, speaking then to the Times-News from Stateline Speedway, a track he operates in Busti, N.Y., announced a sweeping personnel, technical and scheduling makeover geared toward reinvigorating Ace.

Those were hollow promises, said Woidislawsky. Outstanding debts and overdue drivers’ winnings have piled up.

“He lied to everybody,” Woidislawsky said. “The electric company came, shut the power off. On and on and on. He didn’t pay the people.”

Woidislawsky, the Philadelphia real estate developer who bought Ace and its 51 acres for $2.1 million in 2006, spoke Tuesday before boarding a flight to Poland for a nephew’s wedding.

When Catania entered the front-office picture at Ace in December, supplanting Brad Allen’s five-season managerial tenure, he billed himself as financially secure, saying he had built a profitable background in software and internet business ventures.

He said then that he envisioned growing Ace as a multipurpose venue while boosting the profile of the go-kart track and tractor pull and mud bog areas on the property.

On Tuesday, driver Thomas Scott said he still hasn’t been paid $1,400 for his podium finishes on June 5, the most recent night Ace raced. He scored a pair of second places, results that should’ve earned $900 in Late Models and $500 in Modifieds, the latter of which is owed to car owner Monk Tate.

“But it’s supposedly on the way,” Scott said, adding that Catania had sent text-messaged photos of money orders he was shipping to Scott.

The top-three finishers in both the Late Models and Modifieds divisions on June 5 received checks that bounced, Scott said.

“Of all six, every one of them came back,” he said. “It’s been like an Act of Congress to get something out of Bill, as far as him reconciling it.”

Scott expressed frustration that Ace, the track on which men in his family have raced since 1984, has descended into a dilemma where it must suspend things midseason.

Brenda Murphy, a longtime speedway employee and official, echoed those sentiments.

“I’m disappointed in Bill Catania and Short Track Management,” Murphy said. “I’m disappointed for our fans and our racers. It breaks my heart to see Ace in this kind of situation.

“But I also know there’s enough people it means a lot to that it will come out on the other side. It’s just a matter of time.”

Catania wrote in a Facebook post “it is with great regret” that his company won’t be operating Ace.

“While we appreciate the support that we had from the fans for our recent announcement to move to weekly racing, we could not do it without the drivers as well and we did not have enough support to make it work,” Catania wrote Tuesday. “We are hopeful that the next chapter in Ace’s history is far more positive.

“We will be reaching out to our vendors with open balances and closing them out.”

He signed the post in the following manner: “Best of luck. Bill Catania”

Edited by racefan62, 02 July 2015 - 08:48 AM.

[The Legend]

I don't understand what people are thinking to get involved without having stacks of money they are willing and able to burn

[714d]

I don't understand what people are thinking to get involved without having stacks of money they are willing and able to burn

It would make a lot more sense to give a bunch of money to racers, so they can continue to race. You could have your name on a bunch of cars, be involved in racing without the headaches, and it would help keep the current tracks running. People are crazy wanting to own/run tracks.

[Tommy]

Ron Davies wanted to buy the track last year but did not happen, maybe he will give it a run again

[bobvogtjr30]

Apparently they are still trying to hold on to it, but at this point with all the lies and misinformation I don't know how they can recover. You couldn't write these kind of plot twists that keep coming. He can't be found and his wife is posting he's on vacation with his gf and illegitimate kid, the arrest records for domestic violence are coming out. It's a complete mess

[714d]

Sounds way better than swamp people or squatch hunters. We can't get a TV network to pick this up? Yikes

[Walt Wimer]

Just got a release that all racing this week at Stateline has been canceled!!  Lack of insurance coverage is the stated reason, but sounds like there is a lot more than that!!

 

Walt

[Skull]

Didn't Catania dump a bunch of money in the form of facility upgrades into Stateline? I don't understand how someone that appeared to have the capital reserves jumps into owning race track(s) with apparently no sound financial planning. Was he legit, or just another snake oil salesman like the shyster that tried to buy TCS?

[Walt Wimer]

I would say the jury is still out, but sounds like the TC deal except this guy does have a racing background and actually made some improvements to the grounds at Stateline from what I hear.  And has run races for a year.  The Tri-City deal never got anywhere that far.

 

Walt

[Won11Virus]

I think a lot of the improvements were done with donated time and materials. Other upgrades were possibly paid for with advertising, while others just remained unpaid.

This video sums a lot of things up.

http://chaucat.com/s...-final-stretch/

[The Legend]

He must have 14" !!!!

[bobvogtjr30]

He definitely made improvements to the grounds but like someone said a lot of free labor and materials. There were signs of money issues back to last year by the end of the season, employees checks were bouncing! He then tried to buy Eriez, lake Erie, ace speedway and another track in ny! He pretty much robbed the track in NC earlier this year and ran and seems to be doing it again up here. He even conned drivers down there into buying individual track insurance of some sort but never had any type of it for anything.

This guy has to have something but I can't figure it out. People still are defending him lol

[UserName]

He must have 14" !!!!

awefully excited about that arent you?
you jealous? or you want to take it?

[speedster101]

LMAO