The Zoo’s Mid-Winter Report for 2014
With the running of the Daytona 500 being just around the corner, and although the front stretch is buried in over 4’ deep of snow (no exaggeration….and 4’ might be on the light side), its time the get our focus set on Kalamazoo Speedway for 2014! In times where many outdoor entertainment venues (not just race tracks) are struggling or scaling way back or becoming more of a part time venue or even shutting their doors, Kalamazoo Speedway is coming off our strongest year of the past 13 seasons that the Howe’s have owned the track and looking for season 14 to be stronger & bigger yet!
We are looking at very solid car counts in all 5 classes, we have an aggressive schedule for 2014 yet we have a few weekends where we won’t be racing our weekly classes which can allow for some family vacation time or even a trip to another racing venue. We are offering a very solid pay structure in all 5 weekly classes, working with the mid & back pack cars as much as we work with the front runners. We continue to cut back on tire allotment for our participants which I still feel is the number one reason we are averaging 100 plus cars each & every week in our weekly 5 class shows.
With our NASCAR sanctioning, we continue to offer the best participant insurance program as any track offers in the nation. Lane Automotive & NASCAR helps us still have a $30,000 weekly point fund for our drivers and we still have one of the strongest & best equipped Safety Crew’s as again any track in the nation has to offer. Our 2014 Schedule is again very strong, as we at the Zoo will offer it all! As mentioned above, we have very solid Full House 5 in 1 show’s but we also have one of the most exciting schedules as you will find anywhere. Here are a few highlights of our schedule:
- We again have the Kalamazoo Klash for the Outlaw Super Lates but with the addition of the CRA Super Series, the Klash will rank as one of the biggest single day Late Model Shows in the entire nation!
- For the Open Wheel fans, we have the Auto Value Super Winged Sprints, we have the Must See Racing Xtreme Winged Super Sprints, and the Top Speed Modifieds are looking at bringing 26-30 Open Wheel Modifieds to the Zoo for their first visit. USAC is going to have an Open Wheel Spectacular in August but not all of the details are finalized yet.
- April 19th will be the Zoo’s Season Opener for all 5 weekly classes, featuring the Intimidator 75 for the Outlaw Super Lates!
- Super Shoe & The Call of the Wild…….do we even need to waste cyber space on these two classics??
- And of course we still have our FWD Enduro Series, Fireworks Spectaculars, and the entertainment slayer of them all……The Night of Destruction!
- So if you counted, we have 16 weekly Outlaw Super Late Shows, Sprint Car Shows that both run with the Outlaws, we have a wild & zany Enduro that will have dirt jumps…….Kalamazoo Speedway will be the Entertainment Capital of the Midwest in 2014!!
Season Grandstand & Pit Passes are now available…….Reserved Pit Parking Spots are now available…….and there are some great deals on VIP Skybox rentals for weekly or full season rentals. A weekly rental of a heated and air conditioned skybox for a special event can be a great gift for that ultimate race fan in your life!
After the conclusion of our first Open Practice on April 5th (and yes, if you have a snow plow or end loader, we may be calling you the last week of March)…..we will be having our annual Meet & Greet from 5:30-9:30 at the Otsego Elks. This is a great time to bench race & to get your NASCAR and Track paperwork all filled out & ready to fly!
Please e-mail (gary@kalamazoospeedway.com) or call the speedway office (269-692-2423) if you have any questions on pit passes or skyboxes or would like to get any NASCAR applications or track papers sent to you early.
Thank you and see you all in early April at the Zoo!!!
