2008kankakee

As many of you know, Ron Miller and I had teamed up to run Kankakee Speedway. We were unable to reach an agreement to lease the track. We were very close on the terms for the first year, but very far apart on terms for subsequent years. With the investment we were prepared to make we felt we needed the security of a longer lease. It's unlikely further discussions would have lead to a deal both sides could agree on.
We worked to put a package together that would have been mutually beneficial to racers, fans, the fair board, and the community in general. We had a tremendous response from area businesses that were interested in advertising at the speedway. Its unfortunate for everyone involved this didn't work out because we had a lot of exciting promotions planned including things would bring people new to racing to the speedway.
I wish we could have provided more information to the racers sooner than this, but Ron and I hadn't even met until less than 6 weeks ago! Every spare minute has been spent on lining up equipment, race dates, and taking care of track related business. I want to thank Dennis Yohnka, Bill Yohnka, Rich Webb, and the late Bill Nelson. Without their help and encouragement we wouldn't have come as close as we did to keeping Kankakee Speedway open. I also want to thank Ron for his commitment to racing.
I will not elaborate further on why we couldn't reach an agreement. It's my sincere hope is that someone steps in and runs the track.
Bob Drake

Kankakee Motor Speedway will have a new promoter for 2008
If you have any news of happenings, new website, etc.
please email me at [email protected] with details so I can update this page

Drake, Miller hope to keep racing alive at fairgrounds
03/14/2008, 10:12 am

By Dennis Yohnka
[email protected]

There is a glimmer of hope for stock car fans hoping to see racing return to the Kankakee Fairgrounds this summer.
Robert Drake, a Kankakee-based building contractor since 1977, is working with Ronnie Miller, owner of Miller Hydraulic in Manteno, to form a partnership to manage the track, but no lease has yet been signed.

"I've got 44 racing seasons under my belt as a fan, crew member, racer and sponsor," Drake said. "Racing has been a big part of my life. I can't stand the thought of our local track closing. But I have a long way to go to find the right financial backing."

Drake and Miller have developed a tentative schedule (with the first race in May), and have lined up the equipment necessary to groom the quarter-mile clay oval. Still, Drake noted that they can go no further until they find sponsorships totaling more than $100,000.

"We looking for area businesses who can keep this afloat," Drake said. "The last two promoters have told me that this is a money-losing situation, but I have studied the way they do things at other tracks. I know this is possible."

And possibilities are big on Drake's to-do list.

He will note that it is possible that the track could have a title sponsor, such as Lowe's Motor Speedway.

He suggested the "Gas City Speedway," in reference to the nearby facility that benefits from the fans and drivers stopping in before and after the races.

He would also consider renaming the racing divisions, such as the "Kankakee Community College Street Stocks," just as the Sears Craftsman Tools sponsor the truck racing in NASCAR.

"I hope we can also reintroduce the luxury suite and have nightly sponsors in there each week," Drake said, referring to the years when the O'Connor Family Management Team would hold a "Mallaney Car Star Night" and have the Manteno auto body firm on hand for trophies and interviews.

Miller has proposed funding the start-up costs, but looking at the costs of everything from insurance to lighting, fuel for track prep -- and considerably more advertising than the track has employed in recent years -- creates a financial quagmire.

"No one can blame the fair board for this delay," Miller said. "What this track has needed is a local promoter with ties to the local community, someone who cares about this track and the racing here. The biggest problems we have is that being fair to the drivers is getting expensive. They invest a lot of money in the cars and the trailers and trucks. We can't ask them to go out there and race hard -- put on a good show for the fans -- and then not pay them as well as the other tracks do."

Miller and Drake noted that they intend to keep the same four divisions of racing: Late Models; Open-Wheel Modifieds, Street Stocks and Hornets.

However, they plan to organize the night so that the show will be complete by 10 p.m.

"We want this to be a family place, and moms and dads don't keep their youngsters out until 11 or 12, even if it is Friday night," Drake said.

The uncertainty of the local track management has left drivers nervous. Defending Late Model track champion Mike Provanzano of Aurora has admitted that he is considering spending his Friday nights at the Bureau County Speedway in Princeton.

Hard-charging Hornet driver Lake Nichols of Onarga has been working with his father Don on an Open-Wheel Modified car -- just in case he has nowhere to race his four-cylinder Mustang.

"I would like to get to these guys and assure them that we are racing here," Drake said. "But first, I have to hear from some local businesses that are willing to see this track as a worthwhile advertising opportunity. I think our fans would be loyal to the people who keep this track going. I know it's true in NASCAR and it ought to be true in the grassroots of racing too."