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The Dirt Has Hit the Pavement
by BJ Cavin
The long awaited transition of Ocala Speedway from a paved race track to a
dirt racing surface has officially begun. At 6:30 AM this Saturday morning,
dump trucks lined up at a local clay pit to receive their first loads of Florida
clay, and by 8:00 AM the first loads were arriving at the pit entrance to the
speedway. There was no fanfare and no crowd waiting. Just Micheal Peters,
Angie Clifton, and a couple of others. And as the trucks made their way
across the infield to turn 3, the spectators followed. Within a couple of minutes
history was made as the first load spilled onto the asphalt, almost right in front
of the towering Ocala Speedway scoreboard.
More dump trucks began arriving, and as the steady stream of loaded trucks
made their way down the highway to the track, it began to attract attention. As
more trucks arrived so did more people, and by 10:30AM a small group of
racers and fans were taking in the process from the infield. Even Rich Pratt
found himself joining the group, watching as more and more asphalt faded
from sight. First it was turn 3 that was covered, then the back stretch and part
of turn 4. By lunchtime half of the track's 3/8ths mile was under a layer of rich,
sticky, Florida clay.
For Ocala Speedway owner Michael Peters, this was the giant step forward
that followed months and months of painstaking research, planning, and hard
work. And as he pointed out, this is really just the beginning. One hundred
truckloads of clay were scheduled to be hauled in on Saturday, with yet
another one hundred scheduled for Sunday, and even more in the works for
Monday too. As the trucks dump their cargo the heavy equipment moves in,
spreading the clay and packing it down before the next truck backs into place
and dumps yet another load.
The clay going onto the track today is the base layer of extremely heavy and
sticky clay. Later that will be followed with more clay of a slightly different
makeup, which when worked in with the sticky stuff will give a racing surface
with just the right amount of bite and resiliency. In all there will be three
different clay mixtures added and worked in together to achieve the final high
quality surface that is desired, and over the coming month and a half there will
be a constant effort at getting that surface delivered and spread, then making
it perfect for the best quality track surface in Florida.
In the meantime much more is going on in addition to loads of dirt covering the
asphalt. Michael Peters has been busy getting the rules prepared and posted
on the Ocala Speedway website, which is www.OcalaSpeedway.com. Rules for
most divisions are now posted along with the new general rules, and they will
remain posted and will be updated as needed. This will allow feedback from
racers and fans, and changes in the rules are possible before January 1st.
After the first of the year the rules will be permanent and changes will no
longer be permitted, so it is important that any concerns or questions be
addressed now instead of later.
There are other operational changes underway as well, and those are
highlighted on the manager's page on the Ocala Speedway website. There
racers will find information on the use of raceceivers which will be required in
2008, plus information on the new UMP national points for most divisions. As
more information becomes finalized it will be posted and racers are urged to
keep checking back as time for the 2008 season to start draws closer so that
they will be prepared to race.
Once the new racing surface is in place the big question is when will everyone
get their chance to try it out? The current plan is for at least three weekend
practice sessions in the month of February, leading up to the grand reopening
of the track the first Friday in March. This will allow the asphalt racers a
chance to acquire some seat time on dirt, and allow dirt racers to acquaint
themselves with Ocala Speedway's odd shape and layout. More information
on these practice sessions will be posted at a later date.
And as all of this is going on there is even more planning and preparation in
process as well, including a job fair that will help find a unique and talented
staff for 2008. Angie Clifton plans to conduct interviews and make her choices
the second week in January, which will allow time for training and learning the
new way that Ocala Speedway is going to operate when the fans arrive at the
gates in March. And according to her and Michael Peters, the fans will see far
more than just racing when it reopens. They will see a show each week which
includes racing, and it will be like nothing Florida race fans have ever
experienced.
For now the focus is on dirt, dirt, and more dirt. Getting it delivered, spread
over the track, and mixed to the proper consistency. Workers are taking it
slow, being careful to do the job correctly, all under the watchful direction of
Michael Peters and his crew. Before long the paved surface should be
completely out of sight, totally covered by the same sort of Florida clay that
racers originally raced on back in 1955. Ocala Speedway's roots are in the
clay, and so is it's future.
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