I just noticed SMS has been rebranded as the Napa Speedway. Has it been sold or what? I also read that they're trying to bring NASCAR in. What does this mean for track days and SMRI race days?
The 2012 track day schedule is posted on the SMRI website, and the first track day of the year is this Saturday, so come on out!
Without going into verbose detail, the CEO/President of SMS last year, Jim Guthrie, resigned his position in order to take out a two-year lease on the track. He now operates the facility independent of SMS' board, who still own the facility but are no longer responsible for operations. Jim sold a sponsorship of the facility to NAPA Auto Parts and has rebranded accordingly. They've spent a bit of money repainting and straightening things at the track, and seeing to a bit of desperately needed maintenance. If Jim's venture is profitable, I'm told he has the option to extend his lease to as long as ten years under the current contract. I expect that if he turns a reasonable profit for those two years he might consider resurfacing the entire asphalt surface....maybe?
Last year, Sandia raised it's rental rates to SMRI, but SMRI failed to raise its prices to riders. We lost money. This year a track day is $100 (in lieu of last year's $75) and race fees have also been raised a bit. SMRI have also aggressively courted class and event sponsors and have done a good job enhancing revenues via those streams. I expect the financial health of the club will strengthen throughout the year and for years to come. The track is anxious to keep all its current "customers", so you can rest assured that we'll be holding track days and race events at NAPA Speedway for years to come!
Blake's is gone from the track, but Jim is actively courting another entity to operate the "snack bar" to service spectators and participants. This weekend, the track day sponsor, Santa Fe Harley Davidson, will provide lunch for all participants. If you'd like to buy an advance ticket you'll need to buy it directly from SFHD, as they're no longer available online (a concession to an amendment to our track day sponsorship agreement). If you want to risk coming out to the track to buy a ticket we'll sell them there for the same $100 price until we run out of slots. I think we decided to cap the number of participants at 90 (30 per class, 3 classes).
