Official word

Shadowracer · 2007-01-23T06:16:13Z

From The Free Press this morning, Tueday Jan 23rdGM Kevin Bulmer and operations director Amy DuGas have resigned.By JIM CRESSMAN, FREE PRESS SPORTS REPORTER Delaware Speedway has lost its top two management personnel and their departure has put the 2007 racing season in jeopardy. General manager Kevin Bulmer and operations director Amy DuGas both resigned, citing differences with the ownership group. Bulmer, who replaced Brad McGonigle as GM in September 2004, was with the track for nine years. DuGas began working there in 2002. "The short answer is I've resigned effective immediately due to untenable working conditions and lack of support from current ownership," Bulmer said last night. He wouldn't go into details but sources said there's a split among the four-man ownership group and that's what made working conditions "untenable" for Bulmer. Arlen Scherba of Sombra owns 40 per cent of the track, Dave Meldrum of Stratford has a 10-per-cent share while John Sheppard of Scarborough and Dave McDonald of Freelton, near Guelph, have a company that controls 50 per cent. The four, along with McGonigle, bought the track from Tony Novotny in November 2002. McGonigle, who spearheaded the purchase of the track from Novotny, was then bought out by his partners in what was not an amicable parting. Delaware's 56th season is scheduled to open April 28 with a 250-lap endurance race. Regular racing begins May 4. Race director Jeff Wilcox wouldn't comment on the suggestion the season might not go, instead referring that question to the ownership group. Messages left for Scherba and McDonald by The Free Press were not immediately returned. Delaware and Merrittville Speedway in Thorold -- also celebrating its 56th year -- are the oldest stock car tracks in Canada. "This would have been my 10th year and in that time I've come to know countless people in the business and racing community that have become like family," Bulmer said. "The dedication and commitment exhibited by the race teams and event staff is second-to-none. These people should expect nothing less from the people operating the race track." Sources said the track has fallen on financial difficulty and the pressure was on Bulmer to make up for the losses. That apparently created the reported rift that's developed amongst the ownership group. Many of the race teams said last season the on-track product was making considerable strides under Bulmer's leadership and his willingness to work with the drivers was a reason some had returned to Delaware. D.J. Kennington of St. Thomas returned last year after an eight-year absence. He continued to run in the CASCAR Super Series, but wanted to get back to his Friday night roots, where he began in 1993. He was track champion in 1996 at 19. "I thought things were going good," Kennington said last night. "It was fun again at Delaware and they were easy to work with, a lot better than it used to be. A lot of time in the past it was like pulling teeth, but they listened to the drivers and teams and did their best to help us out, and that made it better for us and the fans."

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racingwrench

Jan 23, 2007 7:55 pm

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Any idea what the ISMA show asks? The ISMA crowd was huge and they paid good money. The AVSS show could be a money maker. But mainly don't forget the crowd they pulled in for a date that they don't usually race on.

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Shadowracer

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Jan 23, 2007 10:42 pm

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No idea on the ISMA show price, but you're right. There was a McKerlie Millen 200 on-a-nice-day sized crowd at that one. And it was 40 bucks to get in.

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