CABIN FEVER ? Here' a Good Read "DINO'S DOVER HISTORY 101" got the time click "continue reading" .....…………………………………
With all the recent ‘speculation’ ,assumptions iv’e seen on the internet,and a lot of presumptions-gossip & here-say in many posts in this topic…thought I’de try to wrap up the story here to date. “Why Did It Close” reasons…some true-some not so true.There’s things like Noise…Insurance problems…legal issues…low car count….Gas embargo…economy…..Many have been debunked already.The real question is WHY The DECISION WAS MADE to abruptly pull the plug…..”Something” triggered that action.That Something may never be known….but I believe it will be revealed eventually.Why would you start a season…run for a few weeks ,then pull the plug ?(They obviously got the town permit-was yearly renewed ).Lets look at the facts. The Track already had the Anderson Peat Co.( no relation to Chet Anderson-track owner)running at full steam in the ‘back lot’ past the shut down area for a couple of years.That was a steady paycheck to Chet & Joe with No work.The company even built their own onsite processing plant.They got an Offer from a big outfit to Haul out the premium Gravel the track was on at $1.00 a yard …again They didn’t have to do anything…except the track & pits were sitting right on top of it.Of Note..they hauled out THREE MILLION yards we are told and thats why the whole area is 15 to 20 feet lower now.It has been widely reported by many that Chet & Joe know next to nothing about Drag Racing, But …heres the Big BUT…They Did know how to make a buck by capitalizing on this ‘New Drag Racing Craze” in 1961. They saw the potential but never dreamed that the Sport would would progress and evolve with the big innovations and big business involvement that began in the mid -sixties…speed equipment- Speed Shops -new rules-new classes-new fangled ‘electronics’ .They just kept doing ‘the same old thing’ as new tracks opened all around and new progressive Business marketing was employed. Things just kept going downhill for them, as they stayed ‘stuck in the sixties’ and watched other tracks pull from their weekly ‘gate’. They never had The ‘passion’ of Racing to be real Promoters. No Points System,No Advertising,No Sponsor Programs…no Racer ‘incentives’ to attract new fans or racers.I say: if you where in their Shoes…Had One Company already supporting your investment…had another giving you an offer that must have looked like a golden “Pie In The Sky” opportunity,given the economics of the time, what would YOU do.? Blaming all the things of car count-death of the muscle car-gas embargo-etc. sounds good…But consider this. All the other tracks KEPT running….Connecticut -N.Y.National, Raceway Park & Lebanon Valley is Still open after all these years .THEY all Didn't Get effected by some of the Reasons some say closed Dover.Back to that abrupt shut down…I ‘speculate’ that perhaps the Gravel Guys had a Time frame…deadline…commitment to deliver,and that pressured the owners to Make The Move. Could be a deep dark secret of some threatening element we might never know…Insurance Cancellation…Threat of lawsuit…Who Knows ?!…But IF they had kept up with what they other tracks were doing…they might have still been open today.Consider Dirt Pits-telephone pole and cable guard rails ,Antique timing equip. ..with vacuum tubes for averaging MPH( New Chrondeks not installed til 1974)…Army surplus P.A speakers… we didn’t have Any track crew communication til my brother installed an intercom on the Gas Pits pole to the tower in ’69….Hand written time slips. IF you were them and had two company's willing to PAY you..do all the work….Your Track was dying and to upgrade ,just to be on a level playing field with competing tracks, would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars…What Would YOU do.It was A Positive Business decision to shut it down and take care of the familys and guarantee some sort of retirement. We may never know what the ‘Trigger” was .But when your at Lebanon ..Look at the Tower,The paved pits,the whole operation…THAT could have been Dover.
…….. Those Two Guys Worked their butt off during the week to maintan the property with No back-up staff. They did it all, just the two of them,with good old skool work ethics and I loved working for those guys for six straight years.I never missed a sunday ,even though they were stoic & a bit gruff. I knew they just wouldn’t keep up with the sport. Heres more....................................I posted This in 2008 at the Dover website Forum...WE FINALLY GOT SOME DEFINATIVE INPUT….HERE’S what just came in from MIKE MANNION -“Family member” (Married Joe Archiere-Track owner's -Neice)…and a Track Worker . . .he said:
The track was closed for 1 reason. The auto emissions standards and gas prices were making the sport unattractive for the “STOCKER” crowd where Joe and Chet obviously made most money ( racer volume). This, combined with a fantastic offer to buy the property for humus peat and gravel processing made the closing and sale a “no brainer”. Joe and Chet knew nothing about drag racing, and couldn’t have cared less. They only looked at making money.
I was in charge of the staging lanes and hot car pits during the morning time trials. A thankless job since everybody wanted more runs, and nobody thought they were being treated fairly! For the afternoon eliminations, I was in the tower with you and timer Frank Grice. I did the dial-in handicaps for the cars running for $$$ bucks.. Remember?? I loved working as much as you did. You were a great announcer and kept me amused all the time, and I credit you in a big way for Dover’s success.
Thanks for your efforts to keep the memory alive.
Mike
So there ya have it …from the guy that Knows… “behind the scenes” ….Family member ... See more
