Racetrack Revival — Round 2

[Pennsboro32]

I'd be willing to bet that this second verse will be the same as the first. Every other year, hope is breathed into Pennsboro but nothing ever materializes. The place is just way too primitive and in need of so much infrastructure. Hopefully there will be modern comforts such as restrooms, running water, lighting and safer access to the treacherous hillside. I just recently got over the effects of dysentery from my last visit there.

There’s lots of false information on this thread. Who exactly has tried to breathe life into this place? It sat idle for more than 14 years. Then the county won it back and they’ve slowly upgraded some small things. At the rate they were going though, it would have been 2080 before they raced. The best option was to lease it to someone with a load of money. That just happened to be XR. I’ve been skeptical of XR in the past, mainly because they’re such a mystery. I hope they succeed and me and all my buddies will be on that hillside on 2024.

[HoosierDirtFan]

Pennsboro32

Just seen these 4 picture on another Facebook page this morning while at work. You're right the track really isn't close to being wide enough with the current style of Late Models and the width of the cars today. Probably need to widen the track out a good bit for any racing to be decent. The place needs a ton or work.

[TerryM]

Anyone who’s excited about bringing Pennsboro back, has apparently never been to this dump. It’s the worst place I’ve ever attended a race. The track, the racing, the facility (lol … facility), the seating (what seating?) … the entire place, is pathetic. But, Carl Short decided it was a great place to throw some ridiculous money at drivers from all over the country — and those drivers showed up in huge numbers. That’s why I drove to Pennsboro several times from Lexington in my younger days, attended every Pennsboro race when I lived a few minutes away in Parkersburg in the early 90’s, and then covered all the big Pennsboro shows as a journalist in the latter 90’s. Not once did I ever enjoy the place, or see a good race. I was there to see the best of the best drivers. Which I did, albeit single file.

[Raceready]

A drivers fate was determined when he pulled his number for his qualifying order. There was a point where the track worked its way into the best tackiness of the day and it only lasted for about 20 cars. If you lucked into that sweet spot you had a chance of starting up front of a heat enough to get in. The track just went south in the heat of the day after that. Single track dog track rest of the day. The booze flowed like water around those parts !

[ftfiowa]

wish XR would have bought Belle Clair il.

[Barbecueboy]

Cool little kart track built in there…..

[Escobar]

The Ritchie Co Fairboard must have gotten paid. Parking will be the best race of the weekend.

[Barbecueboy]

A friend of mine that lives up there said the exact same thing…..

[dirtcrazy4u]

Big Jim Dunn is laughing at all of you. For those that have no idea, started last, and at the end of the race he was the man parked on the front straightaway winning what was then a huge payout.

[JabberJaws83]

Big Jim Dunn is laughing at all of you. For those that have no idea, started last, and at the end of the race he was the man parked on the front straightaway winning what was then a huge payout.

One legendary story, one legendary race, one legendary racer.

Doesn't make it a legendary racey track.

[Pennsboro32]

The Ritchie Co Fairboard must have gotten paid. Parking will be the best race of the weekend.

Parking will definitely be the biggest issue. I'd love to see the blue prints for everything.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Parking will definitely be the biggest issue. I'd love to see the blue prints for everything.

Parking was always a huge issue and the cops had no issues giving everyone a ticket for illegal parking. I recall outsmarting them with the correct colored paper on the windshield.

[Pennsboro32]

Parking was always a huge issue and the cops had no issues giving everyone a ticket for illegal parking. I recall outsmarting them with the correct colored paper on the windshield.

Nice. It'll be an even bigger issue now I believe. They've taken a lot of pit parking up with the bathroom, go kart track, and another building inside turn 4. There's just nowhere for spectator parking.

[foxfire2dirtracing]

Doesn’t Carl Short own (or did own) some adjacent acreage??

[Pennsboro32]

Fox, yes he owns around 20 acres above front stretch hillside.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Nice. It'll be an even bigger issue now I believe. They've taken a lot of pit parking up with the bathroom, go kart track, and another building inside turn 4. There's just nowhere for spectator parking.

I was a vocal detractor of bringing WVMS back as a big track. I see this effort as a whole other level of wasted effort. I don't wish failure on them, I just don't see any other outcome.

[foxfire2dirtracing]

If XR and z Marcus Smith put enough $$ into it - it could work - but the primitive facilities I think are a thing of the past in today’s world. The teams and most fans expect more than what the track offered in the past. My question is: are their plans to be a special events track and is there Federal Covid $$ involved like North Wilksboro??

[squaredup12]

I’m wondering if Nascar isn’t funneling at least some amount of money into this since the dirt racing was nixxed as part of the North Wilksboro effort. As someone who has never been to Pennsboro, my natural inclination is to wish them nothing but the best. But as somebody who has witnessed plenty of snoozer races at large tracks this year with the ever changing technical marvels we refer to as super late models, I can’t help but join in on some of the skepticism. For what it’s worth, I hope they do it right, and I hope whoever is backing this effort is willing to pump and bunch of money into it to that end.

[Paradox28]

I guess I still just don't understand the point of reviving something if its going to be a totally new thing by the time the revival is done. Wilksboro made sense..it still works. Nothing about Pennsboro seems that it would work today.

[muddy mike]

I got to agree with a couple others on this thread. I wish it was Belle Clair.