Raceway still for sale, owner says

The Super Nats show will go on despite the lack of a bidder.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Daniel Swindell, owner of Quaker City Raceway, said Monday it may be "days, rather than hours" before he may meet a potential buyer for the drag strip.
"We're probably back to square one," he said.
Meanwhile, promoter Corey Ward said he expects to increase attendance by about 25 percent when he has the Steel Valley Super Nationals at the track June 22-24.
That would take the event from 29,446 paying customers in 2006 to around 40,000 people this year.
The track on West South Range Road north of the city in Mahoning County failed to sell at a well-publicized auction Saturday.
Swindell, who bought the property in 1999, has said he has about 3 million invested in it. He wants to sell the facility, but no one wanted to bid.
He said he has since heard from people from other areas of Columbiana County who indicated they were interested in buying the track. But he said it would take time for prospective buyers to travel to Salem to look at the facility and certify they have the money to complete the deal.
That could occur later this week, he said.
No lack of fans
But from Ward's perspective, business is booming.
There's been no decline in interest in drag racing, the businessman said.
The drag strip has been operating for 50 years. He said the nearest other drag strip is in Norwalk, Ohio.
Last year, when the Super Nationals were held during the city's bicentennial celebration, visitors to the nationals jammed the roads. Steps have been taken to ease traffic woes this year, Ward said.
The 29,446 customers came despite rain on the first and third days of the three-day event, Ward said.
This year, the hours will be extended to provide more entertainment. "There's a market," he added.
He said that Swindell had offered to sell him the property, but he didn't buy it because he's a promoter, not a track operator.
wilkinson@vindy.com