If you re-build it, they will come

It is the dream of race promoters everywhere to look up into the bleachers and see them filled to capacity with excited race fans. With all of the changes going on at Tri-City Speedway right now, it is not hard to imagine that dream becoming a reality on opening night.

Despite the challenge of wet weather, an extremely cold winter and other unexpected delays, progress is obvious at the 46-year-old Illinois speedplant. The newly configured three-eighths mile oval is banked and ready for racing. Concrete walls are going up all around the perimeter, many of the old lights have been taken down and new ones are delivered and ready to be lifted into place. Old bleachers by what once was turn one on the half-mile have been demolished and debris is being removed.

Clean up is also ongoing in concessions and all around the track. It is a big job, but things are coming together and this season will mark the beginning of a new era in racing at Tri-City.

Yes, the work has been tiring, and muscles have gotten a workout, but there are parts of it that have been emotionally taxing as well. Tearing down the old guardrails and cutting down the big half-mile meant taking a walk down memory lane. Ask any driver who has turned a significant number of laps at a track if there isn't some sense of nostalgia there. Most will tell you that there is.

Ripping apart the metal and earth where those memories were made is a bit like watching your childhood home being demolished. You know you will carry the images with you, but it's never quite the same when the physical structure is gone.

I snapped quite a few photos, and I will do my best to add more to the gallery tomorrow. Right now, there are eight up on the web site. Just follow this link:


http://www.girlsgoneracin.com/TCSConstruction07.htm

Once you've had a chance to look at those, check out the all new home page at www.girlsgoneracin.com. I hope you like it!


Here's a taste of the new Tri-City Speedway: