Three local race track promoters have been nominated for the Race Promotion Monthly “Auto Racing Promoter of the Year” (ARPY) Award. Randy Maggio, Jr. from Lorain Raceway Park and The Painesville Speedway, Rich and Shelly Farmer from Fremont Speedway and Kim & Randy Smart from Midvale Speedway.
Maggio recently completed his fifth and seventh seasons at Lorain Raceway Park and The Painesville Speedway respectfully. Both tracks had seen their share of troubles leading to closures prior to the Maggio family taking ownership of each track. Both tracks have grown under Maggio’s leadership including the addition of several marquee events including the Trident Stock Car Nationals and Jackpot Modified Nationals at Lorain and the Buckeye Figure 8 Nationals at Painesville.
Rich & Shelly Farmer returned to promote Fremont Speedway after five years away from promoting “the track”The Track that Action Built”. Known as a hotbed of Sprint Car racing in Ohio, Fremont Speedway at the Sandusky County Fairgrounds, has lived up to that reputation with a weekly program that features 410 Sprint Cars, 305 Sprint Cars, and Dirt Trucks. The Farmers have their hands full as Fremont Speedway will welcome the Kubota High Limit Sprint Car Series in May and the Farmers have taken the reigns and revived the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series for 2025.
Kim & Randy Smart are fairly new to promoting a race track but have quickly adapted to the ever-changing challenges of race track promotion. After purchasing Midvale Speedway just before the 2023 season, the Smarts have faced adversity almost instantly with a late start in the planning and scheduling for 2023, several rain-outs including some of the track’s biggest shows in 2023 and 2024. Nonetheless, they have persevered and have keep moving forward with an exciting schedule planned for 2025 that will include the return of Supermodifieds to the 3/10 mile oval along with their usual Summer Holiday events (Memorial Day weekend, July 3rd and Labor Day weekend).
All three are deserving nominees and all three would make great “Auto Racing Promoter of the Year” winners. Region 3 includes nominees from race tracks in Illinois and Ontario, Canada.
Painesville Speedway & Fremont Speedway are also represented as an “Outstanding Event” nominee for the Buckeye Figure 8 Nationals (Painesville) & Jim Ford Classic (Fremont) and face competition from major events across the country such as the IMCA SuperNationals in Boone, Iowa and the Trophy Cup at Tulare Thunderbowl in California.
The link for balloting is here: https://forms.gle/fqZdb6gXsdvvcJvo6 (All regions must be voted for. Ballots may be rejected).
The Auto-Racing Promoter of the Year, commonly referred to as “the ARPY” is the highest honor any track promoter can receive. To-date, there have been 47 recipients, which have been awarded as part of the Racing Promotion Monthly (RPM) Workshops.
Hugh Deery, the well-known promoter of Rockford (IL) Speedway, was the first Auto Racing Promoter of the Year, receiving the award in 1976. Jody Deery, with whom he founded Rockford Speedway, and co-founded these Workshops, received the award in 1994. Their son Chuck, for twenty-four years the promoter of LaCrosse (WI) Fairgrounds Speedway, was the 25th recipient of the award in 2000.
Along the way, the greatest promoters of our time received the award … J.C. Agajanian, for his Ascot Speedway in Gardena, CA; and D. Anthony Venditti, builder and promoter of Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts. And to… Don Martin, the builder and promoter of Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, PA. And also to… Jack Gunn, for his operation at Williams Grove (PA) Speedway, Howard Tiedt, Santa Fe (IL) Speedway, now gone, but formerly in suburban Chicago; and Paul Kuhl, the long-time promoter of Flemington (NJ) Speedway, the famed square 1/2-mile track, first dirt and later paved. Bob Sargent, Roger Slack, Steve Beitler, Gregg McKarns, Ray Marler, Joe Kosiski and Lyle DeVore, most recently are all new additions to an incredibly humbling list of winners.
The Promoters of the Year are promoters of both dirt and paved tracks. There has been an Auto Racing Promoter of the Year from every geographic region.
Over 49 years, the stories of the Auto-Racing Promoter of the Year vary in background, education and experience in building their own successful methods and operations, however, one thing remains clearly in common, their passion for the promotion of the sport of short track auto-racing.
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