Dear Circle L Speedway Racers and Race
Teams,
With great regret, as of Sunday morning, June 29, 2008, Circle L Speedway will
be closed for the remainder of 2008. We are not maintaining an adequate program
or a safe racing surface week to week. We are struggling to stay properly
staffed at the events week-to-week.
As you all know, we are an all volunteer effort. To properly prepare an high
banked clay racing surface in Texas for Saturday night racing has proven at this
time to be too large of a challenge. It requires dragging the surface to
smoothness on Fridays, followed by adding water, lots of water, followed by
drying. Then, late on Friday evenings, usually 2 hours of packing the surface
with a truck followed by another light watering to soak in deep into the track
surface overnight. Then another early Saturday morning deep watering usually
about 6:00 am, followed by another 1-hour packing of the track around noon. This
ensures deep moisture in the track despite the hot Texas sun, and most
importantly, the two long packing sessions provides the smooth racing surface we
experienced at the track for the first couple of years. I did this for over
2-years, but I have not been able to provide this service this year due to my
overwhelming work schedule of 60-80 hour work weeks. It has been my full
intention to continue to provide these track services this year, in addition to
my functions as Race Marshall at the track. I have not been able to fulfill
either, and feel I have let everyone down greatly, bringing great hardships upon
many volunteers and racers in the process.
It all has simply proven to be too much for me to handle. I feel my intentions
were noble. But, between running 4 businesses, the racing operation also, in
addition to most importantly being a grandfather of seven, I have simply "bit
off too much to chew", as the old saying goes. It is selfish for me to expect
others to step in and make these time sacrifices on my behalf, in my absence,
and I will not allow that to happen.
I sincerely hope you all accept my deepest apologies for this inconvenience to
this great racing community. I did give it my best shot. We did accomplish alot
at Circle L. There will be memories for many.
I am not used to letting people down, not meeting my commitments to others. I
know those who race here, love to race here. It's a drivers track, providing
unigue and unequaled race driver training for all of our children and grand
children, the young racers.
I wish to thank all the volunteers at the track this year, and all the past
years, for their efforts. Especially the efforts to pull the season off despite
the scheduling conflicts we've endured, and the extreme amount of heavy rains
that we have endured. You have all poured your hearts out so the children can
race, and I know this early demise to the season is a huge disappointment. You
guys and gals have performed magnificently, despite being shorthanded, and
dealing with the many conflicts we've been forced to endure at the track this
year. It's my hope that if we get an opportunity to race again at Circle L in
2009 or beyond, you will all once again join with me in this dream of providing
a safe, fun, instructional and family-oriented racing environment for our fine
young racers.
Racers, race on. I hope that I will get some opportunities to see you compete at
area tracks when I visit them to watch my granddaughter race. I'll visit your
websites to check up on your progress. And visit the track websites too. In the
meantime, one thing you can count on for sure is that the entire Locke Family
and Circle L Speedway volunteer staff will miss you all greatly.
Thank you racers for the honor of spending most of our Saturday evenings with
you for the past two and a half years.
Sincerely,
Gerry Locke