Friday, March 29, 2024

Three new owners nearing agreement for Maple Grove Raceway

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By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

Maple Grove Raceway is finalizing an agreement to be sold. The track was previously put up for sale last June for $8 million.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Drag Racing legend John Force competing in the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil
John Force competing in the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil (Photo by Sarah Edwards/The Capital Sports Report)

The track owners attended a town council meeting on Monday night in Reading, Pennsylvania. The new owners are Joe Casella, Jordan Levitt, and Christopher Winter.

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These three men, who are Motorsports Developers partners, bought the track from the family of Don Schumacher Racing Vice President Mike Lewis. Mark Stauffer and Kent Lewis were the previous owners.

Included in the sale are two liquor licenses, campground facilities, expansive income-producing parking, several residential rentals, office/event buildings, several outbuildings, racing equipment, etc. The deal also includes the racing business and 14 parcels that include 450 acres.

We have been working on this news since the story broke in June that the track went up for sale. In September, several sources informed us at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil that the new owners were on the property on September 14th.

We were able to confirm the news to be factual. One source told us on the finals of the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals that the new owners wanted to add “a go-kart track, an IMSA track, and make other additions to the facility.”

We have been trying to bring you this news since then, but one owner told us in December.

“Not done yet,” he said. “Don’t even have a purchase contract yet. As soon as I have a contract, we will let people know.”

The concern that many fans had when the track went up for sale that it would be sold to a developer and would no longer be a race track. However, that is not the case, as all three new owners have racing backgrounds.

The fans did not want another significant drag strip in the Northeast to go away. As we broke in January 2018, Old Bridge Township Raceway Park shut down their drag racing operations.

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This left a gigantic hole in the hearts of many fans, as they’re still saddened by the news. Those fans either have to go to Maple Grove Raceway; Island Dragway in Great Meadows, New Jersey; Atco Dragway in Atco, New Jersey; or other tracks to get their drag racing fix.

If they want to get their Nitro fix, though, they either have to go to The Grove, Virginia Motorsports Park, New England Dragway, among other tracks out of the area to see national events. Now, the historic drag strip that previously called Englishtown, New Jersey home is being converted to a Formula Drift track, according to an announcement at SEMA in November.

“The plan is to keep it a racetrack and make the township money through different revenue streams,” Levitt said, according to the Reading Eagle.

The three new owners have more than 100-years experience in racing, according to the Reading Eagle.

Maple Grove Raceway has been a race track since 1962 when it opened up as a 1/5th-mile dragstrip. It was converted to its current quarter-mile track in 1964.

The facility has been hosting an NHRA national event since 1985. Besides hosting the NHRA national event, the facility has also hosted the American Drag Racing League, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, the Geezers Reunion at The Grove, the Super Chevy Show, Mopar Action, Fun Ford Weekend, the Pennsylvania NHRA Dutch Classic, the Sunoco Race Fuels Money Trail, among other programs.

This season, they will be hosting the Street Outlaws No Prep Kings for the second time in 2020. Street Outlaws No Prep Kings held their inaugural event in 2018.

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Anthony Caruso III
Anthony Caruso IIIhttps://thecapitalsportsreport.com
Anthony Caruso III is the Publisher of The Capital Sports Report. He has been in the Journalism field since August 2002. Since that time, Mr. Caruso has covered many marquee events. This includes 13 Heisman Trophy ceremonies, 2 Little World Series events, and one Army-Navy College Football game.
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