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New
Eldora Speedway general manager Roger Slack addresses the crowd at
the Eldora awards banquet Saturday.
Slack said big announcements were
coming in the near future. CNO Photo by Nancy Lane-Feldner
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Slack ready for
Eldora challenge
By George Starks
NEW WESTON - When it comes to the big names in motor sports, Eldora
Speedway ranks in the top five in the country.
Carved from a cornfield, founder Earl Baltes, now 90 years young,
watched his investment rise to be the best of the best in the world of
dirt track racing. When Baltes sold out, it was NASCAR superstar Tony
Stewart who took over and the track has grown even more. Every year,
Stewart has done something to make the track better.
Now, Stewart has brought on Roger Slack as the new General Manager.
At the young age of 37, Slack is no stranger to the motor sports scene,
most recently heading things up at Charlotte Motor Speedway, working
for the legendary H. A “Humpy” Wheeler.
“Eldora is one of the five most prominent names in racing,” said Slack
after the Eldora awards banquet. “We’re talking about a fantastic
facility that a man and his wife built in 1954 and it’s become one of
the best facilities in the entire world in motor sports. I’m happy to
be a part of it all.”
When Stewart bought the track from Baltes in 2004, Slack was a part of
it all then, thinking he would be here in the future.
“We talked about it back when Tony bought the place,” Slack said. “I
helped him with some of the due diligence. I wasn’t yet 30 and I had
some stuff I felt like I wanted to grow through. Working along side of
Humpy Wheeler at Charlotte, I was still learning and I would never give
up that experience. Actually, I had a choice. I could go work for the
new Formula 1 project in New York City or come here to Darke County and
Eldora Speedway. This is the best decision I ever made in my life.”
Slack said he’s seen the mistakes by others that he doesn’t want to see
here.
“I’ve seen the mistakes that NASCAR made in trying to engage the new
audience... the casual audience, but they alienated the traditional
fan,” Slack pointed out. “I hope we don’t alienate our traditional fan.
I want them to have fun and see all the racing they want to see but
also, bring into the track, new and younger people and have them
saying, “hey, you know what, this dirt racing thing is something I’ve
never seen before and I want to be a part of it.”
With the first race of the 2012 season on tap on April 14th, Slack said
he was excited about the new season.
“I have a lot of things I want to get accomplished,” Slack said. “I may
not get it done in six months or two years but I am really excited
about some things we have in the works.”
According to Slack big things are going to be happening at Eldora.
“In a couple of weeks, we will be making some announcements,” Slack
stated. “One of those will be about a major USAC race on Saturday
night, July 28th. The success we have with the Dream will determine
where we will go with the World 100.”
Slack continued by saying, “the USAC race could very well be the
highest paying USAC race since the Mopar Million. It won’t be on that
scale but it will be extremely lucrative for the winner and the guy
that makes the race.”
Slack told the packed Eldora Ballroom crowd that he was easily
accessible to everyone. He can be reached at roger@eldoraspeedway.com.
He also said he is on facebook and twitter and his direct line is
937-338-6009.
“If you have a suggestion or an idea, let me know about it,” Slack said.
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