Milan Dragway Has Been Sold?

[SVO_Brian]

https://fb.watch/6FjIhhdI3B/

Awesome, sounds like good news for everyone! Thanks for the update!

[black88coupe]

Awesome, sounds like good news for everyone! Thanks for the update!

Your welcome. Next season should be good.

[slow96hater]

What’s up with the free press story that just broke?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[orangejuiced86]

Cliff notes??

[4Gas$]

Not gonna pay to see the Freep news story. At least this is free...


39 PHOTOS - "136-acre Milan Dragway is for sale: Who might buy it"


https://www.freep.com/picture-galler...uy/7927382002/

[Sledder]

Cut & paste of the Free Press article from a cut & paste from FB. Tried to clean up some of the formatting.

Racers devastated by shutdown of 136-acre Milan Dragway
Phoebe Wall Howard Detroit Free Press

A 136-acre parcel of land about 50 miles southwest of Detroit that represents generations
of memories for families throughout the region is up for sale, with offers accepted from
serious buyers until the end of July.

The Milan Dragway has been placed in receivership and a Monroe County Circuit Court
judge has appointed an attorney to man age the track and sell it to pay its debts.
Unpaid bills and liens total some $2.5 million. The goal of the sale is to pay off creditors
and turn over the property to a new buyer who, ideally, delivers on a vision that's
consistent with the little farming community in London Township. Where some
towns know the familiar sound of freighters or trains, this town has recognized the hum of
race cars since 1963.

David Findling, a Royal Oak lawyer appointed by the court, has been tasked with finding a
buyer and then going through a judicial review intended to close the deal. The value of
the property has, until now, been defined by a quarter-mile drag strip.
But this is not just a story about a property sale or the potential for a big developer to
swoop in and build a McMansion community. This is about what one family lost, how it
rippled and devastated thousands of other families built around drag racing, the
competition for the neglected property and dreams of bringing back what once was.
Milan is not pronounced MEE-lon, like the famous Italian city, but rather MY-lin.
It was a place where friends and families for generations created memories of cheering in
the stands as vehicles lined up for a race like the kind depicted in classic films such as
"American Graffiti" or "Grease." American cars line up like sprinters on a track and drivers
floor the gas pedal to go as fast as possible in a straight line for a quarter-mile. Afterward,
competitors and their families camped together on the property when the races ended.
Milan Dragway, for some, might be compared to hockey nights at Joe Louis Arena in
downtown Detroit, an unforgettable part of our childhood.

"Milan has been in my life since I was born and to have it close, it hurts," said racer Jimmy
Detrick, 55, of Garden City. "My father raced a 1966 pickup truck. He street raced it and
then he raced it at Milan. I made my first run in 1981 and I've raced four days a week for
many, many years."
Some races involve prize money, some don't.
"We race for money. But return on investment is very backward. Nobody really makes
money doing it," he said.
Detrick, a mechanic whose father was also a mechanic, says he has gone 240 mph to run a
quarter-mile in 5.77 seconds. He is a well-known driver. These days, he spends evenings
delivering lost luggage for airlines at Detroit Metro.
"The TV news thinks these dudes doing doughnuts (in the street) is drag racing. That's
stupidity racing. That's the dumbest thing people can do," he said. "Drag racing is a
controlled environment that's safe and safe for spectators. I just hope Milan stays a drag
strip and people can use if for years."

The owners announced they were shutting down drag racing back in March.
Motocross and dirt bike racing is continuing for now.
But the website says, "With heavy hearts, we must announce that we will not be opening as
scheduled for the 2021 racing season. We appreciate all of your support over the years. We
have always operated with the best interests of our racers and fans in mind. Current
circumstances do not allow us to operate the track safely, and so we are not able to open
the track at all."

Its Facebook page had more than 5,000 reactions to the March 30 news.
"My first summer job was out there 27 years ago. I can’t tell you how cool it was to be 14
and saturated in cars that went fast," Ricky Roberts of Morenci posted. "Everyone deserves
the experiences Milan Dragway provided for so many for so long."

What happened

Back-to-back-to-back rainy seasons and then COVID-19 dealt Milan a final blow.
William Kapolka, president of Milan Dragway for three decades, had a massive heart attack
in February 2020. He is on the mend but unable to talk with a reporter, family said.
"It was exceptionally stressful," said Deneen Baxter, his daughter.
When she tried to find words for the situation at the raceway, she was at a loss.
"My son said it to me best one day. I said I can't find the right words for this, and he said,
'It's like hospice.You lived a beautiful life. Milan Dragway lived a beautiful life. Then you
got sick and it was kind of like a slow death, and it just kept dragging out. We knew we
couldn't get it back. It was too far gone. You had to let it go.' "
Baxter, 47, began to sob.
"I’m so sorry I’m getting emotional. I don’t generally cry," she said. "I have a deep love and
respect for the racing community. I very much appreciate all the years that I was able to
spend out there. The racetrack is a very large part of our family. Our whole life was spent at
the racetrack. And it's a part of the Motor City history, which is all about cars. This was
about keeping people off the streets. Milan, in many ways, was a home away from home for
people."

Her son, Chase, now 23, and daughter Krysti, now 28, sold tickets and sold hot
dogsgrowing up. Krysti ended up the race director, foregoing a graduation ceremony at
Central Michigan University to be there for her racers and Motor City Mayhem in 2013.
"This isn't a foreclosure deal where we're ripping out the cupboards on the way out,"
Deneen Baxter said. "My grandma had an ice cream shack out there called, 'Granny's Ice
Cream.' I was part of operations, the vice president, and did everything outside the
guardrails — ticket promotions, scheduling, sponsorships."
"One rainy season you can recover from, not three in a row," Baxter said. "We can't run in
the rain. There was no recovery."

The dragway depended on revenue from ticket sales, track fees, sponsorships and
concession and souvenirs.
Still, hope remains.
"I'm excited for the future of the Milan Dragway — for new ideas, new hands, fresh
funding," Baxter said. "I'm looking forward to the upgrades they're going to make, the
programs they're going to have."

[derbydad276]

I'm sorry.... I don't believe a word out of their mouths ...
getting the daughter an education in management should have helped the track...
Instead ... she helped run the place into the ground

[dline]

they had to be making money.

[orangejuiced86]

The dumbass daughter was too busy hanging in the crowds and starting shit....Fuckem......

[dline]

lapeer sure has been busy this year!