Under the Guidance of Lyle DeVore and Howard Commander, ‘The Great Race Place’ is ready for Another Blockbuster Season in 2016; Opening Night Scheduled for Friday, April 22nd with Practice Scheduled for Sunday, April 17th
Story By: MATT NOLES / RACERSGUIDE.COM Photos By: DAVE DALESANDRO / RACERS GUIDE.COM
SPRAKERS, NY- April 6, 2016- There is something to be said for continuous success and as far as racing goes in the Capital District of New York state, one speedway stands out in the crowd more so than most; the Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, New York.
With full stands and a crowded pit area week in and week out, the Saratoga county oval was the racer’s choice again on Friday nights in 2015 with an extremely successful 50th Anniversary season. A season, thanks to promoter Lyle DeVore, which many race fans will be hard-pressed to forget as the 2016 opener inches closer on the calendar.
“2015 was a fantastic season,” stated Albany-Saratoga promoter Lyle DeVore. “We were able to incorporate a lot of the former champions into our season-long celebration of our 50th year. We had Billy Grecco, Gibby Fountain, Billy Pauch, C.D. Coville and a bunch of different guys that we acknowledged and honored. It made for a really good season that everyone seemed to enjoy.”
If the parking lot behind the grandstands was any indication, fans truly did enjoy themselves as the rows of cars stretched all the way out to route 9 every single Friday night. “The hardest part about this business is to maintain your car counts and your crowd counts and then build on that,” continued DeVore. “We’re very fortunate that we have the car counts that we have but I also think that it’s a direct reflection on how we try to run the speedway as well.”
Though promotion undoubtedly includes advertising your venue in hopes of drawing in customers and competitors alike, the duo of DeVore and Howard Commander are in a rare position where word of mouth seems to advertise more for them than any other outlet possibly could. There is something to be said for a reputation of that caliber.
“We really want anybody and everybody to be able to come race with us,” said DeVore. “We welcome everybody. The one thing that I’ve heard consistently is that one of the reasons people enjoy our speedway is because we run the show off in a timely fashion and that’s important to us. We want to entertain people and then get them home at a decent hour.”
For 2016, race fans will have many exciting events to look forward to throughout the season. “Brett Hearn is returning with his ‘Big Show’ Super Dirtcar Series event in June this year with Kenny Wallace,” DeVore remarked. “The USAC Midgets will be back, the Patriot Sprint Tour will be here along with the Lucas Oil ESS tour and the CRSA Tour.”
For years, the Malta, New York facility has been one of the first to close its doors for the long, brutal winters that rip racing away from the speed-obsessed faithful. This season, DeVore and company have made a few changes to the schedule allowing the fans a few extra weeks of racing before locking up for the year.
“We’ve worked the schedule around so that we’re going to be open a bit later,” DeVore said. “We’re trying to diversify a bit this year and we’re accomplishing that by changing some things around and having a larger open-wheel presence. We’re still going to support our usual divisions as well, that’s for sure. We’re not going to alienate anybody.”
The schedule wasn’t the only item to change during the offseason as fans and drivers alike will see some differences and improvements around the facility in 2016. “We have some new billboards on the backstretch heading into turn three,” stated DeVore. “We’re going to have reserved seating for the first-time ever located in front of the scorer’s tower.”
Along with the aforementioned improvements, other areas of the facility have received some attention as well. “We’re putting in a new press box up behind the bleachers heading in turn four,” DeVore said. “We’re doing some more paving around the grounds and we’re looking at building a beer garden area. We’re just going to keep plugging away with improvements and making things better week-by-week.”
For DeVore, having ownership of the facility thanks to Howard Commander not only makes it easier to keep up with the times; it makes sense to do so as well. “Now that we own the facility it makes more sense to put money into it,” continued DeVore. “Luckily we have some fantastic sponsors that support us and we support them and because of that, we’re able to make these improvements.”
On the list of noticeably different items for the upcoming year is a new and improved flag stand. “It’s a little bit higher up and it’s definitely bigger and structurally safer than the one that has been in place for years,” said DeVore. “We couldn’t go too high because then the drivers wouldn’t be able to see the flagger.”
Due to the invention of one-way radios and automated speedway safety lights, the head starter is seemingly becoming a thing of the past where racing is concerned. However true that may be, DeVore has his reasons for keeping the starter both on the stand and in view of the drivers and the crowd every Friday night.
“A flagger is really almost becoming a thing of the past and it’s a shame,” remarked DeVore. “It’s kind of a dying art, but we want to keep it around because it adds to the show and you need to have that for the entertainment aspect.”
If fans think having a head starter on the flag stand is behind the times, one only needs to watch Lebanon Valley Speedway starter Rodney Rescott prior to throwing the green flag for the big-block modified feature every Saturday night. If that isn’t the truest example of showmanship then the dictionary needs to change the definition. Simply enough, that type of enthusiasm, which envelopes the crowd and adds to the grandeur of the event, is something that is not lost on Lyle DeVore.
“Every little thing that we can do to add to the mystique and showmanship of the sport matters,” concluded DeVore. “That’s something that we take seriously and that’s one of the reasons why we’re able to stand out in the crowd as far as race tracks are concerned.”
The Albany-Saratoga Speedway is a 4/10 mile dirt stock car race track with a long and storied history in the Capital District region of New York. It is conveniently located on Route 9 in Malta NY, and has been continuously hosting stock car races since 1965. For more information you can visit them at www.albany-saratogaspeedway.com or like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Albany-Saratoga-Speedway.
Matt Noles is a contributing writer for Racer’s Guide and Speedway Illustrated. He currently resides in Sprakers, New York.
