Promotional Duo of Howard Commander and Lyle DeVore Look for Continued Success at Lebanon Valley Speedway; 64th Year of Operation Slated to Begin on Saturday, April 23rd
Story and Photos By: MATT NOLES / RACERSGUIDE.COM
SPRAKERS, NY- April 12, 2016- One could assume that continuous success would get rather tedious after a certain amount of time.
That isn’t even remotely close to reality where Howard Commander and Lyle DeVore are concerned as the Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, New York is poised to begin yet another season of high-stakes competition at the historic high-banked oval.
Optimism reigns supreme for the promotional duo after a spectacular season in 2015. One, among a bleak economic landscape, that still saw fans enjoying a racing atmosphere almost unparalleled in the Capital District and a Rocky-like resurgence in car counts for the headlining big-block modified division.
“Last year was certainly an above average season,” stated General Manager Lyle DeVore. “We refocused our attention on what our business plan is through promotions and through marketing. We really picked it up in regards to trying to accommodate and please the customer.”
By all appearances, the fans and drivers took notice as week in and week out, there weren’t many empty seats to be found and even far fewer empty pit stalls at the iconic half-mile facility. “Last year the racing was really superb and attendance for our special events was noticeably higher,” continued DeVore. “Our car count was up across all divisions and I can’t really say anything was negative about last year but we’re always looking to improve the quality of our program.”
The attention to detail that has become the mentality of all involved with the operation of the speedway has certainly had both a positive and notable effect weekly. “I think our efforts reflect on the attendance and car count simultaneously,” remarked DeVore. “For example, talk to Elmo Reckner [big-block modified driver], he’ll tell you how much he enjoys coming down to Lebanon Valley. He felt that the speedway was operated in a professional manner and he felt welcomed.”
Where some speedways seem to have a ‘holier than thou art’ mentality, the management team at Lebanon Valley has taken a different approach to personal interaction; they’re genuinely happy to have you at their facility and what’s more, they’re more than willing to prove it. “We have a different mindset,” DeVore said. “We don’t think that you should feel privileged to be racing with us, instead we feel privileged that you’re racing with us. That thought process goes a very long way.”
Lebanon Valley also seems to have something that other speedways don’t; young children in attendance every Saturday night. “Pulling kids away from electronics is the hardest battle there is,” stated DeVore. “We’re doing well but we’re not attracting youth to the speedway as much as we would like to. To be honest, I don’t think there’s any promoter or track in the country that has the perfect answer.”
With a strong and dedicated Kid’s Club and different promotional attractions throughout the season, Commander and DeVore are headed in the right direction where youth involvement is concerned.
“You need to have interaction between the drivers and the kids,” DeVore continued. “There needs to be that connection between the kids and the drivers so that the drivers become their heroes. Fortunately, the racers have been very supportive in helping us create that type of atmosphere where we can hold their attention and get them involved in other activities aside from just watching the races from the grandstands.”
Though the upcoming season schedule looks much like the year before, there have been some noteworthy changes as opening day approaches. “We’re going to have the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Tour this season instead of the World of Outlaws,” remarked DeVore. “We’ve been in touch with Tony [Stewart] and we had an agreement with DIRTcar that we would take a year off and see what happens.”
For years, the Lebanon Valley Speedway has closed its gates for the winter the weekend after Labor Day. In 2016, fans will be able to experience the thrill of racing one additional weekend before the season comes to a close.
“We’re bringing the Race of Kings back on Saturday, September 17th,” said DeVore. “It’s going to be a $3,000-to-win sportsman race and it’s open to any driver as long as they are running a GM 602 crate engine. We haven’t really nailed down all the specifics yet but we’re pretty excited about it.”
The winter of 2014 to 2015 saw many improvements to the facilities surrounding the speedway. This past off season was more of the same as Commander and DeVore continue to make upgrades throughout the grounds of the six-decade-old oval.
“We poured new concrete out in front of the Club House,” stated DeVore. “We’ve reskinned some of the walls inside on the grandstand side of the speedway and we went through all the wiring for the track lighting and updated it as we needed to. There’s been a lot of work that was done this winter and some of it the fans and drivers won’t notice but we’re planning on making more improvements when time permits.”
With opening day inching closer and closer by the minute, the enthusiasm and excitement surrounding the Lebanon Valley Speedway is growing at an exponential rate; even for the management team. “We had a really great year last year and we’re looking to build on that this year,” concluded DeVore. “With our mindset and business plan, there’s no real reason that can’t happen.”
The Lebanon Valley Speedway will kick off the 2016 season with an open practice session on Saturday, April 16th followed by the official season opener a week later when L&M Motors and Sayer’s Auto Wrecking present a $3,000-to-win DIRTcar big-block modified feature along with the DIRTcar pro-stocks, pure stocks and four cylinders.
For more information, go to www.lebanonvalley.com or ‘Like’ them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lebanonvalleyspeedway.
Matt Noles is a contributing writer to Racers Guide and Speedway Illustrated. He currently resides in Sprakers, New York.
