In July, Mike McCann had to step away from Orland Raceway after promoting
the races for a season and a half. He gave it a good effort and made
some improvements to the track, but it never quite got off the ground. The are too many obstacles that seem to have challenged all of the promoters there since the Turners ended a successful decade long run.
In September, Adam Zachary was named the new promoter by the Fair Board after winning the bid. Zachary intends to have a new web page up and make use of social media as he reopens the track in 2015. On the Glenn County Fairgrounds Facebook page, he was quoted saying,"I am
still planning on running most of the previous classes with
variations."
Most likely, the divisions will at least include Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks, Pure Stocks and Wingless Spec Sprints, but some announcements will be forthcoming following Thanksgiving weekend. A special meeting has been scheduled to meet with the racers on December 6th at 1PM at Mountain Mike's Pizza on Mangrove in Chico.
I have to admit I was a little worried it might be the end of the track after McCann walked away. It's nice to know that Adam is stepping in and giving it a go. He faces some challenges. For instance, because of the difficulties the track has had over the last five years or so, Chico has added some of the classes that Orland has. This has led to drivers switching tracks.
The challenge will be to create some stability for the racing program and to inspire some driver loyalty at the track. Who knows how many chances the track will get before nobody wants to promote it anymore. We'll see what kind of driver support the track gets this time. I wish Adam the best as he tries to make a go of it in 2015.
