The speedway is undergoing its most extensive renovation since the Scoginses bought the facility five years ago
A?a‚¬A“Anything and everything we do out here will be focused around StormPay,A?a‚¬A? William Scogins said. A?a‚¬A“ItA?a‚¬a„?s a great handshake that weA?a‚¬a„?ve been able to find somebody in our own town, in our community thatA?a‚¬a„?s going to take interest in racing the way theyA?a‚¬a„?ve had.A?a‚¬A?
With fast rise of Crate series, round of upgrades that includes suites, owners envision track becoming entertainment hub By JIMMY TRODGLEN The Leaf-Chronicle
Added Girsky: A?a‚¬A“WeA?a‚¬a„?ve been to several (dirt tracks) here recently and we havenA?a‚¬a„?t come across one yet that has suites
Before StormPay became the primary sponsor of the Crate RacinA?a‚¬a„? USA Series, CEO Steve Girsky admits he wasnA?a‚¬a„?t much of a racing fan.
Now, he canA?a‚¬a„?t watch enough racing, and the company he helped launch four years ago has increased its impact on the local racing scene.
StormPay A?a‚¬a€? a payment processing company for online auctions A?a‚¬a€? became the primary sponsor of Clarksville Speedway, the 40-year-old dirt track that launched the career of ClarksvilleA?a‚¬a„?s Jeff Purvis, and is the central track for the launch of the Crate RacinA?a‚¬a„? Series, which has grown from a regional racing event into a national series.
The two-year deal, with an option for an additional two years, became official when Girsky and speedway owners William and Tammy Scogin made the venture officially known Friday.
With StormPay having its headquarters in Clarksville, becoming the primary sponsor of the clay-oval dirt track was an ideal fit.
A?a‚¬A“Truthfully, the sponsorship of our local track in the hometown of our corporate headquarters was a natural extension of our racing endeavors of what weA?a‚¬a„?ve undertaken in the past year,A?a‚¬A? Girsky said.
StormPay, which was launched in 2002, does business in 200 countries and is expanding its services to include e-mail accounts, Web pages, domain registry and Web-based tools.
With this major sponsorship endeavor, the Clarksville StormPay Speedway is positioned to speed up its current expansion and renovation, while providing bigger purses for the Crate RacinA?a‚¬a„? USA Series.
A?a‚¬A“We havenA?a‚¬a„?t ear-marked money for any particular purpose, other than set aside monies from the sponsorship to these purses to make them bigger,A?a‚¬A? Girsky said.
The new Clarksville StormPay Speedway is currently building corporate suites A?a‚¬a€? a first for a dirt track A?a‚¬a€? in addition to a new media and scoring tower
A?a‚¬A“WeA?a‚¬a„?re trying to give the community a place to have people come in, businesses come in, and have a place to entertain their clients,A?a‚¬A? Tammy said. A?a‚¬A“WeA?a‚¬a„?re hoping that these suites go well this year, and that maybe if word gets out, that we can add another roll of them next year.A?a‚¬A?
Last season, the speedway was the host site for 200 events A?a‚¬a€? including some that werenA?a‚¬a„?t race related A?a‚¬a€? and averaged 1,200 in attendance with its stock car series.
A?a‚¬A“All these corporate businesses, from mom and pa, to 2,000 people, we can entertain out here,A?a‚¬A? Tammy said. A?a‚¬A“We can give them a little place they can do something at.A?a‚¬A?
Other renovations to the track facility include replacing the fence alongside the road in front of the track, in addition to building a new entrance and new signs.
A?a‚¬A“It is a good venture for both companies. ItA?a‚¬a„?s an asset for us we know, and we hope itA?a‚¬a„?s an asset for them,A?a‚¬A? William said. A?a‚¬A“Tammy and I have tried to improve the place the longer we go.A?a‚¬A?
A?a‚¬A“For these guys, it costs a lot of money to race and expand the base of the sport,A?a‚¬A? Girsky said. A?a‚¬A“If we can get sponsorship for the drivers, weA?a‚¬a„?ve helped another set of fans.A?a‚¬A?