Here is the email I received today:
To: All IHRA Member Tracks, Sponsors and Members
I’am pleased to announce that IHRA has been purchased from Feld Entertainment by an investor group of “car guys” and current members of the drag racing community.
Each time we have been through an ownership group change, that group purchased the entire motorsports division that we have been a part of for the last 10 + years and we basically came along for the ride. This time we will be breaking away from the motorsports division and will be 100% owned by the group that currently owns and manages Palm Beach International Raceway and Memphis International Raceway. These folks have been working on purchasing IHRA from Feld Entertainment for the last several years even though IHRA was never “for sale”.
Joe Lubek, Michael Dezer and Jason Rittenberry are the three people that will own IHRA. I have included some background info on each below and a quick link to Mr. Dezer’s personal car collection which spans over 1,800 vehicles!
To be honest, it will be nice to get back to being owned by folks in our industry. It does’t change anything from a business plan point of view. We are still a for profit company that conducts sportsman racing events, sanctions tracks and puts on shows during the season.
The reason IHRA was purchased was because of our focus on member tracks, sportsman racing and entertainment. These things really line up with the ownership’s core values since they have purchased and restored major facilities. The Nitro Jam entertainment model has made enough steady progress to be invested in and grown. The product of our hard work is that were targeted for being purchased because these folks see what the potential is and they understand our business.
Each time IHRA is purchased there is always hesitation, reservation and speculation about the future. I swear IHRA has probably been out of business or dead ten times in the last ten years according to the internet. This time there won’t be any of that. The ownership vision is much clearer, there are no corporate giants to contend with for resources and as a bonus, the new owners already have a track record of buying, investing in and growing two magnificent facilities within our sport.
IHRA will still be located in Norwalk Ohio in the same offices we just moved into a few months ago. The same people will still be here working hard every day to help our member tracks, improve sportsman racing and help our corporate partners sell their products. None of the core philosophies I’ve just mentioned will be changing. What will be changing is our ability to think beyond our limits and make a good business plan to grow that is nurtured by several people with the financial resources and passion for our sport. These folks made an investment in today’s IHRA and all that it has become. They will provide the stability and resources necessary to move IHRA forward as it continues to evolve as long as we have a financially sound game plan in place.
I hope you are as excited about the future as we are. This is all pretty new to us so I’m sure there will be more that I have not covered. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Other than an e-mail change back to @ihra.com in a few weeks, all of my contact info below is still the same.
Best Regards,
Skooter Peaco
Skooter Peaco | Vice President
IHRA Motorsports
(:: (419) 660-4217 / 419-668-6601 fax
8:: speaco@feldinc.com
*:: 300 Cleveland Road | Norwalk, Ohio | 44857
I wonder what changes we can expect to see at our track, if any (SCR)?