Just a couple of hours ago, the East Coast Timing Association was given permission to hold land speed racing events at the Wilmington Air Park in Wilmington, Ohio for the 2012 season. This includes the Hot Rod Magazine Top Speed Challenge. The group has been looking for a new home since the place they have raced at for a decade and a half at the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport in North Carolina decided not to renew their agreement for 2012. While it is sad to see a long standing venue close, it is uber exciting to see a new one open! This facility promises to have a far smoother racing surface than the famously rustic one in Maxton and it is located more centrally in the country so it may draw more competitors.

Joe and Donna Timney, along with Keith and Tonya Turk have been working tirelessly since they knew the Maxton deal was done earlier this year. In a conversation with Keith Turk last night, he was very excited at their prospects and thought today’s meeting with the officials that oversee the Air Park would go well. He reported that the house was packed and while the vote was not unanimous, there was a very strong majoirty who voted in favor of the ECTA using the Wilmington Air Park for their 2012 season (and hopefully many, many more to come!). 

We’ll have more to share on this story in the days to come, but for the time being we wanted to send out a hearty BangShift congrats to the management and racers of the ECTA!