TOYOTA TUNDRA 250: Sitting down with Wiscasset Raceway's Doug White

It’s been just over 1 year since Doug White took over at Wiscasset Raceway, and he’s just days away from running the New England Toyota Tundra 250 – a race that believes will become the annual marquee event at the facility.

On Tuesday night, White sat down and discussed the 2008 season, his hopes for the Toyota Tundra 250, the future of Super Late Models at Wiscasset and the sizeable purse for the 250.

Here are some of the highlights:

ON THE SUPER LATE MODEL (PRO STOCK) SEASON TO DATE:

"I think Pro Stocks, first year back, I think we’ve been more than successful. I think we’ve had a great number of teams in and out. I would have liked to see a little more involvement with the PASS people on their off weekends. ... If there was a downside, that was probably it. I thought there would be more interaction than there has been."

ON WHETHER THE SEASON HANGS ON THE 250:

"No. I want to see a lot of cars show up, but believe me, the guys that we’ve seen racing (weekly) and the guys in the PASS Series – if we only had 50 cars – it would be a success because the fans are going to see some serious Pro Stock racing and horsepower. And that’s what will constitute good racing."

ON HAVING THE 250 A PASS-SANCTIONED RACE:

"I think it’s still an ‘open’ show in a sense, but they bring an element of professionalism, along with the drivers that race with his tour – classy drivers and good drivers. It’s just one portion of the pie, so to speak, but (having PASS) has always been an important portion."

ON PAYING $30,000 TO SUNDAY’S WINNER:

"I often wonder sometimes if we try to make the purse larger than what we need to. That’s something I’m learning myself, and I’m sure Tom (Mayberry) has rethought it himself over the years, too. The ($100,000-to-win Big Dawg 400 in 2003) showed us that we really didn’t have to pay that much money, because we didn’t get the car count."

ON WHY HE OFFERED $30,000 ANYWAY:

"I wanted to keep it similar to what we did (with the DNK 250 at Unity Raceway) back in 2004, but maybe just a tad better. And I wanted to make a statement that the Pro Stocks are back."

ON ABOLISHING THE SUPER LATE MODEL DIVISION IN THE FUTURE:

"No. There will always be Pro Stock racing here, for as long as I own the track.

"The Pro Stocks, the Super Late Models, whattever you want to call them, that’s the elite class and people want to come see these guys. These guys are the top class of the northeast."

ON CHALLENGING THE OXFORD 250, WHICH IS NOW A LATE MODEL RACE:

"I’m not competing against it. I think we’ve replaced it, as far as Pro Stocks go. We are a Pro Stock track. What I do want to bring back is the old Oxford 250 in the days of old. I always went to it, went to it for my entire life. I think people still want it – it’s a need for the motorsports people that are around it all their life."

Comments

[Tristan]

Replaced the Oxford 250, as far as Pro Stocks go? For someone who "always went to it," he should know that it wasn't always Pro Stocks racing. And I'm sorry, but you can't bring back the "old Oxford 250" at the "new" Wiscasset. It just doesn't work that way.

He talks about them being the elite class and people want to go see them. That is true to an extent, but if you look at the message boards for Wiscasset Raceway, many people, fans and drivers alike, feel slighted by the return of the PS/SLM cars at Wiscasset. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching them race, but he is clearly not listening to his entire fan base.

If the TT250 is back next year, I bet you will see a winner's share of $15,000 instead of $30,000 like this year. He said it himself. You can't just throw big numbers out there and expect everyone to come out of the woodwork to race. Mayberry only got 49 cars to attempt for $100,000 back when there were a lot more of those cars around. Doug should have learned from Tom's mistake before he went and did the same thing in theory.

I hope that the race is a success and that he doesn't lose his shirt, but history is not on his side. Good luck to Doug and the entire staff at Wiscasset this weekend. I hope to get over there Sunday as long as my sitter arrangements work out.

From TB:

I'm hearing there won't be any sunshine in Turn 4. Tiki torches, too? I'm not holding out hope.

[Tristan]

No sunshine in Turn 4? That's too bad. Maybe girls in grass skirts will show up?