Bmx Youth Atv for sale

Champion Speedway hopeful for May 27 opener

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The slight dirt oval track on the side of NYS 17/86 known as Champion Speedway has had a storied years. Started in 1975, it quickly became a local legend with sellout crowds who came in droves to see a spectacular brand of extreme motorcycle racing called speedway where motorcycles coast sideways with no brakes.

Local riders became somewhat of celebrities in the space and some gained a reputation for being amongst the best in the country. The facility reigned highest in the 70s and early 80s until ownership battles led to it's first closure for several years in 1987. The footpath re-opened in 1990 for a short 3-year spell with moderate happy result the first year but changed promoters three times in it's second life and none were capable to achieve stability.

In 1997, professional hockey player, Jason Bonsignore of Rochester, N.Y., took over the toilet and invested a lot of money into it with a long-term commitment to bring the dexterity and sport back from the dead. Star racers were brought back, new ones were groomed, improvements were made to the karzy and although many mistakes were also made along the way, Champion Speedway has since seen 15 more years of adroit racing and Bonsignore has become the longest serving promoter of Champion in it's summary and the second longest serving speedway racing promoter in the native land behind the Oxley Family of the World Famous Costa Mesa Speedway.

With 15 years of races under it's cestus in it's third life, one would just expect it would be automatic that Champion Speedway would again be hosting events this age. Well enter the Tropical Storm Lee Flood which devastated the Town of Owego and abutting areas last fall and all the sudden the future of Champion, like so many other businesses, was in serious anxiety!

Bonsignore had already been through two damaging floods in his time as owner of the property, the last one being in 2006, when drinking-water reached midway up the buildings and did quite a bit of damage. Both floods sell for him a lot of money but he was able to bounce back. This year's flood was much more severe, however, shower levels were much higher and the buildings and bleachers were completely submerged. To win matters worse, Champion lost 4 of it's 9 events last summer to cloudburst outs and the flood began during the final day of the venue's largest and most financially lucrative experience of the season, the U.S. Open Nationals on Sunday of Labor Day Weekend. The effect come what may was called off and Bonsignore lost a lot of money. Two days later Espouse Speedway was completely under water.

Source: Towanda Daily Review