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Its been years since I was down there (Back when Brady ran it, and it was called Thunderbowl) but I need to come down and check it out again. I miss those days quite a bit.

Are you guys racing every saturday night?

hondaatc@gmail.com

Please let me know, thanks.

Thanks. Do you guys have an email list or anything? I rarely remember to check the site.

Is the track open any times for just a practice? Its been several years since I was there (Back when Brady ran it and Dave Ware had the SFTL), but it seems like more or less there were a few Sundays a month it was open to just riding and dial in. That go on anymore?

I remember almost all of you guys from back in the drag racing days...at Saltsdale and then at Hazlehurst when saltsdale closed. I was the kid on the raggedy CR500R threewheeler. Ronnie really took me under his wing and taught me so much about bikes and building motors and riding. I wouldn't know 1/4 of what I do today if it wasn't for him. He really was an awesome guy.

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php?117085-Ronnie-passed-away-last-night More information there on my site.

Talked to Ronnie's buddy Alan, the service is going to be this Thursday at 1:00PM.

Griffith Cline - Funeral Services
720 Manatee Avenue
Bradenton, FL 34205


The memorial/Remembrance ride at the hills is tentatively to be held in like 2 weeks.

http://www.baynews9.com/article/news/2010/august/130822/Palmetto-man-52-dies-in-motorcycle-crash

http://www.atvflorida.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=659

Not sure how many people still hang around here that knew Ronnie, but he passed away last night. He was one of the greatest guys I've ever known in my entire life and he will be missed by hundreds of people that were honored to call him their friend. I'm not local to where he lived, but I plan to attend the services, and as I learn more I will post up. Spread the word if you knew him...

Hey Paul,

I'm surviving. I do want to come over and ride sometime, I just never seem to get the time and have stuff running good enough at once. I'll get over there sometime. I miss riding on a real track a lot.


I loved having my track open. Its a very special and personal part of my life, but it also has made me a bitter @$$hole too. I grew up as a young teenager reading DirtWheels and all the other magazines and seeing names like John Natalie, Doug Gust, Joe Byrd,  Jason Dunkleberger, and then later on seeing names like Josh Creamer, Chad Wienen, Jeremy Lawson...I got to meet all of those guys. All of those guys rode at MY track. Want to talk about surreal? Grow up dreaming of having your own track and riding park and then take a stroll around the pits of a 170+ entry SSQSA race on YOUR property where you've grown up riding. Ground you've been across yourself a thousand times, I still get goose bumps thinking about it.

I was just barely 19 years old when I got the permit for my track and I had just turned 23 when it was pretty much all finished up and "done". I learned a lot about having business partners, responsibilities that I didn't particularly want but HAD to deal with, how naive I was, how "business" is done in the real world (aka, grease my pocket, I'll make stuff happen for ya, wink wink wink, nudge nudge). I've been written about in the newspaper over a dozen times (Not nicely, either, I can assure you), had my name ran through the mud, watched people get hauled out in a meat wagon wondering if they were OK, Seen riders hit the dirt and get knocked out cold and my heart sinking wondering if they were alive or dead, had people stand up at a meeting of 200+ people and talk about how bad and "evil" my family is, that we ruined an entire corner of a county, compared to the trojan horse of troy. I've hired attorney's that quit because they knew they couldn't win, I've had county officials lie to me and the results cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. I've had 3 Foreclosures in the past 8 months.  My parents will be paying for it financially the rest of their lives and I will more than likely too.

Bad business decision? Probably. Not having the right friends in the right places? Probably. Made me an un-trusting not a very nice person of a person for the rest of my life? Probably.

Worth the pain and suffering? Wouldn't have it any other way.

Paul wrapped it up nicely. AmpXtreme was on my family's property, I was a 1/4 interest owner in the business, and I dealt with the vast majority of all the BS personally that came from local municipalities, pissed off neighbors, nosy newspaper people, water management, etc.



There is money to be made in doing it, but there is A LOT to be lost from it as well. If you don't have hundreds of thousands in liquid assets sitting in the bank, don't even bother. Someone else with more friends in the right places and more money will squash you like a bug. And they wont even think twice about it. It was a very rewarding experience, and I met a lot of people that I never would have had the opportunity of doing before.

I might breakout the CR500 trike again if you guys are that hard up for riders. Haven't been on a flat track in probably like 2 years now.

This post is a few years old. We were hitting up just about every race, but I haven't been in almost a year now. If theres a true interest in getting a trike class together again I'll be there

9 hour meeting...I want to thank the support of everyone that did show up and spend their time. We were there till about 3:00AM this morning. It did end up being rejected.... 3/1, no permit.

Guys, a week from tomorrow we're going back in again for the 3rd time. January 29th, 6:00PM here in Live Oak. I'm told we will have a full board of 5 members this go-around. If any of you guys that have rode or raced here before can show up, it'd be great. Voicing support of the track at the permit hearing is critical to getting it opened back up. If we DO get re-opened I plan on having a couple freebie weekends for everyone and will make it worth your while:) Checkout the GMI website www.gmimx.net or send me a PM.

I dunno man it looks freakin awesome for sure. Maybe after your 500 is done sometime this year? be cool to have both of em out there.

We've been postponed until the 29th of January. We had a board member get so upset at the line of questioning I was having to take from a Jacksonville attorney that he pushed his paperwork up on the desk, got up holding his chest quivering shaking saying he couldn't handle it and it was ridiculous, that his heart hurt. We only had 3 people on the board last night, and after Mr. Chambliss left we were left with only 2, which is not enough to have a meeting. I did find out last night that he is OK, he was just very upset by the fact of how the attorney was questioning me in a very direct back and fourth battle between him and I that lasted over 20 minutes by some accounts, and that he did not believe the spirit of the hearing called for or even really allowed this type of format. It was suppose to be a Q&A session, not a trial.


http://www.suwanneedemocrat.com/local/local_story_354085424.html This article in the Suwannee Democrat sums it up fairly well. 


I handled myself pretty well and never got upset or agitated by his line of questioning even though 99% of it lacked any basis in the actual issuance of the permit which is what we were there for last night. He kept asking me questions and I kept feeding him answers and paperwork to back up my statements. He actually came up to me later on and said that he was very impressed and that he did'nt have anything against ATVs or the fact that I was trying to make a living but that he couldn't let the value of his property be taken away. Which, I feel, and have stuff to backup the claim, that there wont be any decrease in property values. So I just need a bit more of an opportunity to convince him that I'm right

Thank you so much guys. The radio interview went real well this morning, didn't get to record it for play back listening but it went good and I covered all the bases I needed to hit on. The DJ was very accommodating and a great guy to chat with. Hopefully this made it out to just a few more local people to reach and let them know about the hearing.

I'll be going on air in the morning to be interviewed by a local DJ (98.1 FM here in Live Oak) about our zoning hearing for the track and what we plan to do if we receive a permit again. I plan to hit on a few different topics such as the type of people that ride and race motocross, the economic benefits of having people in the area, the convenience of a place to practice for local people to keep them in the area and from traveling out of it spending their $$$ elsewhere, and also the convenience of another activity for people in the area to come and checkout even if they aren't riders, just come and spectate a race or practice and see what its all about. 

We've made contact with some local business owners that have offered their support for our venture and feel that they would benefit from it as well economically. I feel very good with what I have for material and support going into the hearing on Thursday and am confident I've done everything I possible could have, so if we aren't awarded the permit I at least feel like I tried and done the best that I could. We'll know shortly one way or another!   :ThumbsUp.gif

Hey everyone, just a quick update.

We've got a quick little video on youtube right now of when we had the first SSQSA race that I had planned to show to the board at the first hearing and will be prepared to show it to them at the final one next week as well. You can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxMJsITO_Qg  Would be great to see some of you that were at these races and came out and practiced at the meeting.

If we do get permitted again I have some plans to have a couple weekends be free and have just a nice re-opening and reintroduction to the track to thank everyone for their support and get the interest in it generated back up since its been down for quite a while now.

This is gonna be the only chance to get this place re-opened back up so if anyone that liked and enjoyed the track, please try and come and voice your opinion. Thanks.

Oh yeah, I'm definitely with you. We've already been permitted by the county once. I've been down this entire road already before, and the only reason I'm here again is because the county didn't have the right date on the land use change sign until like 3 days before the hearing the first time back in 06. They still awarded us the permit because they believed the criteria for a public forum had been met and the date on the sign had not prevented that from happening. This is a very small town and area though, and theres what appears to be a bit of a political motivation maneuvering its way around that is not necessarily in my favor, if you know what I mean.

I'm all for following the letter of the law and have done everything I could to do it that way. Its been a real test of patience with some of these neighbors though and their signs in front of their homes slandering my family name and the ridiculous insulting letters they've mailed, but I've kept a cool head with it and not let it got under my skin because I'm a bigger and a better person then to go down that path.

We were one board member short last night, and having a 2/2 vote is the same as a rejection vote unfortunately so we tabled the vote until next month, December 18th which is a week before Christmas...kind of a bad time but it just was not in our favor to run with it last night because of even # of board members. We really need to have a good group of riders at the next one, I'm sure it'll be tough with it being the week before Christmas, but rider support at these meetings is critical.

Oddly enough, 2 of my former partners that are now running amp over in Madison showed up and were sitting with the opposition last night wearing "NO" stickers on their shirts. I guess they'd rather look at it from a competition standpoint, or a personal grudge with an axe to grind then being able to work and promote local series and rider bases between tracks. Pretty sad.


I'll keep everyone updated, thanks for checkin in and glad to see that you guys are still interested in this place.



Billy

Tomorrow is D-Day...we'll see how it all turns out. With a little bit of luck, this will be back up and running before new years.

We're trying The neighbors are pulling out all the stops and managed to make our attorney we had hired withdraw from the case (Long story, but goes to show how far their willing to go with it)...so I'm stuck handling all of it myself.

Less then a week away before we go back before the Board of Adjustment. The Suwannee Democrat picked up the story already, have a read yourself: http://www.suwanneedemocrat.com/local/local_story_318171111.html Our meeting is the 20th (Thursday) 6:30pm at Live Oak City hall. The address there is:

101 White Ave. S.E.
Live Oak, Fl 32064

In some other news, Mike Walsh and Cody Gibson were out at the track this afternoon doing some practicing and testing. I've been running the dozer a bunch and have got the track back in pretty decent shape. If anyone has any questions or thinks their able to help out in anyway it'd be great, just let me know. hondaatc@windstream.net or PM me and I'll be happy to shoot ya my phone # as well. Hopefully the board of adjustment will see things our way and the rest of you guys might have an opportunity to ride on it again 

Wow, man I'm so sorry to hear about that. Brady you'll definitely be in my prayers.