WISCASSET

Racing is expected to return to “The Prettiest Little Village in Maine” come next Saturday, thanks to new owners Richard and Vanessa Jordan.

Wiscasset Speedway, the former Wiscasset Raceway, features a 3/8 mile highbanked track and is set to open on April 6 at 1 p.m.

The owners are from Kingfield and own Jordan Lumber. Richard Jordan was a teenager when Wiscasset Raceway opened as Wiscasset Speedway in 1969 and attended the first race there.

“My mother (the late Evangeline Jordan) was a big race fan,” Richard told the Bangor Daily News in a recent interview. “And I had 40-50 relatives in the area and we’d meet at the track.”

Since the Jordans live over 80 miles away, they brought former race announcer Ken Minott of Georgetown aboard to help run the ship.

The track is expected to hold divisional races on Saturdays through Fall Fury on Oct. 5.

Wiscasset Speedway first opened in 1969, and to this day remains the fastest in the state.

This year, in an effort to provide a timely and actionpacked show, the new management team has decided to split its regular divisions into two groups that will alternate week to week.

Group one will feature Prostock, Superstock, Thunder 4’s and Northeast 4-cylinder Prostocks divisions.

Group two will showcase Late Model Sportsman, Strickly Streets, Outlaw Minis and Mini Trucks.

Also on the schedule are Enduro races, Nelcar Legends, Northeast Mini Stock Tour, Wicked Vintage Racers, and more.

Wiscasset will run a Saturday afternoon program throughout the month of April and then bring the action under the lights beginning in May.

The opening day schedule will have pit gates open at 8 a.m., with practice beginning at 9 a.m. and grandstand gates opening at 11 a.m. The green flag will drop at 1 p.m.

The track offers plenty of free parking, and admission is $5 per person, with children 6 and under free.

“I want to fill the bleachers. I want to make it affordable for families,” said Richard Jordan, who bought the track at auction for $130,000.

Jordan didn’t intend to buy the track when he attended the auction.

“I just wanted to lend my support. It was like a daughter. I just wanted to make sure it was going to be in good hands,” he said. “And by the time (the bidding) was done, it was in my hands. This is what God wanted and we’re going to make it work.”

Minott has settled in nicely in his usual role as track announcer, promoter and Jack-of-all-trades.

Minott, a U.S. Postal worker, is back on the job after the track shut down following a shortened 2010 season. He admits there’s a lot of work ahead.

“They’re renovating all the buildings, they’re renovating all the concession buildings, too,” said Minott.

“To start this season we’re also renovating the main tower with announcer, scoring booth and VIP area. There’s a new pit entrance building — housing pit, ticket booth, tires and equipment — a new state-of-the-art sound system, new electronic scoring system, new concession menu, new pace car provided by Norms Used Cars, new staff and new logo.”

Down the road the Jordans are also looking at refurbishing the track.

Every effort will be made to reconnecting with the loyal racing fans.

“They’re approaching this as you can’t sell a hot dog to an empty seat,” added Minott. “The fact that the track has been shut down for a couple of years, they want to make this welcoming for families and make it affordable for families to come here.

“And one thing that Richard told me — and it really stuck — was that if we’re not having fun, we’re doing something wrong and we’re going to fix it.

“We’re implementing many new things in the program to get the fans more involved in the show and entertained, rather than just watching a race. We want it to be a FUN experience for the whole family.

“We’re also planning on reaching out to area schools to give them free tickets for deserving students like with excellence, improvement, random acts of kindness.

“We’re modernizing the facility, but we’re also keeping a foot in the past,” added Minott. “We’re going back to the root of where the track came from. We’re going to pay homage to a lot of the legendary drivers, have them come and be our VIP guests for a show.”

Of the dual divisions, the 47-year-old Minott offered, “it was almost born out of necessity. The focus was to have a five-division show so that we could start the show at six o’clock, give them a good entertaining show and have them out of here by nine-thirty or 10 o’clock.”

But a trip to the Northeast Motor Sports Expo in Augusta brought forth some interesting feedback from some drivers whose divisions were originally left out like Pro- Stock and Strictly Streets.

“And, rather than add them on and make the show six, or seven hours, which is uncomfortable for people, we decided to alternate every other week to make it flexible and affordable for the drivers. And give the fans some variety.”

The original meeting with Minott and the Jordans was a match made in racing heaven.

“I met them and it was almost interviewing them while they were interviewing me,” said Minott. “I went in with the attitude of ‘well, I’m happily retired (from racing), and I’m perfectly fine saying thanks, but no thanks.’ But when I met with them I really liked the vision that they had for the track and I really liked them as people and what they wanted to do. And they entrusted me with what they wanted to do with the track.”

Minott, who has an able assistant in Waldoboro’s Lisa Maguire, knows that he and the Jordans have some fences to mend.

Wiscasset Speedway/Raceway has a checkered past, the last episode being when Doug White bought it for $500,000 in 2007 but closed it during the 2010 season due to money woes.

“There’s a wait-and-see attitude with some people,” Minott explained. “Just because of the sporadic history of the track. That’s one of things that I like about what the Jordans are doing. Rather than make a great, big giant initial splash and then not being able to follow up on the promises, they’re working on building a good, solid foundation. And, then building up from there.

“We’re also trying to build up some consistency as far as how we officiate the races,” added Minott. “How we run the show, but at the same time if we see something that isn’t working, we’re not opposed to changing it. We want to get feedback from as many sources as we can and adjust accordingly.”

Even the concessions will be tweaked along the way.

“You’ll have the basic like hot dogs, hamburgers and fries,” said Minott. “But, they are looking at expanding like chowders and chili. Clamcakes and things like that. They know that having food at the track is also a big part of the experience.”

And how about the drivers?

“The driver interest is also there,” said Minott. “They love the track and have raced here their whole careers. They grew up watching their parents race and such. Again, there’s a little bit of wait-andsee and there are some bridges to rebuild. The turnout at the last two events here really gave us a good idea of how much people love this place. We’re hoping that the same appreciation and attachment to the track is there. And, when people see the $5 admission fee, that’s going to be one of the big things.”

“There are doubters out there who say we are foolish and it isn’t going to happen,” added Minott, who worked, in radio for years before being approached by then-owner Dave St. Clair, who needed a fill-in announcer at the tail end of the 1993 season.

“At the end of the show he said ‘the job’s yours next year if you want it … I didn’t even know I was auditioning. I ended up 16 years consecutively. It’s been fun.”B

Wiscasset Speedway is located on the West Alna Road in Wiscasset.

For more information, visit www.wiscassetspeedway.com

THE BANGOR DAILY NEWS contributed to this story.