2012 SERIES OVERVIEW
Series Promoter
Welcome to the 10th year of NEETS Racing!!! 2012 will mark the tenth year NEETS has hosted enduro events accross the North East. So, let's take a quick look back and see where we came from and then talk about where we are going!
First off, let's do a quick recap of the previous seasons... In 2003, the series was founded and the "touring" began at speedways such as Mountain SPeedway, Mahoning Valley Speedway, Wall Speedway, Orange County Speedway and ... ... The first year of racing was quite busy, but laid way for the series to grab a hold of Mountain Speedway for a full season of enduro events in 2004.
2004 was the start of something big...and by big, I mean CAR COUNTS! Over 100 cars in each division was common all season long at Mountain Speedway for NEETS in 2004 and it remained so through 2005 as well. Also in 2005, NEETS named its first ever Official Photographer...none other than myself, Joe Cutri!
The 2006 season seemed promising and opened strong, however after a tragic first event and losing a very dear friend, the series seemed to have lost its heart for the first time ever and as the economy started to turn...so did the car counts. Though the season was not as favorable as the previous, the support for the series remained quite high and those who were behind us were willing to stand beside us as well. As the season came to a close, series founder Billy Bartley "Billy B" and Mountain Speedway Promoter Joe Callavini decided that NEETS has spent its fair share of time at this track and was time to move on. The season ended quite solomnly as drivers were willing to follow the series anywhere, but knew it would be hard to find a new home before the next season's January start date. Mountain Speedway created the Mountain Madness Enduro Series in 2007 and many of the drivers who participated in the NEETS events stayed loyal to the track. The few that followed the series were willing to go anywhere or wait it out until a new home was found.
In January 2007, NEETS did not have a season opener as originally planned. NEETS did not have a second race of the season as originally planned... In fact, it wasn't until late March when the series even announced that there would even be events planned for 2007. Luckily, Mahoning Valley Speedway promoters Gena and Doug Hoffman welcomed NEETS to their speedway with open arms. The first event opened weak with very limited car counts in all divisions. Series promoter, Billy B was also distracted due to personal happenings and other business ventures. He decided his time was ripe to part from the series and made an offer to a future son-in-law, your current NEETS promoter! His daugher, Erin, and myself would become racing promoters at the early ages of 23 and 25! Sure our plates were full with other business and taking over a racing series was the last thing we thought we would be taking on!
Despite minimal car counts and a rushed thrown-together schedule, the series managed to run a full season, with points and a points fund! Though the season was successful for us rookie promoters, the news that MVS would not be interested in running enduros for 2008 was a hard hit. We were back on the road without a home...
There was a glimmer of hope though as dirt track promoter, Bruce Rogers, was willing to meet up and discuss the possibility of running enduros at the renowned Grandview Speedway. Low and behold, NEETS was able to host two "test run" events late in 2008. The two events, the GranDuro and the Frankenduro, laid way to a full schedule of events at Grandview Speedway in 2009!
If that wasn't enough, Wall Stadium Speedway Promoter, Jim Morton, contacted the series about enduros in New Jersey as well! The change-over was welcomed as the series went from near death at the end of 2007 to being the hot item in 2009. Several happenings at both speedways led to the eventual 2009 rules meeting which would change everything for the participants. More strict safety requirements were put in place, new procedures and a redesigned website lead the way for the new year!
2010 was a bit of a less active year as all racing events at Wall Stadium Speedway came to an abrupt halt as promoter Jim Morton retired from racing and the speedway was forced to close up. NEETS remained active at Grandview Speedway as the International SpeedSTRS joined forces with the series in an attempt to attract more fans to the events. Though the racing was intense, the marriage of the two series did not last and it looked as if NEETS was going to be a lone show for 2011. However, radio show host and Grandview Speedway Official, Pete Knappenberger, had other ideas as he was putting together a Slingshot series and had plans of pertnering up for 2011. In addition, the series added a Vintage Modified division to the shows for the upcoming season.
The "Outlaw Slinger" series and the Vintage Mods were a hit as the first event of 2011 opened with over 110 cars pit-side! With a strong first event and much publiciy coming from both series, it would not be long before the newly named promoter of Wall Speedway, Cliff Krause, would be contacting NEETS for some enduros back at Wall! With three events added to the card for 2011, NEETS was almost fully booked...until Grandview Speedway decided to run a few NEETS Saturday Night Enduros after the regular show! Two saturday night shows were on the card originally, however mother nature didn't want to play nice for one event and caused a rain-out for the Small Car division which would not be made up. Events at Wall Speedway quickly gained attention and car coounts began to rise! With the closing event in November at the Annual Turkey Durby, promoter Cliff Kruase announced his stay at the speedway would be extended by 3 more years! NEETS shortly followed with an announcement of a full points season at Wall in 2012 as well!
Now that we're all caught up, here we are... 2012 is just a week or so away and we have over 20 races slated for this season! Two full, separate series of racing on asphalt and dirt, plus an additional "Saturday Night" series!!! Drivers are not being forced to go from racing 8 races up to 22, they are still having the regullar points season plus the option for more racing!!! This schedule and plan for the new year is simple and justified...the enduros are supposed to be cheap and racing 20 plus races is not going to be cheap...but, if we allow the drivers the opportunity to race the full 8 race season and have the chance to participate beyond that, they won't be stretched to the bone.
Looking forward, we have a lot of races scheduled, a lot of fun ahead of us and Erin and myself have a lot of work to do to make it all happen! We're getting to work now, all you need to do is get yourself ready to go racing!!! Gear up early this time around...this season is going to be wild! Thank you all, drivers, fans, speedways, crew members and officials for all the work, help and support you have given us..we're doing all that we can to make the series better than ever!
to make you proud to be a NEETS DRIVER!".
Thank you,
Joe Cutri
Series Promoter