Promoter Bob Conley recently announced the cancellation of the season at Lovelock Speedway in Nevada. He cited a number of reasons for it. Chief among them was the health of his wife, Crystal Starr Conley, who had suffered a stroke.
“If we were to run this season, we would need volunteers to help us with concessions, tickets, and security,” Conley said. “We asked the racing community for help and only one driver stepped up.”
The Conleys reopened Lovelock Speedway in 2021. (See “Lovelock Speedway to Reopen in 2021”)
“After Crystal’s stroke, I had to shut down my trucking company, which brought in the revenue needed to run the track,” Conley said. “I used my own trucks to haul in 300 tons of clay for the surface when we reopened the track. At the end of last season, I was $10,000 in the hole.”
Conley cited another factor affecting his decision. Controversy surrounded calls made during the racing season. That led to racers not participating. Conley often fields cars for young drivers entering the sport.
“When my drivers mess up, I tell them — we have to lead by example,” said Conley. “I even fined one of my own drivers. Yet, people still talked about unfair calls, and they sabotaged my program.”
Then, Conley offered one more reason for him stepping away.
“The last nail was put in the coffin when Battle Mountain Raceway scheduled over my last big race of the season,” Conley said. “They stomped on me and no one from out of town came to our race.”
The tracks are just two hours apart along I-80 in Nevada.
“I turned my keys in and said I was done,” Conley said. “What happens now is anyone’s guess. I’m a racer and I want to see the place stay alive whether I am involved or not. The bottom line is that the racing community has to support the track.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
