After two incidents last Saturday, East Alabama Motor Speedway looks to crack down on onlookers heading onto the track surface. They revealed their no-tolerance policy toward that practice and other bad behaviors.
“If you break our rules, you will be escorted out,” said Richard Davidson, who manages the speedway with his wife, Melanie. “If your behavior reaches a certain level, someone with a badge will take you away.”
The first incident on Saturday happened after a car rolled over onto its roof. Two women ran from the pits to the car just as the red flag flew.
The second incident happened when the two lead cars tangled. Those vehicles stopped on the front straightaway and people ran from the pits onto the track while the rest of the field continued to move under caution.
“These are very dangerous situations,” Davidson said. “We have to take a no-nonsense approach. We don’t want that type of behavior.”
Melanie and her sister, Jacqueline Clare, represent the third generation to run the track since their family, the Thomas family, built the speedway in 1973. The Davidsons commute from Missouri to operate the facility. Clare heads the promotions department.
The second generation, Billy Thomas, retired two seasons ago. The Davidsons took over after him.
“Since the third generation of family has managed the track, we have had good things happening,” said Davidson. “We are investing money back into the track. We have two big events coming up. The track has been well respected for decades, and we don’t appreciate the reputation these incidents can give us.”
East Alabama Motor Speedway looks to crack down on all unsavory behavior. It will enforce the following policy in conjunction with deputies from the Russell County Sheriff’s Department:
The management of EAMS wants to remind all attendees of the following:
- Anyone entering EAMS must purchase a ticket. If you do not purchase a ticket, you may be banned from EAMS indefinitely.
- Anyone that curses, threatens, or places their hands on an EAMS official will lose pit access privileges for the remainder of the racing season. Repeated incidents or overly aggressive acts toward an EAMS official will result in removal from the property.
- Any driver or crewmember that enters another driver’s pit area will be considered the aggressor. If the incident happens away from either driver’s pit area, both drivers and pit crews will be considered aggressors. All participants will be subject to penalty. Drivers are responsible for the crewmembers.
- Absolutely no crewmembers or observers are allowed on the track for any reason, unless directed by a track official.
- Observers must remain behind all barriers during the race. Observers in the pit area WILL NOT stand or sit on any barriers, equipment, or other elevated platforms. Doing so may result in removal from the track.
- Pit spaces are reserved for race vehicles and their hauler/trailer. All vehicles, except the truck pulling the trailer, must be parked outside the pit areas.
- EAMS views the actions on Saturday night to be very serious. Our management will further review the details of the incidents to determine penalties for those involved.
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.
