Rolling Thunder Raceway has a new promoter with Langley Austin, and a new name, Ararat BullRing. Austin has earned a reputation for wild promotions. When he led Franklin County Speedway, he had Jell-O wrestling and Daisy Duke contests. He said he wants a different atmosphere at Ararat.
“We will have somewhat more of a tame approach at Ararat BullRing than we did at Franklin County Speedway,” said Austin. “We will be promoting a family friendly environment.”
That’s doesn’t mean Austin won’t consider unconventional promotions at Ararat.
“I’m still game for anything,” Austin said. “The focus will be on kid and family promotions. Involve the kids in racing, and the parents, grandparents will come along with their friends.”
The Ararat BullRing last put on races in 2022. Austin first went there as a fan and then a member of the media for his Race22.com. Most of his experience comes with pavement racing. However, Austin has worked with Stan Lester, formerly of Fastrak, and Fred Brown of Wythe Raceway.
“In covering racing, I found that there are a lot of general managers of racetracks and not many promoters whose job is to sell tickets, write rules to make the racing more competitive, and institute ways to pay more money to the drivers, like incentives to pass more cars,” said Austin.
Plans for 2025 are still being ironed out. Ararat will run Saturday nights, with an opening date set for April 26. Divisions to be discussed include late models (602/604/steel block), 602 modifieds, renegade sportsman/street stocks, pro4/SS4, front-wheel drives/compacts, and Crown Vics/enduros.
“There will be plenty of cars to draw to Ararat BullRing,” said Austin. “Nearby Ultimate Motorsports Park is now an impound facility. 311 Speedway is a junkyard.”
As far as fans, Langley Austin hopes to make the track as fan-friendly as possible.
“I want to put on a great show, not one that is dragged out,” Austin said. “I know the 200 to 300 diehard fans will be there, but I will be searching for those non-diehards to attend the show regularly.
“One of the keys to success will be the fans’ connection to the drivers. When a fan gets to meet a driver face to face and decides they like them, they will come back every week. I’ll have as many meet and greets as I can. I’ll put kids in race cars so parents could take pictures. The whole idea is to merge the people on both sides of the fence — the fans and the racers.”
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.
