Spencer Speedway owner John White didn’t realize his historic half-mile paved oval was publicly listed for sale until he picked up the phone to be asked questions about the prime piece of racing real estate.
“I had mentioned for a number of years that Spencer Speedway was for sale, but I never pushed the sale,” White said. “People who are other than those who want to keep it as a racetrack are not the buyers I am looking for. My goal is to keep Spencer Speedway as a racetrack.”
White, now 70, bought Spencer and Chemung Speedrome back in 2006. His mission: to save pavement racing in that region.
“I ran both Spencer and Chemung for 13 seasons,” said White. “Six years ago, I decided to rent them out. I leased Chemung to Ray Hodge, who runs the track with a weekly schedule. Joe Skotnicki leased Spencer Speedway and has a limited schedule.”
The track’s surprise listing was on RacingJunk.com, which listed its sale price at $1,999,999.
“That price is for two parcels of land,” said White. “The track is on roughly 60 acres and the parcel next door is a little less than 80 acres. I bought the neighboring parcel to prevent someone from developing the land around the racetrack.”
The speedway has its own turning lane on N.Y. 104. The facility includes a 1/10th-mile dragstrip on the front straightaway. The speedway has a 40×80-foot office and ticket sales building, a tower for the drag strip, and a tech building in the pit area. There are restrooms behind the grandstand and in the tech building. The facility has two concession stands, one serving the pit area, the other the spectator side. The wood-and-steel grandstands hold up to 5,500 people.
“The price is dependent upon the acreage purchased,” White said. “I am flexible to accommodate the needs of a buyer. Someone may not need the parcel of land to the west of the speedway. With both properties, anything is possible for business and racing. A buyer can definitely make a go of it.”
Before purchasing Spencer Speedway, John White raced modifieds throughout the Northeast and Florida. In fact, he’s the 2004 SK modified champ during the World Series at New Smyrna Speedway.
“I’ve been around racing all of my life,” said White. “My dad, John [of J.J. White Concrete] sponsored Charlie Jarzombek’s car. I did not put the info on Racing Junk, but I am open in selling Spencer on my own, to someone who wants to continue operating it as a racetrack. Anyone interested can text me at 631-745-9805.”
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.
