With resident complaints about the Action Track USA on the agenda, an overwhelming turnout from the racing community forced the Borough of Kutztown to postpone its council meeting. The new date? Wednesday, June 17, the same date as the track’s next race.
Some neighbors have complained about the dust and noise from the dirt oval. Action Track USA must remain compliant with the borough’s particulate ordinance.
“We were sued at the end of last season for dust,” track promoter Rich Tobias said. “We won the case … we have always strived to be a good neighbor to our community.”
Tobias contends that Action Track USA remains a positive influence on the local community.
“Sixty percent of our participants are under the age of 18,” Tobias said. “Auto racing gives them a focus on life. Teen suicide is rampant in society. Our individuals love what they do and are so focused they don’t go off the beaten path.”
Action Track USA hosts its events on Kutztown’s fairgrounds, which hosts a variety of events in addition to racing.
“Action Track USA is a leading revenue generator for the fairgrounds,” Tobias said. “It would be hard for the fairgrounds to be in existence without us.”
Tobias invited Kutztown councilmembers to see how Action Track USA prepares its track.
“They saw that we really work hard to eliminate dust,” Tobias said. “They got a good benchmark. We are really serious about their concerns.”
Tobias felt the track is being unfairly targeted by a select group of residents.
“It’s defamation,” Tobias said. “False statements being made and accusations that aren’t true are harmful to my business. They don’t complain about the smell of manure coming from the farm fields every day, but they are using a very small amount of dust to try to close us down.”
If you want to show up to the council meeting, you’re welcome to, but if you want to help, Tobias offered a bit of advice.
“Act respectful, act professional,” Tobias said. “Be intelligent. Don’t engage in destructive conversation. Let the people I have chosen speak for us at the meetings. I have people who will convey what the track means to the community, and they will speak at the next meeting.”
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.
