The Wiscasset Raceway on the West Alna Road is up for sale according to a posting on the company’s website. In the message, racetrack owner Douglas White thanks his supporters and said the decision was “difficult.”
“The time has come for me to put the track up for sale,” wrote White. “The track has had major renovations and is ready for someone to take it to the next level in 2011.”
White is selling the track for $500,000 with equipment sold separately according to the post.
The Wiscasset Board of Selectmen had previously approved five permits for events to take place at the raceway this summer, including three concerts, a circus, and an event billed as “Bikefest 2011.” Steve Smith, an associate of Whites, said he was unsure whether or not the events would take place.
“As of now there are no red hot coals on the fire,” said Smith on March 21. “The economy has a lot to do with it.”
White had sought to bring back Oxxfest, a multi-act traveling festival of hard rock music, sometime in July. In 2010, the Oxxfest show drew over 10,000 fans to the area and was the highest grossing stop on their festival tour, Smith said. While exact numbers were not formally collected, the economic impact on the area was conservatively pegged at $1,000,000 by Wiscasset Selectman Bob Blagden, a figure that was expected to rise in 2011.
White said he was in the process of working with promoters but declined to comment on the possible cancellation of any scheduled events. In addition to the proposed concerts, the future of the track’s popular weekend race series could be in jeopardy.
The 3/8-mile track, originally called Wiscasset Speedway, was built by Walter Cronk in 1968 and later sold to Dave St. Clair in 1991. White purchased the track in 2007 and began an aggressive re-branding of the speedway that included a new logo, live “Raceside” television coverage, and new race divisions.
The track has held numerous large purse events including the Boss Hogg 100, Coastal 200, and Big Dawg 400. In 2005, NASCAR driver Ken Schrader competed and won at the track in a 50 lap Late Model Feature.
