Deal with StormPay.com will allow track to expand, raise cash prizes
Sponsor helps track owners continue renovation
By JIMMY TRODGLEN
The Leaf-Chronicle
A natural association of two enterprises involved in dirt track racing turned into a business alliance Friday when StormPay.com became the primary sponsor of Clarksville Speedway.
StormPay.com — a payment processing company for online auctions — and the speedway agreed to a two-year deal, with an option for an additional two-year sponsorship. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Steve Girsky, CEO of StormPay.com, said sponsorship dollars will allow the renamed Clarksville StormPay.com Speedway to continue its expansion and renovation, while increasing the cash awarded to race winners.
Girsky and speedway owners William and Tammy Scogins began discussions about the business venture two weeks ago. StormPay.com is the primary sponsor of the Crate Racin’ USA Series, which has grown from a regional dirt racing event into a national racing series in only one year.
StormPay.com’s involvement in the speedway, a clay-oval dirt track on Needmore Road, is a separate business deal from its sponsorship of the racing series.
“Anything and everything we do out here will be focused around StormPay.com,” William Scogins said. “It’s a great handshake that we’ve been able to find somebody in our own town, in our community that’s going to take interest in racing the way they’ve had.”
StormPay.com’s involvement with the speedway also includes the Friday night drag racing series and the go-cart track.
The speedway is undergoing its most extensive renovation since the Scoginses bought the facility five years ago. Corporate suites and a new media tower are under construction.
Jimmy Trodglen is sports editor and can be reached at jimmytrodglen@theleafchronicle.com or at 245-0261.
Sponsorship adds fuel to speedway’s dreams
With fast rise of Crate series, round of upgrades that includes suites, owners envision track becoming entertainment hub
By JIMMY TRODGLEN
The Leaf-Chronicle
Before StormPay.com became the primary sponsor of the Crate Racin’ USA Series, CEO Steve Girsky admits he wasn’t much of a racing fan.
Now, he can’t watch enough racing, and the company he helped launch four years ago has increased its impact on the local racing scene.
StormPay.com — a payment processing company for online auctions — became the primary sponsor of Clarksville Speedway, the 40-year-old dirt track that launched the career of Clarksville’s Jeff Purvis, and is the central track for the launch of the Crate Racin’ Series, which has grown from a regional racing event into a national series.
The two-year deal, with an option for an additional two years, became official when Girsky and speedway owners William and Tammy Scogin made the venture officially known Friday.
With StormPay.com having its headquarters in Clarksville, becoming the primary sponsor of the clay-oval dirt track was an ideal fit.
“Truthfully, the sponsorship of our local track in the hometown of our corporate headquarters was a natural extension of our racing endeavors of what we’ve undertaken in the past year,” Girsky said.
StormPay.com, which was launched in 2002, does business in 200 countries and is expanding its services to include e-mail accounts, Web pages, domain registry and Web-based tools.
With this major sponsorship endeavor, the Clarksville StormPay.com Speedway is positioned to speed up its current expansion and renovation, while providing bigger purses for the Crate Racin’ USA Series.
“We haven’t ear-marked money for any particular purpose, other than set aside monies from the sponsorship to these purses to make them bigger,” Girsky said.
Most dirt tracks pay $400 to their winner, but the speedway will pay its winner $800.
The new Clarksville StormPay.com Speedway is currently building corporate suites — a first for a dirt track — in addition to a new media and scoring tower.
“We’re trying to give the community a place to have people come in, businesses come in, and have a place to entertain their clients,” Tammy said. “We’re hoping that these suites go well this year, and that maybe if word gets out, that we can add another roll of them next year.”
Added Girsky: “We’ve been to several (dirt tracks) here recently and we haven’t come across one yet that has suites.”
Last season, the speedway was the host site for 200 events — including some that weren’t race related — and averaged 1,200 in attendance with its stock car series.
“All these corporate businesses, from mom and pa, to 2,000 people, we can entertain out here,” Tammy said. “We can give them a little place they can do something at.”
Other renovations to the track facility include replacing the fence alongside the road in front of the track, in addition to building a new entrance and new signs.
“It is a good venture for both companies. It’s an asset for us we know, and we hope it’s an asset for them,” William said. “Tammy and I have tried to improve the place the longer we go.”
The speedway has invested $30,000 in transponders to assist in scoring the cars and the laps they’ve run.
StormPay.com will also help drivers find corporate and business sponsors to cover the costs of their operation.
“For these guys, it costs a lot of money to race and expand the base of the sport,” Girsky said. “If we can get sponsorship for the drivers, we’ve helped another set of fans.”
StormPay.com’s interest in auto racing was initiated after it was approached by a Nextel Cup team looking for sponsorship. Girsky met with Purvis, who spent nearly 20 years racing on the ARCA, NASCAR Busch and then-Winston Cup series, to learn what would be involved in sponsorship.
It was Purvis who tipped StormPay.com, which is the primary sponsor of Purvis’ Crate Series car, about the Crate engine, and its future in dirt track racing.
Motors for late model cars can cost $40,000, but the Crate engines cost between $3,000 and $5,000, and their speeds and horsepower are similar to those of the more costly motors.
“This whole series is the wave of the future,” Girsky said. “You can race a car and buy an engine from $3,000 to $5,000 dollars, and race against NASCAR-level competition.”
Jimmy Trodglen is sports editor and can be reached by e-mail at jimmytrodglen@theleafchronicle.com or by phone at 245-0261.
Sponsor helps track owners continue renovation
By JIMMY TRODGLEN
The Leaf-Chronicle
A natural association of two enterprises involved in dirt track racing turned into a business alliance Friday when StormPay.com became the primary sponsor of Clarksville Speedway.
StormPay.com — a payment processing company for online auctions — and the speedway agreed to a two-year deal, with an option for an additional two-year sponsorship. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Steve Girsky, CEO of StormPay.com, said sponsorship dollars will allow the renamed Clarksville StormPay.com Speedway to continue its expansion and renovation, while increasing the cash awarded to race winners.
Girsky and speedway owners William and Tammy Scogins began discussions about the business venture two weeks ago. StormPay.com is the primary sponsor of the Crate Racin’ USA Series, which has grown from a regional dirt racing event into a national racing series in only one year.
StormPay.com’s involvement in the speedway, a clay-oval dirt track on Needmore Road, is a separate business deal from its sponsorship of the racing series.
“Anything and everything we do out here will be focused around StormPay.com,” William Scogins said. “It’s a great handshake that we’ve been able to find somebody in our own town, in our community that’s going to take interest in racing the way they’ve had.”
StormPay.com’s involvement with the speedway also includes the Friday night drag racing series and the go-cart track.
The speedway is undergoing its most extensive renovation since the Scoginses bought the facility five years ago. Corporate suites and a new media tower are under construction.
Jimmy Trodglen is sports editor and can be reached at jimmytrodglen@theleafchronicle.com or at 245-0261.
Sponsorship adds fuel to speedway’s dreams
With fast rise of Crate series, round of upgrades that includes suites, owners envision track becoming entertainment hub
By JIMMY TRODGLEN
The Leaf-Chronicle
Before StormPay.com became the primary sponsor of the Crate Racin’ USA Series, CEO Steve Girsky admits he wasn’t much of a racing fan.
Now, he can’t watch enough racing, and the company he helped launch four years ago has increased its impact on the local racing scene.
StormPay.com — a payment processing company for online auctions — became the primary sponsor of Clarksville Speedway, the 40-year-old dirt track that launched the career of Clarksville’s Jeff Purvis, and is the central track for the launch of the Crate Racin’ Series, which has grown from a regional racing event into a national series.
The two-year deal, with an option for an additional two years, became official when Girsky and speedway owners William and Tammy Scogin made the venture officially known Friday.
With StormPay.com having its headquarters in Clarksville, becoming the primary sponsor of the clay-oval dirt track was an ideal fit.
“Truthfully, the sponsorship of our local track in the hometown of our corporate headquarters was a natural extension of our racing endeavors of what we’ve undertaken in the past year,” Girsky said.
StormPay.com, which was launched in 2002, does business in 200 countries and is expanding its services to include e-mail accounts, Web pages, domain registry and Web-based tools.
With this major sponsorship endeavor, the Clarksville StormPay.com Speedway is positioned to speed up its current expansion and renovation, while providing bigger purses for the Crate Racin’ USA Series.
“We haven’t ear-marked money for any particular purpose, other than set aside monies from the sponsorship to these purses to make them bigger,” Girsky said.
Most dirt tracks pay $400 to their winner, but the speedway will pay its winner $800.
The new Clarksville StormPay.com Speedway is currently building corporate suites — a first for a dirt track — in addition to a new media and scoring tower.
“We’re trying to give the community a place to have people come in, businesses come in, and have a place to entertain their clients,” Tammy said. “We’re hoping that these suites go well this year, and that maybe if word gets out, that we can add another roll of them next year.”
Added Girsky: “We’ve been to several (dirt tracks) here recently and we haven’t come across one yet that has suites.”
Last season, the speedway was the host site for 200 events — including some that weren’t race related — and averaged 1,200 in attendance with its stock car series.
“All these corporate businesses, from mom and pa, to 2,000 people, we can entertain out here,” Tammy said. “We can give them a little place they can do something at.”
Other renovations to the track facility include replacing the fence alongside the road in front of the track, in addition to building a new entrance and new signs.
“It is a good venture for both companies. It’s an asset for us we know, and we hope it’s an asset for them,” William said. “Tammy and I have tried to improve the place the longer we go.”
The speedway has invested $30,000 in transponders to assist in scoring the cars and the laps they’ve run.
StormPay.com will also help drivers find corporate and business sponsors to cover the costs of their operation.
“For these guys, it costs a lot of money to race and expand the base of the sport,” Girsky said. “If we can get sponsorship for the drivers, we’ve helped another set of fans.”
StormPay.com’s interest in auto racing was initiated after it was approached by a Nextel Cup team looking for sponsorship. Girsky met with Purvis, who spent nearly 20 years racing on the ARCA, NASCAR Busch and then-Winston Cup series, to learn what would be involved in sponsorship.
It was Purvis who tipped StormPay.com, which is the primary sponsor of Purvis’ Crate Series car, about the Crate engine, and its future in dirt track racing.
Motors for late model cars can cost $40,000, but the Crate engines cost between $3,000 and $5,000, and their speeds and horsepower are similar to those of the more costly motors.
“This whole series is the wave of the future,” Girsky said. “You can race a car and buy an engine from $3,000 to $5,000 dollars, and race against NASCAR-level competition.”
Jimmy Trodglen is sports editor and can be reached by e-mail at jimmytrodglen@theleafchronicle.com or by phone at 245-0261.
