CanadianRacingOnline.com

CanadianRacingOnline.com Section => Race Setups => From the Past => Topic started by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 12, 2008, 02:03:50 PM

Title: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 12, 2008, 02:03:50 PM
Here is a great article from 2001. Where is this great speedway? I saw photo's of them breaking the earth with their shovels.

CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway

  NIAGARA FALLS, ON - A powerful group of Canadian business and political leaders gathered in Niagara Falls, Ontario on Thursday morning to announce the planned development of a major motorsports and entertainment complex on the edge of the world-famous Canadian border town.

   Niagara Falls International Speedway (NFIS) will be a $120 million, 60,000 seat (expandable to 150,000) facility, which will eventually house a 1.5-mile superspeedway, in addition to as many as three other ovals. Canada's biggest, permanent oval track will be constructed upon completion of a quarter-mile drag strip on the 470 acre site. IHRA President Bill Bader was at the press conference and confirmed his long-term support of the facility by announcing the track's inclusion on his 2001 IHRA National event schedule.

 

   Also on hand for the major announcement was CASCAR President Bill Darmon, who has been quietly involved in planning discussions regarding the project for several months. Wielding a shovel with a checkered flag painted on its head, Darmon represented CASCAR at the ceremonial 'ground breaking' for what will undoubtedly become the jewel of Canadian motorsports.

   Held under a tent on the sprawling site adjacent to the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), just three kilometers from the Canada/US border, Darmon stood alongside the many assembled dignitaries who collectively painted an impressive picture of what will rise on the site in the upcoming months.

   Senator Trevor Eyton - the Chairman of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and the Director of Toronto's 2008 Olympic bid - is the Chairman and CEO of NFIS Inc. and leads the consortium of private investors who will fund the development. The complex will be built on land owned by Niagara Falls businessman, and NFIS President, Joseph Zawadski.

 

   They were joined in making the announcement by Ontario's Tourism Minister Cam Jackson, who said the project will be a boon to the local community and will create many jobs and generate significant tourism revenues. Niagara Falls Mayor Wayne Thomson confirmed the support of the local politicians and the region's business community.

   For his part, Bill Darmon said he was honoured to be part of the ceremony announcing the new maga-project. "CASCAR has done so many things to raise its profile in recent months that we really need to have showcase facilities, like this one will be, to continue to grow. This fits in with the aggressive expansion program we've undertaken. Canadian motorsports needs a major league racing facility on this scale. We're 100% supportive of the efforts being undertaken to make this project become a reality. This is an unbelievably exciting venture and we're very happy to be part of it."

 

   Also involved in the project is Canadian Phil Denyes, who spearheaded the creation of NASCAR's Daytona USA exhibit in Daytona Beach, FL as well at Toronto's new Hockey Hall of Fame. In addition to the drag strip and several ovals to be built, the site will also include a conference centre, a midway, hotels, theme restaurants and concert facilities.

Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 12, 2008, 02:16:10 PM
That was back in the day where there was supposed to be the formation of some spec car series that would rilval Winston Cup. Sorry forget the name. They said they had Dale Jarret can Kevin Harvick and others onboard LOL

Kawartha was supposed to be turned into a 1.5 mile superspeedway... Was more of a dream that should've never got that far. Of course it failed....
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 12, 2008, 02:23:12 PM
Have some photos with the guys putting shovels in the dirt. I wounder what they did with the shovels. Maybe they are pooper scoopers for the pets now.  :o :o
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 12, 2008, 02:38:49 PM
 "The International Stockcar Alliance (ISA) announced today that 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart will race in four events in the 2003 ISA Exide Racing Series. Stewart will be one of several Winston Cup veterans to take part in four ISA events for 2003. These include two events at the new Kawartha Superspeedway at Frasierville, Ontario, one being the Canada Day Million Dollar Shootout scheduled for June 28-29, 2003. Stewart will also race at Sanair Superspeedway near Montreal on June 3, 2003, and at Calgary's Race City on August 5, 2003. Other Winston Cup drivers scheduled to race at the new Kawartha track include Dave Blaney, Kurt Busch, Jeff Green, Kevin Harvick, and Matt Kenseth. They will compete in the ISA's Canada Day Million Dollar Shootout, as well as the event scheduled for September 9, 2003. These two events are part of the SA's "Super 6" which will showcase top racing personalities at selected venues across Canada. The ISA is presently negotiating with other Winston Cup drivers to compete in selected 2003 ISA Exide Racing Series events. In related news, the ISA announced that tickets for four of its ISA 2003 Exide Racing Series are now on sale, and may be purchased through a user-friendly system on the ISA website, www.isaracing.com, or by calling 1-866-ISA-TICS."

That was some funny stuff...
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: BUD MAN on September 12, 2008, 03:03:49 PM
I bet there are still some of those cars laying around
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 12, 2008, 03:07:14 PM
I know some drivers that lost cars in the ISA deal. Boy that was funny and not so funny for some. I think I still have the ISA shirt and Media Package lying around.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: GREG_M on September 12, 2008, 04:04:23 PM
I still have a notepad, a pen.... and a roll of ISA toilet paper, with the words "Time to clean up the mess" written under the logo on every square. You're right. Funny in some ways, not funny in many others.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: B.A.R. on September 12, 2008, 04:27:23 PM
Okay so everyone heard of the ISA deal and all of its promotional news.
Was it a real deal or a scam ?...really and don't bash it, just facts.
Why did it fail and who sailed the ship out to sea? 
Niagara Falls has been the focus for many racing series and investment groups like the Speedway Group, Nascar and the IRL to name a few.
If it's such a hot spot, then why are we not there yet ??
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 12, 2008, 04:34:39 PM
OK I was backing this and we were promissed a ton of things from the owner of the ISA Mitch. I think it was a scam right from the beginning as Toyota had no clue of these cars.

This scam took a couple of drivers for some race cars. Mitch Pulled of one good race at Cayuga and he seemed to have connections. So I think that is why many people believed in this ISA but the truth is they really want to believe as CASCAR was struggling and this series promissed a lot more on paper but as it turns out ISA was just a bunch of papers that meant nothing.

This I bet still leave a sour taste in peoples mouth.



Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: BENCHRACER on September 12, 2008, 05:12:17 PM
There was also big plans for a major Motorsports complex in Eastern Ontario , and a track towards Windsor neither ever got beyond the PR Hype 
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 12, 2008, 06:08:27 PM
Was it a real deal or a scam ?...really and don't bash it, just facts.

Facts - There were going to build mulitple 1.5 mile tracks. First it would be next to impossible to get the money to build one track. Next they have to pay back building those tracks with one race a year. Its not practical to build a 1.5 mile at Kawaratha, you would have to tear out the profitable horse track and slots. They already have a 11 curfew from the neighbours, really think you could get a 1.5 super speedway zoned? LOL

I beleve the man behind it might have also been the guy behind The Canada Day CASCAR shootout run at Caugua. The first year they had A-class Nascar drivers, Stewart and Kenteth. Now what interesting to remeber was that it packed Cauguga, so thats about 5,000 people (maybe 10,000 at best? I remeber empty seats on the back straight), but it was easy to get a ticket. Therefor this promoter had the knowlege that having a few NASCAR drivers, will bring in far less that 60,000 fans, needed to pack one of these super speedways.

On top of coming up with a field of cars, they were promising a 1 million prize for the winner. The Winston Million was a big special even for CUP, to think that they could come up with that sort of money for anything other than a cup race is silly.

The guy(s) behind that either had to be so stupid I they wouldn't be able to tie their shoes, or it was a scam... My 2 cents, was a dog and poney show, while the bagman sliped away...
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: ernie on September 12, 2008, 06:24:57 PM
I have to admit I got caught up in the hype and figured I would take a chance at losing some money instead of missing out. I bought a s**t load of tickets then...the bottom fell out. Thank God I used my credit card and got my money back. I do however know a couple people who invested heavily in this and they got screwed royaly. From what I understand there was alot of prep to this setup, going to Busch races, Winston Cup connections or perceived connections etc. Alot of people lost alot of money.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 12, 2008, 06:35:47 PM
I think Mitch is sitting pretty somewhere. He took CASCAR for a ride as well. He said he had 100 sponsors to sponsor CASCAR drivers and then later we found out he had a list of 100 potential sponsors and then we found out he did nothing but take the money and run.

I think in the ISA deal Mitch did all the talking and others ran around promoting it for him, while he sent out some bogus press releases and a few pictures of a some frames in a body shop at some top secret location.

A lot of people lost and Mitch slipped out into the night. Has anyone heard his name since that ISA scam? Maybe he got away with enough cash to live good life style.

Maybe he changed his name and he is working on new scams who knows.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: Statsman on September 12, 2008, 07:42:49 PM
Coming soon!
(http://images43.fotki.com/v1325/photos/5/58484/6694566/ISAExideSeriesbanner_ad-vi.jpg)

There doesn't appear to be much progress so far on the ISA fleet:
(http://images37.fotki.com/v1257/photos/5/58484/6694566/ISA4-vi.jpg)

Which one is a Jag?
(http://images37.fotki.com/v1258/photos/5/58484/6694566/JaguarISAComplete-vi.jpg)

Which would have been the first Toyota Camry stock car?
(http://images38.fotki.com/v1272/photos/5/58484/6694566/ToyotaISAComplete-vi.jpg)

The Super 6 sounded too good to be true:
(http://images41.fotki.com/v1309/photos/5/58484/6694566/super6_ad-vi.jpg)

The schedule looked somewhat familiar and the website was slick but a little thin on content:
(http://images38.fotki.com/v1275/photos/5/58484/6694566/ISAWebsite-vi.jpg)




Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: ernie on September 12, 2008, 07:46:31 PM
I'm clicking on BUY but nothings happening  ;)
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 12, 2008, 08:06:19 PM
"After a five-year hiatus from steady racing, Bryan Cathcart of Peterborough, ON. is returning to the sport in a big way, as he plans to compete in the entire 2003 ISA Exide season."

"He said he is planning on purchasing a new ISA-spec car for oval racing and will convert an existing car to ISA specs for road course events."

"I never thought I would see a series in Canada that had so much potential," he said. "And I can't wait until the first race in May."

ISA website 2002 - Guess he could wait afterall LOL

Franchise Overview

1. Initial franchise fee $2,400
2. Annual franchise administration fee $1,000 (beginning in 2004).
3. Total number of permanent franchises available is thirty (30).

Wish I got one of those 30

ISA excited to be part of Molson Indy Toronto
 
Tuesday, January 14, 2003

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Toronto, Ontario - January 14, 2003 - The International Stockcar Alliance (ISA) officially announced today that The Molson Indy Toronto will be presenting stock car racing at its best at the 2003 Exide Racing Series event scheduled for Saturday, July 12, 2003. This series is a new addition to The Molson Indy featured events.
 
He really wanted to sell the scam

Then in Apr 2003

We regret to inform you that

ISA Racing has ceased operations.

 

If you purchased tickets for an ISA race - please contact your

Credit Card Company directly, advise them that the race

series has been cancelled and they will process your refund.

 

Sincerely,

The International Stockcar Alliance

Its interesting to see who he had onboard

For more information, please contact one of the following:

Steve Stubbs International Stockcar Alliance (866) ISA-2DAY

Jeff Lapcevich Fastline Motorsports (905) 545-1500

Jim Lapcevich Fastline Motorsports (905) 545-1500

Kerry Micks Micks Motorsports (905) 473-9544

Robbie Thompson Team Logel (519) 699-9352

Pete Vanderwyst Vanderwyst Motorsports (519) 652-3900 Ext. # 222

Dave Whitlock Whitlock Motorsports (519) 845-0579


and

Gibbons and Canadian Tire to compete in ISA
A NEW ERA IN RACING FOR GIBBONS AND SPONSOR CANADIAN TIRE Peter Gibbons? Canadian Tire Racing Team to compete in Canada?s first-ever 2003 International Stockcar Alliance racing series Stouffville, ON? (January 16, 2002)

Would Gibbons be driving the Camry or the Jag? LOL










Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: crewchief47 on September 12, 2008, 08:10:15 PM
I believe the phrase of the year was something like "all feathers, no chicken", at least here on CRO it was.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: marcisfan on September 12, 2008, 08:19:38 PM
The one thing that I notice about that schedule is Sanair Superspeedway.  It is too bad that the biggest track in Canada doesn't host a Nascar Canadian Tire race.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 12, 2008, 08:32:12 PM
Statsman that brings back memories. A whole lot of feathers but not any chicken.

Rember this image
(http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/234/butcherchoppingatchickeop6.gif)
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 12, 2008, 08:39:42 PM
Statsman that brings back memories. A whole lot of feathers but not any chicken.

Rember this image
(http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/234/butcherchoppingatchickeop6.gif)


Is that the Lillidale guy, before he got the job annoying us during races?
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: ernie on September 12, 2008, 08:46:02 PM
rossevans30 + 100  :D :D :D :D LMAO
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: ladybugprincess88 on September 12, 2008, 09:19:36 PM
LMFAO Good one Ross! :)
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 12, 2008, 09:34:29 PM
No it's Vic from TSN trying out for the lilydale commercial.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 12, 2008, 09:50:45 PM
Look at the people that made up ISA and where are they now?

Mitchell J. Mortimer
President/Chief Executive Officer: Mr. Mortimer's background includes a decade in sales and marketing in North American motorsports. He is a former director of race team development for CASCAR; served as senior vice-president of marketing for Galaxy Motorsports, which operated Busch and Winston Cup Series NASCAR teams. He has developed key sales and marketing programs for major motorsports sponsors including Turner Broadcasting, Red Cell Batteries, Ralph's Supermarkets, and Roto-Zip Tools. Prior to creating the MMC Group, he was executive vice president of Redmond Capital Corporation, parent company of Red Cell Batteries.

Steve Stubbs
Chief Operating Officer: Mr. Stubbs has over 30 years experience in the motorsports industry as a track venue, sanctioning and sales/marketing executive. He was a co-founder of the American Speed Association (ASA) "Circuit of Champions" series; was general manager of Motorsports International Division of Penske Corporation and executive director of the World Karting Association. For the past eight years he has been an independent motorsports business consultant.

Stephen Lewis
Chief Financial Officer: Mr. Lewis brings 20 years of financial expertise to the ISA. With his Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation, Mr. Lewis has been the controller or CFO of several Southern Ontario firms and most recently has consulted for a publically-traded corporation in the event management business. He will oversee all financial activity for the ISA.

Pearl Carrigan
Director of Client Services: Ms. Carrigan brings over 20 years of sales and marketing excellence from such recognizable companies as Xerox Canada and the Blackburn Media Group, consistently ranking in the top percentile in performance. Ms. Carrigan has brought new synergy to the racing industry, most recently as Director of Marketing and liaison to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation for Kawartha Downs, as well as event planner for the Canada Day Shootout. She is highly regarded for her passion in public relations and strength in implementation of event promotion in assistance to sponsors, media, and race teams.


Brian Bassett
Director of Race Operations: Mr. Bassett's involvement extends into the research and development of racing products and of the ISA racing series. Mr. Bassett successfully started the weekly race programs at both Mosport and Kawartha Speedways, and, as well, has pioneered the crate motor program in Canadian stock car racing. He also plays an integral part in the building of all new ISA European and Pacific Rim makes, along with contributing to the day-to-day race operations, working closely with Steve Stubbs.

Bill Carrigan
Administration Manager: Mr. Carrigan brings over 30 years of experience in business, primarily in procurement and inventory control within the recreation and leisure industry. He has success with systems implementation and management of cost of materials in the manufacturing environment. The past eight years have been spent in independent business, developing skills of financial excellence, growing a franchise business to top-ranked status in the Canadian marketplace. The past number of years, Mr. Carrigan's involvement in event and sports development with Kawartha Downs has grown into a passion. He was involved with the operational side of the Canada Day Shootout with the MMC Group.

JAJ Entertainment Inc.
Event Logistics: JAJ Entertainment Inc., one of Canada's top motorsport marketing firms is owned and operated by Bruce Mehlenbacher and Sonya Williamson. JAJ has a successful track record in the industry. Proprieter Mehlenbacher and his family created and operated Dragway Park in Cayuga, Ontario which grew into Canada's top drag strip. This success led to the family's induction into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1998. Once considered Canada's 'Crown Jewel' of oval track racing, Cayuga Speedway was managed for 10 years by Mehlenbacher. Established in 1998, JAJ has focused as a special event and promotional company in the racing and entertainment industry.

Robert Lauder
Director of Sales, Automotive Division: Mr. Lauder brings over 20 years experience in the automotive publication business and has built his reputation on building successful business development programs for clients in the automotive industry. His company, The Podium Media Group, will assist in the execution of building ISA sales strategies for their clients.

Kelly Toyota
Director of Sales, Retail Division: As former president of Edgetech Canada, Mr. Toyota has pioneered vendor based programs into retail for the last 15 years. As director of sales in the retail division, Mr Toyota's core responsibility is the building of retail extended programs for ISA clients in all categories of retail.


Tim Miller
Director of Communications: Mr. Miller brings a wealth of experience to the ISA. A certified motorhead from Hamilton, Miller has worked on several newspapers and Wheelspin News, and a founder of Performance Racing News, Miller has been the Motorpsorts Writer at the Hamilton Spectator since 1983. He has maintained a strong objective grasp of motorsports in Canada at both the local and national level.

Darrell Rattray
Art Director: Mr. Rattray has 25 years experience in the Print and Graphics industry. As the Art Director for the ISA, Mr. Rattray will be focusing on development of brand imaging with corporate clients of the ISA
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 13, 2008, 03:53:08 AM
I didn't mean to start a witch hunt here...

My point was that some guys were taken, not that they were in on it..

Names like Gibbions, Cathcart, Basset I beleive have all of their heart into racing, and the only reason their names would be associated with this, was their sincere desire to see racing advanced in this country... Hind sight is always 20-20..
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 13, 2008, 06:43:20 AM
How many people didn't recover from this ISA?

Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 14, 2008, 11:36:15 AM
How many people didn't recover from this ISA?



I couldn't see any of the teams being that hurt by this. Possibly some paid their $2,400 fanchise fee, but how could you build for it, when I doubt there was even a rule book? On their site under engines, it say "The ISA is entering into an engine leasing program, which is an economically-viable alternative to purchasing racing engines.

And engine leasing programs are not new. The BRM Formula One builders leased some of their powerplants back in the mid 1960’s.

Presently there are many engine lease programs for many types of motorsport. Engines are available for lease in European Formula 3000 racing, and in North America, CART and Cosworth have developed a program. Engines for Winston Cup racing are also available for leasing, from firms such as T&L Engine Development, Gasoline Alley, and Richard Childress Racing."

Not enough info even about what engine they would be using to start a build... From that I couldn't see anyone getting to far into building a car/team.


Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: Dster on September 14, 2008, 07:53:50 PM
Ah yes...the ISA debacle. I remember it well. So far no one has made mention of the 60,000 seat expanded Kawartha International Speedway that was to host the next Canada Day Shootout.  ;) I still have a newspaper ad for tickets for that event. It had all appearance of being very real, for a time, but something never rang quite right with the whole thing for others and many of the suspicions were borne out as accurate expectations. I do recall hearing rumours that there were people who did invest in the ISA far beyond the $2,400 'franchise fee' and may have taken some amount of loss when it collapsed. I have no idea if anyone took a hit that put them out of racing, but I do believe it harmed the prospects for serious corporate sponsorships for Canadian stock car racing. Cascar, instead of bouncing off the success of the Cayuga CDS into the next season, struggled with that aspect from the onset of the ISA affair until the Nascar deal eventually went through. If anyone can cite anything positive that came out of the aftermath and fallout of the ISA mess, please do. I'm just curious.
There has been little said about the ISA in here for a loooong time and I suspect that's because many of the recognizable names that were attached to it and therefore to the noteriety of the affair, have long since moved on from it and the issue is now one of historical note only. People were duped, but no doubt some lessons were learned as well. The 'conversations' (yeah, how about flame wars...) in what was then cascaronline were deep and long and often heated and sometimes really funny!! (and I still have printouts of some of those ISA threads lol) All in all, quite the story!! 
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: slowel on September 14, 2008, 08:23:48 PM
Yes a few cars were being built for theISA ,as I seen one and I know a LM driver currently using the front clip from one.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacer.com on September 14, 2008, 09:41:11 PM
The whole ISA affair was completely bizarre.

They claimed that they were going to pave the Kawartha horse track and then bring the dirt in and out as required for the horse racing. The also claimed that most / all races would have several NASCAR drivers. How is this possible, everyone asked, when the NASCAR schedule is packed. The ISA gang had a quick answer - the races were going to held mid-week. They claimed that Sanair was going to be completely renovated. They claimed that they had a bunch of sponsors ready to support teams.

Mosport was listed as one of the tracks that they would race at. Being the Mosport web master, I thought it was very telling that I was never told to include it on the schedule.

After all the dust has settled and the truth became known, one of the CASCAR drivers (maybe Dave Whitlock?) sent a letter from Mitch Mortimer to Inside Track. The letter was on ISA letterhead and was addressed to the driver. It claimed that he had been picked to be the Toyota factory team and listed all the money and other benefits he was going to receive (a Tundra, race cars, engines, factory support, etc). The lies that Mitch Mortimer had spewed were beyond belief. I felt really bad for everyone involved.

Mitch Mortimer seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. I just did a quick Google search and found nothing recent. Have a look: http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=%22Mitch+Mortimer%22+cascar&meta=


Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 14, 2008, 10:00:47 PM
I searched I couldn't find anything new on Mitch after the ISA Scam.

You must admit he had us all fool. Yes I was one of them as he used me as a place to post his lies and scams.

Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: choirguy on September 14, 2008, 11:45:54 PM
What happend to Cayuga and the Richmond style track, and all there Big plans, and the design from Baskerville that were done up.  Yep another crock of _ _ _ _
 It's all about money and they don't seem to have the backing.  Make sure things are in place before you speak, and that it's not just a dream.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 14, 2008, 11:59:15 PM
What happend to Cayuga and the Richmond style track, and all there Big plans, and the design from Baskerville that were done up.  Yep another crock of _ _ _ _
 It's all about money and they don't seem to have the backing.  Make sure things are in place before you speak, and that it's not just a dream.

No there was a bit more to that one. With Canada getting a Bush race, it was a choice between Cayuga, and the road course in Montreal. Montreal won...

If were are to get higher level NASCAR races in Ontario, I'd be betting Cayuga would be the place, as its one of the few tracks with room to expand. Considering that they only run 4 dates over the summer, the only purpose I can see to that place's continued existance is in the hope of getting a Bush race.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: AutoAssembler on September 15, 2008, 12:41:59 PM
I for one don't think we'll see a Nationwide race at Cayuga, at least not in the foreseeable future. It's been rumoured for a few years now that we may see a NASCAR truck race there. That I'd like to see as well as get the NASCAR Modifieds up, perhaps both races could be run on long weekends in conjunction to our own NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

I remember when I was with a certain team, back in the day of the ISA debacle, that they had bought an ISA chassis. I think a lot of teams did. How much money did Kawartha Downs loose? It was through Kawartha's website that most of us learned that the ISA was bankrupt, that's when I got on the blower, and got my money back for the tickets I had bought. As Ernie mentioned, I had purchased mine with a credit card, otherwise I would have been money out of pocket as well. I'm not sure if the ISA thing started out as a scam, but it sure ended up that way, didn't it?
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 15, 2008, 12:53:00 PM
AutoAssembler I think it was a scam from the get go. As Toyota had no idea about this series and Mitch put out releases saying Toyota was involved. Maybe Mitch wanted to test the waters and see if a scam could be converted into a dream. Who knows we would have to talk to Mitch if anyone can find him.

Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 15, 2008, 01:51:44 PM
I remember when I was with a certain team, back in the day of the ISA debacle, that they had bought an ISA chassis. I think a lot of teams did.

What was the chassis? Why would someone buy that when they didn't know what body or engine they were to be running even? Jumping the gun a bit? Sounds like Mitch made some money selling chassis to LOL

Was there an acutal rule book floating around? Who built the chassis?
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 15, 2008, 01:55:07 PM
I remember someone saying they knew where the picture of them top secret ISA chassis's were. I can't remember who made them but the ones show I was told were not made for ISA they were made for some other series it was all part of Mitch's grand scam to make people think it was going to happen as a lot of people on here were putting pressure on him and others involved and then he shows these and some people started to believe again.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 15, 2008, 02:06:57 PM
Yeah but if teams where buying these chassis they had to go somewhere to pick them up right? Plus a knowlegeable team you think would be able to idenify the chassis as being a Mccoll, Hanley or whatever series right, and ask the question wtf?

Interesting to try and figure out how he pulled it off...
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacingOnline on September 15, 2008, 02:37:19 PM
Maybe the whole NASCAR at Cayuga helped him pull it off. He did have connections and he was known in motorsports in Canada & US.

I don't think anyone every picked up the Chassis for ISA. I think all that was every picked up from ISA was the cheques to Mitch.

Could we call this part of Canadian race history? or do the cars have to be on the track at least once. Maybe it will go down as one of the Biggest Racing Scams in Canadian History.

Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: Dster on September 15, 2008, 09:43:23 PM
The city of Barrie and numerous local businesses and many more got scammed with the Thunderfest hydroplane races on the bay some years ago. The event did indeed take place, but few if any ever got paid for services or supplies and the waterfront was actually fenced off for a weekend!! What a kerfuffle!! Anyway, it happens.
Like AA, I'm not entirely sure the ISA started as a scam, but more an ego trip in the wake of the CDS that took on a life of it's own and then got out of hand. Some truly astounding lies were disseminated though, especially in the month or two before the end came.
Certainly it's part of Canadian racing history. There's no doubt it's a rather dark chapter that actually only took a few months to run it's course, but the impact was real and it ran deep. Hey, there's a project for some aspiring documentarian; put together a concise history of "The ISA Affair"   :D   
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: longstreet on September 16, 2008, 09:43:13 AM
" Like AA"???
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: username on September 16, 2008, 11:08:28 AM
that guy was a scammer but i have to say that that race where the NASCAR guys came up to race was the best circle track weekend show i've been to in canada.....
it was well put on, there were 10000 people there, they had the winged cars there the night before with stewart and others in that race too.  seeing stewart manhandle that thing gave me a tonne of respect for his driving...

actually now i remember something that sucked...the ushers were 13 year old kids and the place was so jammed and the seats were hardly painted so there was stress with people arguing over seats.

something else was good in that he had a really good sound system there and they cranked the tunes and the songs without pissing anyone off who likes country music were sort of more suited to a younger or at least more diverse audience...made for a good environment for the more diverse crowd that included people with us that had never been to a race but went with us because of the hype...

man i've been to tracks where all they play is country music and it's ok mixed in with other tunes but i think the sport and promoters need to attract more young fans and i think someone needs to think outside the box and start looking at what the younger generation likes and incorporate it into the sport or we're gonna die a slow death if there isn't change because everything is going environmental and at some point someone is gonna try to shut us down for polluting....

we need to get more people in the sport who will take advantage of a group of people being ignored by the sport and bring them in to help strengthen it...

lol all my ideas involve T and A right now....but i wish that dude was still promoting stock car races up here if he was legit..


Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 16, 2008, 11:23:03 AM
man i've been to tracks where all they play is country music

Where is that track? Let me know and its going to be my home track for next year ;)
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: longstreet on September 16, 2008, 11:27:04 AM
define country. waylon cash hankjr ozarks etc im all over it but if its NEW country pass the skynyrd man.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: username on September 16, 2008, 11:43:28 AM
lol i knew i was gonna get it for that...

i think it was mosport a while ago i havent been there honestly in like 3 or 4 years or delaware.

ok what about the rest of the post....am i full of shit or am i a prophet lol
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: username on September 16, 2008, 11:47:55 AM
actually don't answer that  ;D
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 16, 2008, 12:16:17 PM
we need to get more people in the sport who will take advantage of a group of people being ignored by the sport and bring them in to help strengthen it...

They are ignored for a reason. If someone's thing is to watch a clown drive his car sideways around a track smoking the tires, cranking loud techno music, I can't help them, and I would hope they hate Saterday night short track racing. If what we do was anything close to what they like, I'd quit. Nascar has moved to try and include everyone, and look what we have.. Give me a Saterday night of about any tracks thunder cars over that crap anyday. So maybe full of it on that one ;)

Reserved seting wasn't that great. It was had to see the numbers. The bigger problem was that each number was only about 3/4 of a seat.

Best race ever, no not really. Great day for Thmpons. But certainly wasn't bad.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: username on September 16, 2008, 12:53:20 PM
keeping potential racers away from the track because you don't like the music they listen to would be bad business...
as long as they came with their money and a few crew and played by the rules i'd welcome anyone....

i think i can find songs i like from any type of music and a whole bunch of crap ones from every type of music...

if the way things are and have been are so fabulous why aren't the grandstands at every track packed every weekend?

if half of the young people with disposable income who fix up used cars and lower them and spend a tonne in aftermarket parts knew how easy and affordable it was to put together a 4 banger to race i think we'd see a percentage of them put together a car to race at the track instead of street racing if they ever got to see a tape of a race i think they'd be interested....maybe i'm dreaming but as far as rwd thunders and llm those divisions are less likely for the demographic i'm talking about.

we started out with one car and then everyone got the bug and we have 5 on the team now....and none of us make a whole bunch of dough but there we are...my brother was never big into racing as much as i was and now he has the bug and has a car too from seeing me do it...

i guess my glass is half full when it comes to this demographic...

and as far as the race i remember kenseth making the high line work and picking off the last 5 spots i think passing thompson for the win with just a few to go...that was good shit. i have great memories of the weekend camping with friends and the place sold out it was a great atmosphere....


Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 16, 2008, 01:01:24 PM
Well username, you'll be happy to know most tracks don't play old country, and a 4-fun even built safely is less expensive than a set of rims and low pros for a rice burner. I'll leave it to you to know some sence into them. If you want to be the Pied Piper with music and think that will work, be my guest. But don't change racing, and spare us drifting clowns...
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: ernie on September 16, 2008, 04:48:01 PM
Username said...."seeing stewart manhandle that thing gave me a tonne of respect for his driving..."
LOL even racing adjectives have gone metric  ::)
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: Dster on September 16, 2008, 07:16:16 PM
" Like AA"???

AutoAssembler.   ;)

i think i can find songs i like from any type of music and a whole bunch of crap ones from every type of music...
>>snip
if the way things are and have been are so fabulous why aren't the grandstands at every track packed every weekend?

Excellent points. I could not agree with the first one more, but in pop culture and all it's sub-genres most people seem to catch one wave or another at some age and that's the depth of it from then on, but musical tastes are sooooo subjective. It's art, who knows why folks like what they like??  ::)  ;D
On the second point, it is (and has been forever) an ongoing debate as to how to accomplish that. Money and (effective) marketing obviously are key. The first CDS was an excellent example of what can be done in the Ontario  stock car racing market, but the ISA fiasco ruined the prospects of attracting new money for top level promotion and development, and in turn, the influence that could have for local racers in obtaining sponsor help. Is the current state of affairs totally the fault of the ISA mess?? Hell no, but I would suggest that CASCAR/NCATS has only recently begun to get the sponsorship wagon rolling stronger again, but there's "how many" other factors in play, so...
Say what you will about Nascar as it exists now in Canada and in general, they can draw a crowd.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: streetstocker33 on September 16, 2008, 07:40:15 PM
Yeah but if teams where buying these chassis they had to go somewhere to pick them up right? Plus a knowlegeable team you think would be able to idenify the chassis as being a Mccoll, Hanley or whatever series right, and ask the question wtf?

Interesting to try and figure out how he pulled it off...
Lefthander chassis, coilover underslung cars, i had one that was originally bought for the whitlock team to use, it got cut up and used for an enduro cage by a friend of mine.
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 16, 2008, 07:43:49 PM
Yeah but if teams where buying these chassis they had to go somewhere to pick them up right? Plus a knowlegeable team you think would be able to idenify the chassis as being a Mccoll, Hanley or whatever series right, and ask the question wtf?

Interesting to try and figure out how he pulled it off...
Lefthander chassis, coilover underslung cars, i had one that was originally bought for the whitlock team to use, it got cut up and used for an enduro cage by a friend of mine.

Wow that good of a chassie eh LOL
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: longstreet on September 16, 2008, 07:55:04 PM
thanks for the clarification dster
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: rossevans30 on September 16, 2008, 07:57:55 PM
The first CDS was an excellent example of what can be done in the Ontario  stock car racing market, but the ISA fiasco ruined the prospects of attracting new money for top level promotion and development, and in turn, the influence that could have for local racers in obtaining sponsor help. Is the current state of affairs totally the fault of the ISA mess?? Hell no, but I would suggest that CASCAR/NCATS has only recently begun to get the sponsorship wagon rolling stronger again, but there's "how many" other factors in play, so...
Say what you will about Nascar as it exists now in Canada and in general, they can draw a crowd.

I'm not sure if the ISA mess would affect sponsorship that much. To put up a sign at any race track or sponsor a divison, seems to be a sound investment, regardless. The lesson to be learnt is to watch out for plans of attracting 60,000 people to 4 new superspeedways in the span of a year. Kinda like taking a risk on buying that ocen front property in Toronto...

Did it even have any real sponsorship? Excite batteries, but that company wasn't excatly in great shape. Couldn't keep their Nascar sponsorship going, and made some really bad batteries. Could it be that their name was simply used, like Toyota? They might not have even cared, depending on how desparate they were, it got their name out there for a bit for possibly free... Why sue him for using your name, when its getting free press?

Were big companies taken? Dunno. Nothing is parted quicker than a fool and his money, but you don't get to be large company playing the fool.

Possibly all it netted was advance ticket sales, a few 2,400 fanchies, and a couple of marked up lefthander chassies......
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: streetstocker33 on September 16, 2008, 08:01:12 PM
Yeah but if teams where buying these chassis they had to go somewhere to pick them up right? Plus a knowlegeable team you think would be able to idenify the chassis as being a Mccoll, Hanley or whatever series right, and ask the question wtf?

Interesting to try and figure out how he pulled it off...
Lefthander chassis, coilover underslung cars, i had one that was originally bought for the whitlock team to use, it got cut up and used for an enduro cage by a friend of mine.

Wow that good of a chassie eh LOL
had no use for it, they had a tall cage on them because the plan was a compostie body with dimensions close to cascar if i remembered right, and I got it free from work, so had to do something with it  ;D
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: Thunder6 on September 17, 2008, 11:39:15 PM
The city of Barrie and numerous local businesses and many more got scammed with the Thunderfest hydroplane races on the bay some years ago. The event did indeed take place, but few if any ever got paid for services or supplies and the waterfront was actually fenced off for a weekend!! What a kerfuffle!! Anyway, it happens.  

That guy pulled off more scams than that one, and IIRC, he left town with one of his businesses mysteriously on fire. As I recall now the business that I was involved with at the time (I was an independant subcontractor) got taken for a few thousand dollars by that guy. I dealt with him a couple times and while he was extremely charismatic there was something causing alarm bells to go off in my head...

You gotta listen to your gut when dealing with people promising you the world. But this ISA guy must have been good to rope in all the people he did.

A bunch of years ago I heard about the Mosport oval being expanded. Was that planned for something like this? And what happened to that?
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: CanadianRacer.com on September 18, 2008, 09:21:05 AM
Quote from: Thunder6
A bunch of years ago I heard about the Mosport oval being expanded. Was that planned for something like this? And what happened to that?

The ownership previous to the current Panoz group (mid 1990's or so) had plans to build a drag strip and somehow incorporate a large oval as part of the road course. You might be thinking of that. I never heard of any plans to expand the existing oval.

Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: southernsponsor on September 18, 2008, 09:39:04 AM
Expand the mosport oval....god help us.  single piston brake calipers and that track are at the limit!!!!!   my brothers team bought two cars for the good old ISA. Lefthanders  that ended up rusting in back of rhodes barn!!  and yes i think one got chopped up,  the other sold to a guy running some series down south.  the whole scam kinda made Tony and Linda  look pretty  good,  even if you didnt like Tony,  you gotta admit he built up the series twice  and look what we got now......tv ratings are way  up  and so is attendance. if it would stop %$^$%$%$  raining everywhere  motorsports would be on a huge up swing in this country.  see yall   at riverside.  #21  jw
Title: Re: CASCAR part of launch of Niagara Falls Int'l Speedway?
Post by: Dster on September 18, 2008, 07:15:04 PM
>>>...the whole scam kinda made Tony and Linda  look pretty  good,  even if you didnt like Tony,  you gotta admit he built up the series twice  and look what we got now......tv ratings are way  up  and so is attendance. if it would stop %$^$%$%$  raining everywhere  motorsports would be on a huge up swing in this country.  see yall   at riverside.  #21  jw
I tend to agree!!   ;D  Good Luck this weekend!!