After months of rumours and speculations the Barrie Speedway has been sold.
The speedway was sold by APEX Motorsports to Stan Dunford, CEO of Contrans Group Inc. and a majority share owner of Republic Live.
“After negotiations with our new neighbors we believe that there is no way for the two entities to work together side by side,” said APEX Motorsports co-owner Angela Clarke in an e-mail to CTV Barrie Thursday night. “They have therefore bought the speedway.”
Dunford purchased neighbouring Burl’s Creek Family Event Park last fall. Republic Live has announced it will host two multi day music festivals at the park this summer, including the popular country music festival Boots and Hearts.
The Barrie Speedway opened in 1965 and is a 1/3 mile tri-oval racing track located in Oro-Medonte.
The speedway was schedule to host a NASCAR Canadian Tire series race on September 12th, but there is uncertainty about the speedways future.
Many racers fear the sale of track spells the end of racing in Oro-Medonte.
"I love that place and now it's gone," said racer Randy Seguin. "I'm not ready to stop racing so right now it's trying to decide which track to go from here," he said.
When asked further questions of the sale, Clarke said more information would be made available in a joint press release the two groups will be issuing in the coming days.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
