The February schedule was soon known as the East Bay Winternationals, a tradition that continues to this day. Over the years a wide variety of cars have competed in the Winternationals and the 2020 Winternationals schedule boasted 23 nights of racing from Jan. 20 to Feb. 15.
Although East Bay is active nearly all year long, it is the Winternationals tradition that has lifted the track to national prominence.
Mingo sold the track to Dennis Langston, who later sold the track back to Prevatt. In 1997, Stan Kolen took the reins, promoting the track for five seasons. In 2002, Al Varnadore and Todd Hutto acquired the track and in recent years Varnadore purchased Hutto’s interest.
“That was 17 years ago, and those years went by way too fast,” admitted Varnadore.
In recent years, it became obvious that the nearby Mosaic plant was expanding. Mosaic, a Fortune 500 company, is a multi-national mining company that produces a wide range of products including fertilizer.
Parallel to the back straightaway of the track a pile of mined soil began accumulating some years ago. As the plant continued its robust operation the pile grew immense and today looks more like a mountain.
Meanwhile, the plant began looking at the 28-acre East Bay parcel with growing interest.
“They operate a multi-billion-dollar plant,” said Varnadore. “It’s amazing how much they process through that plant. And we are right in the spot they need. The land became valuable enough that it eventually became viable for them to become serious about purchasing the property.”
When officials of a multi-billion-dollar company set their sights on a strategic purchase, they generally find a way to make it happen.
“We first started talking to them maybe five or six years ago,” said Varnadore. “They came to us and we’ve been talking as the years have passed. Nothing solid came about until the middle of last year (2019). Then everything made sense and it felt like the outcome was going to be inevitable, really.”
Varnadore, who along with Hutto was honored with a Regional Auto Racing Promoter of the Year award in 2002, claims the original conversation with Mosaic brought several things into sharper focus.
“(Mosaic) originally started talking about acquiring the track in 10 years because they don’t need the property right now. But they wanted the security of knowing that when they are ready, they have the option to purchase,” Varnadore said. “Well, when we got to looking at how things are going and the industry around us, and our age … five years made a lot more sense.
“I’m 60 right now and in 10 years I’ll be 70. Well, I don’t want to be promoting a track when I’m 70 because I don’t want to work that hard and I don’t want that many headaches,” he noted. “So as we continued to talk with them it worked out that five years was the right window for everybody.”
In the days following the announcement of the Mosaic purchase, speculation was immediately raised on the idea of building a replacement track at a different location. Would it be feasible to create another “East Bay” somewhere else?
“There will never be another track built in Hillsborough County, I don’t believe,” Varnadore said. “There might be something in surrounding counties. We have looked at purchasing Desoto Speedway and the idea of converting it to dirt. But right now, it’s not financially feasible. We’re a long way apart in the conversations we’ve had.”
So now, with the clock ticking, the next four seasons become especially meaningful for people who love East Bay Raceway Park.
“We have four-and-a-half years left,” said Varnadore. “That’s four more Winternationals and in the time remaining we’re working very hard to make every racing event here the best it can be. As far as our weekly racing program, as long as it’s profitable we’ll continue to do it.
“We want to race as much as we can over the next four-and-a-half years.”
What about the idea of a big, special event that could close out the track with style? That idea is definitely on Varnadore’s radar.
“I’ve got some races in mind, some ideas,” he admitted. “But right now, it’s just a matter of putting everything together. I need to land the sponsorship that would make them not just events, but big events. The ideas are on the front burner and we’re working on them.
“I love this place, and I’d love to end the track’s run with a bang, something people would never forget,” he added. “That’s one of the reasons we did the five-year program. We didn’t want to just drop it. We didn’t want to do that, that’s not us. We’re racers, and I hate to see it go.
“But I’m also a businessman and I can see the reality. We had to make that decision and I hate it. It’s not possible to appease everybody, but we tried.”
Just outside turn one of the track a blue building rises above the landscape. A sign on the building refers to the structure as the “Jimmy Mingo Tower.” It’s positioned in a way that you can easily imagine Mingo himself looking down at the track, contemplating the joy people have felt here over the past 40-plus years.
Nothing goes on forever, not even a great race track. But as for East Bay, it’s been a good run. A good, good run.