Spud Speedway will return in 2013

By Tom Hale
Special to the Houlton Pioneer Times
    CARIBOU — With rumors swirling around the future of Spud Speedway in Caribou, track owner Troy Haney revealed at the annual Spud Speedway awards banquet Saturday that the track has been leased for the 2013 season to Washburn’s Jere Humphrey.
    Haney has owned and operated the track since 2009 when he purchased the property from Greg Veinote of Newburg. Veinote re-opened the track in 2007 after it had set dormant for over a decade.
Contributed photo/Tom Hale
GOOD SEASON — Spud Speedway’s newest racing promoter Jere Humphrey, left, shakes hands with track owner Troy Haney Saturday at the annual Spud Speedway awards banquet, where the new agreement was officially announced for the 2013 season.
    Humphrey, the owner of Last Chance Motorsports, stepped up this year to lease the local track to continue the annual tradition of a major 150-lap race in The County. Humphrey was able to gather enthusiastic financial support from businesses and individuals throughout Aroostook County and the state to offer over a $10,000 purse in the Late Model Division and $600 to win the Fast Fours race. A crowd of over 1,200 was in attendance to see Fort Kent native Austin Theriault win his second of four of the annual 150-lap races.
    “At this point we are in the preliminary stages,” said Humphrey about the 2013 season. “We are going to offer a field of stock car racing. We are going to try some different facets.”
    “We are in talks with the NELCAR Legends series. We are going to have approximately three 100-lap Late Model Sportsman races and the second series of the Last Chance Motorsports 150 at the end of the season,” he added. “Next fall we will have grass snowmobile drag races” said Humphrey. “We will leave our minds open and do as much motorsports as we can. We will probably have our ATVs, Tough Trucks, and possibly figure-eight races. All kinds of fun stuff to get the fan base built back up and give them some good entertainment at Spud Speedway.”
    Memorial Day Sunday will be Humphrey’s targeted Opening Day. According to the Crouseville native, “We will have a 100-lapper and crack the season open real well. We will start the year off real good like we finished this year.”
    Due to cool nights in the late spring and early summer he plans to run a few Sunday afternoon races and may run Friday evenings when the weather turns warmer.
    The new Spud Speedway promoter plans to have a two-day race weekend June 8 and 9, 2013. Speedway 95 traditionally shuts down that weekend for their Monster Truck Jam. Humphrey will provide a place for the idled racers by opening up Spud Speedway for a two-day race event.
    In order to allow racers from Speedway 95 to run at the Caribou track, he plans to make Spud Speedway’s rule package mirror that of the Bangor track.
    Last Chance Motorsports has a good working relationship with the Bangor track owner, Del Merritt, having worked together on fuel and tire supplies at a variety of events. Humphrey said, “Maintaining this relationship will be much more advantageous for everybody.”
    Humphrey plans to have a Spud Speedway/Last Chance Motorsports booth at the 25th annual Northeast Motorsports Exposition at the Augusta Civic Center Jan. 11-13, 2013. He is sponsoring the Pit Crew Challenge which will be open to all kinds of crews from all types of motorsports in Maine. Rules for the challenge can be found at his website and the Northeast Motorsports Exposition’s website.
    Humphrey, a 1985 graduate of Washburn High school, is a dedicated and loyal Beaver sports fan and still has some relatives who play sports for the school. He still plays basketball a couple nights a week to keep his skills sharp.
    “I have always been loyal to my people. Hopefully we will be able to live up to the name Spud Speedway and put on good shows. We are looking forward to being in the capacity that we are at Spud Speedway and hopefully we will get the support we need.”
    Track owner Haney remarked, “I hope that Jere will have a few more connections based out of his Last Chance Motorsports business which will help get other racers, new racers to Spud Speedway and bring out-of-state and downstate racers to The County as he showed at the Last Chance Motorsports 150 he held at the end of the season. He will have new people in tech and making the calls. Hopefully that will give everybody a new revived outlook on Spud Speedway going forward.”