Salvage yard owner/race aficionado purchases Salem track at auction
October 20, 2010 – By DEANNE JOHNSON Staff Writer
SALEM – On Sunday, Norman Fox learned from some car racing buddies at a McDonald’s the Quaker City Raceway was going up for absolute auction. On Tuesday afternoon, Fox found the place was a deal he could not pass up.
For a mere $460,000, Fox owned the raceway and most of the equipment. The final price was less than half the $1 million the city of Salem once offered owner Dan Swindell. However, when a one-year option to buy ran out without the city obtaining the money, Swindell sold the property at auction.
Fox said Tuesday night he was still “in a daze” about buying the raceway, but as someone who has enjoyed road racing all his life, he plans to have some fun with the track. Most important, he said, has been the warm reception he received from those in attendance at the auction, many of whom had enjoyed the track through the years and were happy he planned to continue to operate the property as a raceway.
More than 130 numbers were issued to potential bidders and the crowd swelled to more than 200 people, mostly interested bystanders who just wanted to know what would happen to the place where they have enjoyed racing through the years. Although Fox has personally been to Quaker City Raceway only three times, his name is known as a winner at other racing venues.
“It’s something I’ve loved all my life is racing,” Fox said, “and I have the wherewithal, I think, to make it a nice place for the next generation.”
To Fox that includes a possible go-cart racetrack, where those, both young and old, interested in racing can try their skills. He also would someday like to see a road racing track put in, but admits some of his ideas could be a long way down the road.
“It needs a little bit of a facelift,” Fox said. “We plan on improving it. Right now, I’m just overwhelmed with the response.”
Although he did not get all the equipment he wanted, Fox said some of the equipment needed replaced with new anyway, so he will be doing some updating. He estimates it may take a year or two to make the raceway the asset to the community he believes it can be.
Fox once was an engineer for a company in Hartville, but started an auto salvage business in Malvern in April 1977. Through the years, he has built up the business, and according to the Web site, Fox Auto Salvage now has 40 acres and 65,000 square feet of warehouse space.
Fox intends to have a Web site for the raceway, the name of which he may alter somewhat, depending upon what his attorney advises down the road. He also plans to call a meeting with people who have worked at the raceway in recent years, as well as local racing enthusiasts, to get an idea of some of the events which have been popular and some of the issues at the track.
djohnson@mojonews.com
SRT ENGINEER TEAM