Save The Milwaukee Mile

I could write about a lot of things this week. The ALMS is denying all rumors about Grand Am DP buyouts or mergers. The ALMS is closer to the ACO than ever. The ALMS admits that the 2009 Le Mans break was too long. OK. That's all great - really. I could say more but do not have time. The FIA and FOTA are still fighting and plans continue to move forward for a new FOTA series. This is just getting silly. FOTA - go for it. Bernie and Max have shown their time has passed them by. But there is something that has been keeping me up at night all week and now the news broke - The Milwaukee Mile has been driven into the ground by a promotions hack and it needs your help.

Some background - The Milwaukee Mile is a $150 to $180 million, newly renovated asset owned by the State of WI, overseen by the WI State Fair Board, and it's promotional rights are leased out. The current promoter is Wisconsin Motorsports' Claude Napier. The Giuffre Brothers successfully ran the track from 1983 until 1991. The Mile is 106 years old. It's North America's oldest continuously run race track and has always had a major sanctioned race.

Stories (1, 2, 3) have been out there for a few weeks now. On July 2, Mark Belling discussed the situation in depth on his radio show. The Milwaukee Mile can't pay the bills it owes to the IRL and NASCAR. We are talking about nearly $4 million for the 2009 races. Claude "The Hack" Napier, head of Wisconsin Motorsports can't seem to make money with a NASCAR weekend. As of July 8 the remainder of 2009's races have been canceled. In 2010 the track could be closed.

The Giuffre Brothers have offered - pleaded with the State Fair Board to allow them to come out of retirement and take over the running of The Milwaukee Mile. The Giuffre's have reported that they have backing from John Menard. Mr Menard runs a small lumber yard hardware store business and has a small interest in motorsports. The offer seems like a no-brainer for Governor Doyle and Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee Mile needs your help. The following people or organizations can make a difference but they need to know that Wisconsin's racing heritage and The Mile are worth saving. Please contact them now.

WI State Fair Board 640 South 84th Street West Allis, WI 53214 1.800.884.FAIR	Jim Doyle WI Governor Madison Office P.O. Box 7863 Madison, WI 53707 608-266-1212
Senator Herb Kohl Washington Office 330 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-5653 Fax: (202) 224-9787	Senator Russ Feingold Washington, DC 506 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510-4904 (202) 224-5323 TDD (202) 224-1280 Fax (202) 224-2725
Scott Walker Milwaukee County Executive 901 N. 9th Street Courthouse, Room 306 Milwaukee, WI 53233-1458 Phone: 414-278-4211 Fax: 414-223-1375 countyexec@milwcnty.com	Dan Devine West Allis Mayor 7525 W. Greenfield Ave West Allis, WI 53214 (414) 302-8200