MACON, Ill. — Track Enterprises owner Bob Sargent and Champion Racing Ass’n co-owner Glenn Luckett announced the sale of CRA to Track Enterprises.
The Salem, Ind., based sanctioning body operates four touring divisions including the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS, the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour presented by Chevrolet Performance, Van Hoy Oil CRA Street Stocks Powered by JEGS and the Vore’s CRA Late Model Sportsman Powered by JEGS
According to Sargent, the purchase may lay the groundwork for establishing a national super late model tour, which the country hasn’t seen for nearly two decades.
“Track Enterprises has race tracks and promotional agreements across the Midwest and Southeast encompassing over 80 events a year,” said Sargent. “This purchase is a natural extension of the work we already do with CRA, so we’ll be able to achieve some economies of scale with purchasing, staffing, sponsorship sales and promotional efforts.
“Our goal is to bring more to the racers and the series’ race tracks, which will in turn bring more excitement to the fans. We’ve got some big plans for 2023 and beyond,” Sargent continued. “We’ve already started laying the groundwork for a national super late model tour. We view this as a collective win for the tracks, fans and racers alike.
“Discussions have already been had with top tracks and series in the nation and there are more discussions to come. Many of our peers and competitors look at what we’re doing and draw comparisons to the American Speed Ass’n during its years of short-track leadership. We already work with other great series with Tim Bryant and his Southern Super Series and Gregg McKarns and his ARCA Midwest Tour.
“Our goal is to bring these groups together for a full schedule of events, much like the days of the Stock Car Connection led by Rex Robbins with ASA, Bob Harmon with the NASCAR All Pro Series and Tom Curley with ACT (American-Canadian Tour).”
Former CRA co-owner and series director Glenn Luckett, chief technical director Eddie Chew and director of operations/chief scorer Greg Wood will remain on staff.
CRA late models in action at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway. (Randy Crist photo)
Track Enterprises promotes races featuring some of the nation’s most popular touring series including the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, USAC Racing, SRX, DIRTcar UMP, World Of Outlaws, POWRi Racing, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, ARCA Midwest Tour, CRA and the Southern Super Series.
“Glenn and R. J. (Scott) have done a great job with CRA for the last 25 years,” added Sargent. “I’ve known those guys for years and have always enjoyed working with them. We started conversations about taking CRA and Track Enterprises to the next level to create a real buzz for pavement late-model racing. I’m glad we were able to make this purchase happen and I’m grateful to continue leaning on their experience going forward.”
CRA has been a proving ground for some of the most celebrated stock-car racers from across the country. NASCAR Cup Series’ Champions Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace, Ryan Blaney and Ryan Newman are a just a small sample of some of the most recognizable names in American motorsports to have made laps under the CRA banner.
With an excess of 50 races scheduled across all four series, the CRA season opens this weekend at Georgia’s Crisp Motorsports Park.
While Scott and Luckett are transitioning from the ownership roles, both are confident in the future of the series.
“This has been our baby for the last quarter century,” Scott said. “We’ve got a lot of blood sweat and tears in CRA. We are proud of what we built with the help of so many great officials, racers, fans, race tracks, promoters and sponsors. It has been hard work in a tough industry, and we are proud that we stood the test of time, but we also knew that if our company was going to take the next step, it was going to take help and leadership from an outside party.
“Bob Sargent and his team at Track Enterprises are exactly the right people to lead CRA into the future. Personally, I will be stepping away from the day-to-day operations, but will assist Bob with the transition and tackle some special projects for CRA and Track Enterprises.”
For Luckett, not much will change.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Luckett added. “I’ll still serve as series director and in all the same roles I have in the past. I enjoy what I do and I want to continue to lead this series at the track and be a part of the new, exciting prospects. I’ve worked alongside Bob for years so I’m looking forward to helping him realize his vision for CRA and other projects.”
According to Sargent, it’s business as usual for CRA
“For the immediate future, the 2022 CRA season will look very similar to years past, as we get our footing with this new venture and continue to build our plans for 2023 and beyond,” Sargent said. “I hope the racers, fans and our partners are as excited about the future as we are.”
Keyword: Track Enterprises Buys CRA, Eyes National Tour