Comment:

(Let me save those who might be inclined to begin foaming all over their keyboards because of my last statement with gems like "Kuhl didn't need your permission", or "Hey, if you know so much, why don't you buy your own track....",  or the ever popular "They had no choice....they had to pave it because of the town, and the neighbors, and the calcium or whatever...."  The bottom line is that they paved it without asking the competitors or the fans what for their opinion and as a result, they alienated the hundreds and maybe even thousands who loyally called the place home on Saturday nights, which forced them to develop a whole new fan base.. 

There will be those that will rewrite history to make it look like it wasn't management's faults, but that is how the whole thing went down and as it turned out, that was the real beginning of the end.)

The Kuhl's alienated their entire fan base, which I might add had been cultured since 1915.[earlier than the yankees] Plus, you could not expect low budget race teams to junk their dirt set-ups and build asphalt cars-[ this was a working mans sport] so most drivers eventually left- unless Kuhl paid 'appearance $'] So, with no dirt, and new drivers, you can't expect fans to stay loyal.A dirt fan isn't always a pavement fan[i know i'm not].

I really believe with a little innovation, it could have stayed dirt and been as popular as ever.

Hey Paul, what about a new advanced type of surface with less or no dust?[silly putty]  Or building a raceway/mall/restaurant type of thing, like todays modern baseball parks- the women/kids shop while the guys go racing.  In the end, I think Kuhl got tired of all the headaches  and watched "Days of Thunder" too many times in 1990-and got caught up in the NASCAR craze.  After the pavement gamble washed out and they saw the $$$ of the properties worth - 50 acres in Rartian Township is worth a kings ransom - they went for the green.  Paving the speedway will go down in history as the death of Modified Country USA, and rightfully should be remembered as such.

MAY THE FAIRGROUNDS RIP and the souls of TAS, JACKIE, OLSON, TOBY AND ED MCVAY

Point #2:
Flemington was paved because management made the decision to pave it.  It was their decision to make. 

While many reasons have been sited as to why it was paved, the fact was that it was paved to the surprise of everyone outside of those within the immediate management circle at the conclusion of the 1990 season.  This causes me to be a little less convinced that it was those outside forces that really were responsible.

There was no public forum to discuss alternatives to paving it.  There was no request from track management for the racing community to gather and show support to keep the dirt surface to help counter any real or perceived concerns from the EPA, neighbors, hospital, etc.  The decision was made to pave it and so they did.

Not only was the decision made, but it was done in a blatant, publicly uncaring manner to the many faithful dirt fans, racing teams, etc.  For those who don't remember, or were too young to know, you have to realize that this was also at a time when NASCAR was picking up momentum, and with it, picking up speedways to host their Busch and Truck events.  To some, it probably appeared to be a no brainer that by paving the speedway, a whole new "NASCAR Friendly" Fan base would be sure to follow, and easily out number the old, out of style, aging dirt fans.  (This was at a time when Bristol was transitioning from a little regional track to a 150,000 capacity super track...a time when little places like Myrtle Beach was hosting live televised Busch events...  It probably seemed to Speedway Management that this was Flemington's destiny... but  to reach it, the dirt had to go.)

Because of the rushed manner in which the track was paved, combined with the fact that support was never asked for by Speedway Management to help save the dirt surface.... and the lack of consideration given to the Flemington dirt loyal, many of us felt betrayed, sold out, played with...  or less diplomatically put, screwed. 

Most of us didn't go back and for the few who did, in many cases, once was enough.   The magic that they had known was gone.  (Remember your favorite fishing hole from when you were a kid... you know, the one back in the woods that hardly anybody else knew about and that you could always catch a big old bass or something?  Do you remember the first time you went back and they had made it a Park... and you could no longer fish in that special spot off the bank because now that's where the Ranger's paved parking spot was..  And where you once caught that 5 lb'r hangin' out by the dead tree that had fallen in the water had now been dredged out to provide an even shoreline so they could put in a sidewalk...  Can you really go back?)

Once Flemington was closed, Speedway management went on record saying that they would not lease the speedway out to others who wanted to promote auto racing.  They were quoted saying, "It is impossible to make money promoting dirt track races... "   "People don't want to sit in the dust and watch that kind of racing...."   This  only made it more difficult for those who were still trying to promote our sport.  In addition, it made those who were still willing to show up week after week kinda feeling like orphans. 

Speedway management refused to talk with any interested parties about future uses of the grounds unless it involved putting up stores.  Their entire focus was now on getting the zoning changed so that the value of the property would quadruple....  This was probably never more obvious then when Speedway management used the unfortunate event of the fire that occurred after the track was shut down as a reason why the township should expedite their request to have the zoning changed.  They were quoted as saying that if the zoning wasn't changed soon, other dangerous things might happen.

Were they forced to pave it?  You decide.  Would it eventually had closed if it remained a dirt track?  You decide.  Did it have to be paved at the end of the 1990 season?  I don't think so.

They made a wish...  They got their wish.  The only question I have is when did they start wishing for it?