MONROE — Like drinking from a fire hose.
That might be how Lex Johnson would describe the past few weeks, as Evergreen Speedway’s new promoter prepares for the racing season.
That is, if he wasn’t so beat.
“It’s been overwhelming, but that’s what I expected,” said an obviously tired Johnson on Tuesday in his speedway office. “I’m averaging about three-four hours of sleep a night, and have for the last week and a half.”
On March 7, the track’s previous promoter, Mickey Beadle, announced the sale to Johnson of International Productions, Inc., the company Beadles’ father and uncle helped start in 1978 to manage track operations.
Since then, Johnson, a longtime racer at the Monroe track, has immersed himself in the task of learning the details of being the promoter for the 54-year-old speedway.
If Johnson feels a sense of urgency in trying to master the ins and outs of speedway promoting, he has good reason: racing on the five-eighths mile oval is just days away.
This Saturday Evergreen Speedway hosts the American Speed Association Northwest Tour for its season opener, a 125-lap late model race, as well as the winged sprint cars of the ASA Northwest Sprint Car Racing Association competing in the Doug James Memorial.
“I knew I’d have a hard time keeping up … trying to do this at the beginning of the season,” Johnson said. “If this happened in October it’d be fine because I could spend a month learning how everything is run … without worrying about preparing for a race this weekend.”
Beadle, who was the track’s promoter for almost 30 years, has been very helpful and supportive during the changeover, Johnson said.
Johnson added that his own long history with the track has been another benefit. Besides racing at the speedway on and off for 12 years, Johnson’s company, Concept Racing and Graphics in Monroe, has had the tire and fuel concession at Evergreen since 2003.
One of Johnson’s first tasks was to submit a request to Snohomish County to have the track operations contract transferred to him as the new owner of IPI.
Evergreen Speedway, as well as the rest of the Evergreen State Fairgrounds, is owned by the county. The current speedway operations contract between IPI and the county runs through 2010.
Beadle and Johnson have said they anticipate no problem in obtaining county approval of the transfer, but a formal decision could take two months or more, Johnson said on Tuesday.
Although preparing for the upcoming racing season has been his top priority, Johnson has set in motion some facility upkeep at the speedway, things to improve the “appearance for the spectators, and also the racers … to make them feel welcome,” he said.
Johnson said no changes to the speedway staff or the racing program are planned at this time, but he expects to put his stamp on the operation at some point.
“This isn’t a one week, learn how to do it,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be a year before I’m familiar with it and two or three before I’m comfortable, until I can establish some patterns of my own.”
In the meantime, Johnson is working hard to keep up with both Concept Racing and to get ready for a full season of racing at the speedway.
In addition to the big track tour races this Saturday, there was a 300-lap endurance race for the hornet division last weekend. The weekly racing program, featuring the three divisions of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and the figure eight cars, begins on April 12 and runs through the end of September.
Which means Johnson might have to wait more than six months for a good night’s sleep.
“I kind of cat nap when I can,” Johnson said with a laugh, “There’s too many hours to put in, you could never have enough.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
