Valenti Modified Racing Series Absorbs Massive Hit With Loss Of Series Director Scott Tapley

Scott Tapley

Scott Tapley

This much is certain, the management of the Valenti Modified Racing Series will have a difficult time finding a new series director that brings as much to the position as Scott Tapley did in his brief time with the division.

Whether one agrees or disagrees with the officiating or competition management styles or philosophies Tapley brought to the table, there’s no denying in any way that he brought mounds of major positive change to the series, in multiple different facets, in the brief time he served as series director.

Tapley today RaceDayCT on Monday that he has left the series, effective immediately. There has been no official announcement from series management.

Going back to his time as the race director for the Waterford Speedbowl from 2011-2012, Tapley developed a style of officiating that put consistency of call making at the forefront, with no fear of making the unpopular call.

And it was the same style he brought with him to the Valenti Modified Racing Series when he began as series director in November 2012.

Unfortunately, that determination to remain consistent with all decisions being made overseeing the series was likely what led to his decision to walk away.

Though, in just over a year and half as series director, Tapley changed the face of the Valenti Modified Racing Series in many ways.

His biggest contributions came in the realm of public relations overall for the division, which is celebrating its 11th year in operation in 2014.

For the first nine years the series ran, public relations and media relations within the division was never a focus in any way. And as the series grew up and grew out and made big leaps into the Connecticut short track scene, it was without much fanfare, in a lot of ways because series management put no emphasis on getting the word out.

As social media grew and became a necessity for any type of entertainment entity looking to attract fans, Valenti Modified Racing Series management essentially ignored it in every way. At one point a series Twitter account was opened and then sat dormant for over a year.

The series website was long a mess. It was rarely updated and more often than not promoting out of date material for months on end.

Tapley arrived and changed it all. Creating a new website for the series that not only became timely, but also offered an immeasurable amount of quality information for competitors, teams, fans and the media. Tapley also put together a full series history of statistics, which essentially didn’t exist before his arrival.

Before Tapley’s arrival with the division, at most events it was difficult to event get a roster lineup sheet for that day at the track or printed results after a race.

Tapley took the seeming blackout of information distribution that plagued the division for years and turned it 180 degrees by creating the division’s first full fledged media guide prior to this season. Never before had all the needed present day and historical information surrounding the series been compiled and offered to fans, competition and the media.

And Tapley, who also serves as the racing director at Thompson Speedway, made sure the series used tools like Facebook and Twitter to not only promote the series, but also to keep the information flowing to fans during events. He embraced social media for a division that before his arrival had, for all intents, totally ignored it.

And when it came to competition, Tapley was a force for change in helping to improve the product that fans see at the track. In his first year he instituted changes that made heat races – that had essentially turned into glorified hot laps – competitive and interesting for the fans again. He also worked to ensure the fans showing up to events got to see their ticket value’s worth of competition and not just events where racing didn’t start until 80 percent of the way through the distance of the event.

Again, no matter what anybody thoughts are on Tapley’s style, aggressive nature of officiating consistently or overall management philosophy, there’s no denying that his positive force of change within the Valenti Modified Racing Series made the series world’s better than before his arrival, and he’s to be applauded for that fact.

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Comments

  1. He does a great job , commands respect.. A breath of fresh air at Thompson

  2. I can’t stand Tapley anyway

  3. Maybe he can use his free time to come get Waterford straightened back out.

  4. Mike Serluca says

    He did a great job. Huge loss for the VMRS.

  5. Crazy in NY says

    Would have loved being a fly on the wall in the room where he and Jack had their goodbye convo. I had my doubts about him since “Soakinggate” but I concede I
    may be wrong about him. Looks like a challenge for anyone on that tour.

  6. Tapley was not a fair official. He would consistently turn a blind eye to some drivers infractions and eagle-eye and penalize other drivers during races.His favoritism was blatant.

  7. Consistency? Where are you people watching? Go sit in the stands and watch at Thompson you will see so much more of his BLIND calls! LOSS my eye !!!! The tour should be screaming..YAHOO !!!!!!!

  8. Need Change says

    He keeps plying his favorites….biggest joke of a race director ever. Needs to get fired from thompson so he learns a lesson.

  9. nothing is wrong at the speedbowl pat is doing a fine job

  10. Well, these comments confirm what I’ve already heard. You’re either hot or cold with this guy. However, if we had Fair Freddy officiating people would still be complaining.
    Racing is all about compromising. Officiating is no exception.

  11. This wouldn’t have anything to do with Todd in the 12 car being moved back a few spots in the consi for rough riding?

  12. To fanin4.. Todd didn’t race the consi. He went to the back after being the yellow with the 99 on lap 1. Then on the last lap of the heat, he was dqed for contact with the 99. He was sent home for speeding and aggressiveness in the pits leaving the track from the heat race.

  13. What a waste…….He is a good man and improved everywhere he worked.

  14. Ya know I’ve found in racing. Everybody hates the race director and disputes his calls. Everyone says thank god that guy is gone. “Bad calls, favoritism, blind eye, etc” but when one quits or gets fired the next guy comes in and its the same crap. Wahwahwah. it’s not an easy job. It’s thankless, stressful and everything in between. Tapley may have not always made popular decisions but that is the job. The next guy will have to do the same and then everyone can bi**h about his calls to. Either way the next guy does it everyone will complain and say I wish tapley was back.

  15. Racerjoe says

    I’ve been around this rodeo many times before, I think I have out lasted a minimum of 4 race directors. The VMRS problem did/does not lie in the race director. The series has a internal issues with varying differences, opinions, and visions between ownership, management, and the hired race directors position. In my opinion Scott Tapley did a great job, perfect no..but given the circumstances he faced daily he did the best he could do. The Series needed him, far more than he needed the VMRS. This is a severe bump in the road for Racing series that seemed to be gaining a lot of momentum.

  16. Very mileading ridiculous system
    VMRS
    THIS IS A SERIES THAT NO ONE CARES ABOUT
    IT IS LIKE ARENA FOOTBALL TO THE NFL
    WNBA TO NBA
    THE CATS ARE OLD TRO
    YER JUNKS. I BPUGHT ONE FOR 2400 bucks before

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