The twisting drama that has been the buildup to an August 6 event at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl took another strange turn Saturday.
Mike Marfeo, the general manager of the New London-Waterford Speedbowl since just prior to the 2020 season, resigned from the position on Saturday.
Marfeo announced during the driver’s meeting prior to Saturday’s features at Waterford that he was leaving the track due to conflicts created over the scheduling of a Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series event at the track on Aug. 6.
Marfeo’s departure comes four days after Speedbowl management confirmed the track would host the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series for an Aug. 6 event.
Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series management announced last November that the series would return to the New London-Waterford Speedbowl for the first time since 2016 for an Aug. 6 race in 2022.
When Speedbowl management announced their 2022 schedule on March 10 the Aug. 6 Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series event was not included on the schedule. From March 10 until June 4 there was little information from either side on where the event stood. It remained listed on the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series schedule online, but was never added to the Speedbowl’s schedule.
On June 4 longtime New England racing promoter Dick Williams was at the Speedbowl communicating to people in the pits that the promotional group he leads – The Racing Guys – would be putting on the Aug. 6 event at the Speedbowl instead of the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series.
On June 10 Speedbowl management announced through Facebook that there would be an 80-lap Tour Type Modified event on Aug. 6 at the Speedbowl that would be put on by The Racing Guys. It was surprise news to the management of the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series, who had recieved no communication from Speedbowl track management that they would not be putting on an event at the track on Aug. 6.
Then the whole situation reversed on Tuesday when the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series management announced that despite the June 10 announcement by Speedbowl management of The Racing Guys event, the Tri-Track Series would indeed be putting on an event at the Speedbowl on Aug. 6. Speedbowl management confirmed on Wednesday that the Aug. 6 event would be promoted by the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series and not Williams and The Racing Guys.
Williams has been working to promote selected events at the Speedbowl for the last two seasons.
On Friday Williams posted a message through The Racing Guys Facebook page which read: “The Racing Guys are no longer involved with any events at the New London/ Waterford Speedbowl. We have a lot of friends and racers at the ‘bowl that we have supported these past years but do to the events the past few days, we’ve had enough of the B.S. and backstabbing.”
Marfeo explained to those attending the driver’s meeting Saturday that he was responsible for the announcement on June 10 that the track would be hosting a Racing Guys promoted Tour Type Modified event. He also explained that he was not the person that cancellled that event, saying there was only one person above him at the track who could do that, seemingly referring to track owner Bruce Bemer. He told those at the meeting that he doesn’t have the tools to succeed at the track and could not remain any longer as the general manager. Marfeo was applaued after the announcement and was hugged by some competitors.
Attemps to reach Marfeo Saturday evening were not successful.
Williams co-founded the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series in 2014 with Jim Schaefer. In 2017 former Modified team owners Wayne Darling and Mark Pennink took over ownership of the series, with Williams and Schaefer remaining on staff.
Prior to the 2019 season Pennink left the series, selling his share of the series ownership to Bennett, also a former Modified team owner. Following the 2019 season Williams and Schaefer parted ways with the Tri-Track Series. Since leaving the series, Williams and Schaefer have continued to promote Modified events at Northeast short tracks under the banner of The Racing Guys.
The Tri-Track Open Modified Series ran two events at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl in 2015, with Ron Silk and Woody Pitkat scoring victories. The series also ran two events at the track in 2016 with Stepen Masse and Matt Hirschman scoring wins.
And this is the fault of the people that talk about the dysfunction at the track.
(This is major sarcasm, for the idiots that can’t know better.)
😝🤣🥹🥹🥹🥹😂😂🤣🤣😂😂😂😂🤣🥹😝😂🤣🥹😂🤣🥹🥹😂🥹😂😝🤣🤣😝🤣🥹🥹🥹🥹😂😂🤣🤣😂😂😂😂🤣🥹😝😂🤣🥹😂🤣🥹🥹😂🥹😂😝🤣🤣😝🤣🥹🥹🥹🥹😂😂🤣🤣😂😂😂😂🤣🥹😝😂🤣🥹😂🤣🥹🥹😂🥹😂😝🤣🤣😝🤣🥹🥹🥹🥹😂😂🤣🤣😂😂😂😂🤣🥹😝😂🤣🥹😂🤣🥹🥹😂🥹😂😝🤣🤣😝🤣🥹🥹🥹🥹😂😂🤣🤣😂😂😂😂🤣🥹😝😂🤣🥹😂🤣🥹🥹😂🥹😂😝🤣🤣😝🤣🥹🥹🥹🥹😂😂🤣🤣😂😂😂😂🤣🥹😝😂🤣🥹😂🤣🥹🥹😂🥹😂😝🤣🤣😝🤣🥹🥹🥹🥹😂😂🤣🤣😂😂😂😂🤣🥹😝😂🤣🥹😂🤣🥹🥹😂🥹😂😝🤣🤣😝🤣🥹🥹🥹🥹😂😂🤣🤣😂😂😂😂🤣🥹😝😂🤣🥹😂🤣🥹🥹😂🥹😂😝🤣🤣😝🤣🥹🥹🥹🥹😂😂🤣🤣😂😂😂😂🤣🥹😝😂🤣🥹😂🤣🥹🥹😂🥹😂😝🤣🤣😝🤣🥹🥹🥹🥹😂😂🤣🤣😂😂😂😂🤣🥹😝😂🤣🥹😂🤣🥹🥹😂🥹😂😝🤣🤣
Bring back Terry Ames
The more things change, the more absurd it gets.
Stuff like this just can’t be made up.
Truth is stranger than fiction.
🤣 😂 🥹 😝 😁 😁🥹 😝 🤣 🥹 😷 😂 🥹 😁 😝 🤣 😂 🥹 😝 😁 😁🥹 😝 🤣
🥹 😷 😂 🥹 😁 😝 🤣 😂 🥹 😝 😁 😁🥹 😝 🤣 🥹 😷 😂 🥹 😁 😝 🤣 😂 🥹
😝 😁 😁🥹 😝 🤣 🥹 😷 😂 🥹 😁 😝 🤣 😂 🥹 😝 😁 😁🥹 😝 🤣 🥹 😷 😂
🥹 😁 😝🤣 😂 🥹 😝 😁 😁🥹 😝 🤣 🥹 😷 😂 🥹 😁 😝
Sometimes it just time to walk away and find a better saddle that fits your horse 🐎.
Good Luck Mike in your future endeavors.
Speedbowl will move forward and show went off with no big issues.
We all Hope and Pray Sammy is ok after a big hit into front wall.
The Show must go on….
This is all your fault Shawn, for reporting on the drama, If you had just stuck your head in the sand, this never would have happened : )
That’s Emes l believe
Fanfan,
You’re hardly the first to make thast sarcastic remark. And yes, there are absolutely people that sincerely believe that.
It’s been a couple hours… Is it on or off?
😝
It’s just terrible but I’m loving every bit of this drama.
Forgetting the whole sordid mess with the owner taking advantage of vulnerable young people this is about management or more accurately the lack of it. The book on Bemer is a guy that inherited Bemer’s Petroleum from his parents. Boy I bet they’d be proud of him now. Then he branched out to play in motorcycles, planes and racing but there was never any inkling he was a good manager.
The odds are that anyone dealing with this guy is going to get burned. The guy that supposedly leased the track, Serlucca, abusing the trust and loyalties of race teams. Now this guy Marfeo and the Racing Guys just got burned after thinking they burned the owners of the MMTTS. All you that for whatever reason have trusted him, compartmentalized the mess that is his personal life keeping it over on the side. Thinking it would not bleed into your dealings with him should not be surprised it you end up with a dagger in your back.
That guy can’t manage his way out of a paper bag he just throws money at problems to cover up his incompetence.
Save yourselves and your reputation MMTTS, it’s not too late.
brilliant bring back the guy who failed to pay competitors and vendors , carried out all the cash (his right to do so) and defaulted on the loan forcing the sale in the fist place. many would say Eames put into motion what has now become the biggest debacle in CT racing . Shawn had nothing to do with it …its politics… race track style
Mike did say at the drivers meeting that he would help bruce with the transition process in helping find someone to replace him which shows Mike is a standup guy at least that he cares still.
Let’s talk facts!!! Fact 1 is that Dick Williams was offered another date other than Aug 6th. He decided to swear and bad mouth the track because he wanted Aug 6th. He has a personal issue with Tri Track and wanted to use the Speedbowl and put the track and other people in the middle if his feed with Tri Track. It is absolutely Childish to act that way. Why wouldn’t you take another date? Now onto track Management. Why would you schedule an event without talking to ownership? To get mad because you do not want to communicate with ownership on track events that ownership is paying for is beyond me. To make an announcement during a drivers meeting before racing is also Childish in my book. To put blame on ownership because you didn’t communicate with ownership and talk about things is once again beyond me. The track is a great place to race and a great place to watch good hard racing. The track will survive without Mike believe me there. All he did was put blame on someone else other than himself. He and Dick Williams should be ashamed of themselves for causing turmoil that didn’t need to happen.
Wonder who the new GM will be? Any takers?
Doug, you big idiot, you were one of the biggest, if not the biggest, advocates of the look away, nothing to see here idiocy, and the best to support the track stupidity when the Bemer escapades broke out into the news. Remember when you said it was best to support the track to enrich the owner so he had more wealth for the claims that might happen? Yeah, that stupidity. That stink will never leave you.
Earl,
I’ve heard some rumors it might be Heidi McDonough.
This is funnier than the Gong Show!!!!!
🥹 🥹 🥹 🥹 🥹 🥹 🥹 🥹
Where can Bemer find someone that has no clue what’s going to be his puppet?
How about Josh Vanda to run it.
Heidi isn’t interested in Running the Bowl.
I hear that there was already a few people interested in helping finish out season.
I see Vince McMahon is available.
And Happy Father’s Day to you as well Darealgoodfella.
Sorry I can’t banter now. I’m trying to score the Forum Pick 6 but am still working off a buzz from the Father’s Day get together. I think I won but I’ll keep you posted.
I sense the drool coming from dadumbdumbs mouth is flowing strong. 😷😷😷😷🤢🤢🤢🤡
So Viva, since you are so quick to discount Shawn on his rumor striking back by stating “Heidi isn’t interested in Running the Bowl, I hear that there was already a few people interested in helping finish out season”, please grace us with your enlightenment.
I may have some knowledge. Can’t reveal my sources . Let’s see what happens.