As a weekly competitor coming up through the ranks of short track racing, Sean Foster’s ideas when at the track weren’t always focused on just getting his car better.
Being around the sport as much as he was, Foster developed a desire to take on a larger role beyond just being a driver in short track racing.
Now the 36-year old will get that opportunity.
Foster was named Wednesday as the new general manager of the New London-Waterford Speedbowl.
“I think it was about 10 years ago when I kind of made the decision that operating, promoting and managing a race track and trying to do things to improve short track racing was an overall goal of mine,” Foster told RaceDayCT Wednesday. “It was something that I wanted to make a living doing that. Now this is the start of that.”
Foster has been in attendance observing operations of events at the Speedbowl regularly since late June.
“I’m excited to start working with the team there and creating goals for a bright future,” Foster said. “… [Track owner Bruce Bemer] is 100 percent supportive of building this into a first class facility. In order for success to follow we need support from the short track racing family and their cooperation.”
Foster’s goals are many for operations of the historic facility.
“We have to work on efficiency, and in the simplest terms, we have to build a recurring fan base,” Foster said. “We have to increase participation. We have to cultivate relationships with marketing partners. Currently Monaco Ford of Niantic is our biggest one at this point. And building community immersion is going to be very important for us for the future.
“I’ll be approachable. I’m going to make sure that I have a certain amount of availability for everybody. I have open ears for anybody that has suggestions. Once we get rolling here, this year is going to be kind of me getting some familiarity with everything going on. I want to get through the rest of the year and getting things working as effectively as possible. Then the offseason is when we’re probably going to be making the most changes visually.”
Foster has Aug. 6 circled on his calendar as a focus point as he moves forward in the new position. The Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series makes its return to the track on Aug. 6 for what is expected to be the biggest event at the track in more than five years. The series last competed at the Speedbowl in 2016.
“August 6 is an extremely important event for us,” Foster said. “We know that the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series is going to be bringing a large crowd. That’s going to be pivotal in trying to grow because word will get out quickly from that that we’re making improvements. Otherwise we’re going to try and make that Aug. 6 race a huge success. We’re hard at work doing that and the Tri-Track people are extremely supportive and helpful in making that happen. That is a group effort for sure.”
Foster won 10 races over two seasons from 2006 to 2008 in the Limited Late Model division at Stafford Speedway. He was the 2007 Limited Late Model champion at Stafford. He also has one SK Modified victory at Stafford, coming in 2012.
Away from competition, Foster has built a strong following locally through video production efforts and his former Short Track Racer website.
Mike Marfeo, who was named general manager of the Speedbowl prior to the 2020 season, quit the position during a driver’s meeting at the track on June 18.
Sean seems like a great guy but being attached to Bemer will never be a success, he is saying the right things but it is all just fluff. Why isnt the Tower done, why aren’t the concessions done, why has everyone failed,quit,or surrendered under Bruce are the questions he needs answers for. Support from the Local and Racing community is already limited by the Owner’s Name. Aug 6th yes will be a better attended event, but how are you going to feed those people, can’t sell beer,whos cleaning the bathrooms. People are going to see the place is a mess and if it becomes a lousey experience they won’t come back. Waterford needs to get its house in order before throwing parties.
THANK YOU SIR CAN I HAVE ANOTHER??????!!!!!!
Wonderful news! No doubt his determination, communication, attention to detail as well as years of research, education, personal experiences, and lifelong relationships he’s built within the short track community will bring an entirely fresh and environment to short track racing.
He’s had his eye on the future of this sport for quite some time now and is not blind to the challenges that will arise but there are very few people who will dedicate their entire life to see this track grow. Great article!
I wish the new general manager much success, Hope To see everything improve.
Thanks for stepping up to a thankless job.
I wish the new general manger much success, can’t wait to see the improvements. Thank you stepping up to a thankless job.
This will probably the Make or Break moment for Bruce as the Owner.There have been some Competent and Passionate General Manages under his Ownership and it seems that the Improvements to the Facility and the need to take the Track to the Next level have Plateaued to put it nicely.Its been in these very pages that Bruce has very different Ideas about the Facility and his plans for the future.You need to Pay a Competent Manager/Promoter accordingly.This has been an issue and probably continues to be.Then there are the improvements and the lack of them being completed.Ive been going there for years….About 45.And have tried to support the Racers and the Track I have made countless friends there.Bruce needs to be more open minded regarding the day to day and the long term goals for the Track If not….Mr Foster will become frustrated and be added to a List of Folks who drank the Kool-Aid.By the way…….Fix the Goddam Phone and get an Answering Machine or Hire someone to take Calls.Wishing Sean Alot of Luck going forward.
Rich seems like the typical dick that hasn’t any solutions but feels compelled to criticize everything that’s wrong with the place.. maybe give Sean a chance instead of being a dick
Good luck with this Sean. Looking forward to seeing Waterford become a 1st class facility.
Good luck. I would like to see him succeed. I remember him saying he had a bunch of good ideas for race promotion back in the day. Waterford is a racey little track that I want to see do well.
Best of luck Sean. I hope Bruce gives you the necessary support to accomplish the goals and objectives you set for yourself and the track.
Betcha some of you have seen this movie before in your working lives. Or is TV series more apt? The big cheese, the owner calling the shots. Not necessarily educated and trained in management but perhaps inherited a thriving business that helped fund ventures that were just more fun. Maybe like businesses involving planes or motorcycles or maybe even race cars how cool would that be? Has a reputation for going through managers and positions come up frequently in his businesses.
Through a series of happenstances you find yourself interviewing for the latest opening that suddenly became available thinking you’ll surely be different. You know the guy’s record for turnover but you’ve convinced yourself that you alone have the right set of skills to make it all work and the owner is telling you everything you want to hear. The others weren’t loyal, weren’t decisive, didn’t have good people skills, didn’t perform well he’s telling you………whatever. He’s got a good feeling about you however. Says he’ll back you up and give you what you need to succeed you can count on it.
Oh sure this is bound to work out. Take another popular guy out of the stands, absolutely no real experience, throw him in mid season and watch him turn it all around. Job calls for a tough as nails, experienced manager, not necessarily popular but fair and well respected. Hmmm, why did Tom Fox come to mind? That person won’t work for this particular owner so he’s continuing to use the throw as much as you can against the wall hoping something or someone sticks.
Foster is an adventurer everyone seems to like and we all love happy endings. Problem is Creepy Bruce is still the same owner. We want it to be a movie with a happy ending like Days of Thunder but unfortunately it’s a series more akin to Breaking Bad. Sooner or later when a decision or policy was made that’s hard to follow through on someone will go over the managers head to the owner. The owner will contradict what was agreed on with the manager leaving the manager looking weak and ineffective and it will happen on a regular basis. Call it pulling the rug out, death by many cuts or being thrown under the bus it’s what undisciplined, bad business owners do.
This is a drama series not a movie and the plot won’t change until there’s a different person writing the scripts.
Shane I just stated facts, you must be part of the fanboy crowd that thinks just because its open and has races everything is fine.
Waterford races on the Premier Night (Sat) but cant get any cars or people in the stands, what is a guy with no experience going to do to solve that? If Mr Foster was real serious about a future for the Speedbowl, he would walk into his bank apply for a Commercial Loan and make Bruce go away, either buy him out overtime, or establish a legit lease and management company where nothing traces back to the owner other than the lease payment.
Shawn reported that their were other candidate’s, anybody know who else was on that list?
Rich,
Just for facts sake, I never reported at any point that there were any other candidates for the position other than Sean Foster.
Rich, The Bowl – 78 cars for 5 divisions – 18 sk’s 16 skl’s – compare that to Mad dog 53 cars 6 divisions 7 mods.
Facts are like kryptonite to some people.
Very excited to see what Sean can accomplish. Perfect guy for the job! Congratulations Sean and best of luck to you!
Why does anyone think Foster can get good done whereas all other GMs before didn’t last, bailed out, etc.?????
The GM position is still a puppet position, as I predicted when the news first broke.
Good Luck Sean. Wish you the best of luck.
Foster is going to need more than luck. He’s gonna need a budget, plan and staff. It all comes down to a budget.
The lack of progress over the last few years in the improvements that were announced over and over is proof that the budget has not been allocated. It takes budget to get stuff done.
Sean is going to do a great job. He has a strong network of supporters. Going Green!
I agree with Alex. Sean will do great. He’s been building a network for many years and dedicated a lot of time into education, and experience. A lot can be assumed about a person or their inexperience but maybe he’s more than just a person pulled from the crowd, or popular, or adventurous. Maybe he doesn’t spend his time advertising what he’s been doing behind the scenes and just quietly keeps moving forward. Idk I think a positive spin on things and a bit of support would be pretty neat and helpful in building the track back up instead of wanting to be the first person to doubt the real possibility of success just so you can say I told ya so.