For those following along, earlier in the week, a press release was posted by New Egypt Speedway here on the message board with the Subject Line "Grosso Takes Control of New Egypt Speedway."

From that, an interesting discussion (thread) began with folks offering their opinion/what they had heard from their sources, etc., as to what that meant.

Some comments/questions posted from you folks were, "Is the track still owned by the previous owner and now just being leased?"....  "Is Rick Grosso now the new owner?"...  "Are the details of the "change in control" still to be worked out?"

So... While I'm not 100% sure of anything in life, I can tell you that I stopped by the booth and all indications are that as the original press release stated, "The agreement by Grosso puts the speedway back into the hands of the family that put it on the map 25 years ago when they rebuilt it into an award-winning dirt track."

Rick Grosso Jr was in the New Egypt Speedway booth, along with Jim "Video Jim" Murdock.  A new banner celebrating 25 years of racing hung over the booth. 

I spoke with folks who have various responsibilities at the speedway and everything that they have heard is that Rick Grosso Jr is the owner and in full control.  I was also told that a lot of work has already taken place to improve the grounds/facilities at the speedway in preparation for the 2023 season, all under the direction of Rick Grosso Jr. 

For those who hadn't seen the full press release from earlier in the week, here it is:

Grosso Takes Control of New Egypt Speedway

1/17/23:  This past Monday, January 16th, the New Egypt Speedway began a new chapter in its storied history. Rick Grosso, Jr. signed a deal acquiring control of the central Jersey facility from Fred Vahlsing. The agreement by Grosso puts the speedway back into the hands of the family that put it on the map 25 years ago when they rebuilt it into an award-winning dirt track.

"I am happy to announce that New Egypt is once again part of our family," stated a happy Grosso after inking the deal. "We put a lot of hard work into building the track and operating it for 9 seasons (1998-2006), and I am looking forward to regaining our reputation as the region's premier speedway."

A 2023 schedule has already been put together and will be released this weekend at the Motorsports Race Car and Trade Show in Oaks, PA. NES will have a booth and will also be selling 2023 Pit passes and parking spots. Drivers are encouraged to sign up at the tracks display for the upcoming season.

Grosso is currently working on putting together his leadership team and officials for this year. The same divisions from 2022 will be featured each Saturday during the season, with many exciting changes to be announced in the next few weeks. Among these announcements will be rules packages, purse structure, track and facility improvements and driver commitments to name a few.

Please watch all of our social media pages (Facebook, Instagram & Twitter) and our website (www.newegyptspeedway.net) for all speedway information about the upcoming season.

Interesting to see what Godown and Pauch jr will do.  Godown has always said NES was "home " but it could be hard to leave a track that he dominates.

Respectfully, while speaking to a number of employees with various duties at the speedway that have "heard" that Grosso is back as the OWNER and a press release that states that the facility is "back in the hands of the family that put it on the map..."  quite honestly, that doesn't come out and specifically state that Rick Grosso is the owner.  I don't know how many times people have "heard" something...only to turn out that it was simply something said anonymously on the internet and with no real backing.  And frankly, "back in the hands of Rick Grosso" could simply mean that he is the one that makes the day to day decision on what happens at the speedway.....not that he is the owner.  It could very well all be a play on words.  Fred could still be the owner.

   And for many fans that have been turned sour over the years by Fred's rediculous and pompous decisions and actions....they would still not care to drop a single dime into his pockets if he is the owner.  Rick Grosso coming in to run the show is great news.  I have gone on record saying as much....but using the words "heard" and others is NOT a sign that Fred is still not the owner.  I wish Rick Grosso much luck in trying to put New E

...put New Egypt back to the status it once enjoyed....but they need to overcome a lot of crap that Fred heaped onto the place and its employees.  If Fred is still the owner...I am surprised that his ego allowed him to throw in the towel and allow someone else to come in and do it better.  For someone who "knows dirt" it comes as a surprise that there would be someone who knows it better.

I was told at the NES booth on Friday, Ricky Grosso has purchased NES and is now the owner.

A quick check of property tax records will reveal who is the owner.  Its public information.

block # 76 lot #83.01

That change may not happen over night, sometimes it takes a while in NJ.

More info:  Drove by the track.  The place looks like everything that was there for the past few months has been removed, and in "move in" condition.  There is nothing on the grounds that says EME any longer which is the company that Fred Vahlsing owns and always had a presence in one way or another at the track since he became involved.

There were some piles of clay up on the specatator side of the catch fence.  Other than that, not much to report.

While I was initially very skeptical that the words "Sale" or "Sold" were not used in the original 1/17 press release from New Egypt Speedway representatives, based off of those I spoke with at Motorsports, and the fact that Rick Grosso Jr was in the New Egypt booth on Friday at Motorsports, and after re-reading the line from the 1/17/23 press release that states, "I am happy to announce that New Egypt is once again part of our family, stated a happy Grosso after inking the deal," I'm moving forward into 2023 that Ricky Grosso Jr now owns the speedway.

So, the question as asked before that only a few responded to is, of those who still lives within driving range of New Egypt Speedway, which one best describes your plans for 2023:

1.   Will attend New Egypt more in 2023 than I did in 2022
2.   Will attend New Egypt same or less than I did in 2022
3.   Will attend more in 2023 once SURE that NEW OWNERSHIP is in place.

For the few of you who are wondering, my answer is #1, but has more to do with my intolerance of any show that is drawn out, which was a problem for some of the different venues that I went to in 2022.  I left way too many shows in 2022 asking myself, do I really want to come back next week, and that is not good.

Dirt, asphalt, who makes the best french fries... .  To me, none of that matters as much as simply who can put on an efficiently run show, that doesn't abuse spectators time. 

I still think a show that is worth coming back to is one that scores high marks in the catagories of compelling, unpredictable and fun, and it's hard to do that when a show is drawn out, with breaks and other excuses to stop/start/stop/start....And now with Flo Racing as another option, my intolerence for those tracks that insist on killing their show's momentum with delays while those in the tower take their time reviewing the video after every incident, or that insist on making their fans sit through lap after lap under yellow while the tower is biting their nails on whether the driver lining up in 13th should really be in 14th...., well, let's just say that even though I've been fighting it, I may end up in the stands at less shows in 2023 than I did in 2022 (which I know has been a trend for many of you.)

On the other hand, I haven't given up on the sport yet, and if I can find a Saturday Night show that I can count on to consistantly be run in an efficiently manner, it'll be difficult to not be there.

I for  one will likely go for a special (have another commitment saturdays ) last few years i would not go there at all  even specials

and no sail panels help 

Flow of the show is everything to me.NES is my home track but as I get older I don't have the same desire to be at the track every week.If the show moves along I definitely will be there much more than last year 

Joe, your sentiments pretty much reflect mine in this subject. I gave no patience for a long drawn out show. The schedule that picked up at the NES booth on Friday states that there is a MINIMUM of 4 divisions running every week. I will 100 % give it a shot, but a 4 or 5 division show on a weekly basis isn't usually my cup of tea. Hopefully the show is run in by an efficient manner and I won't even realI've that I don't give a crap about the division that I'm watching.

Small car counts in some of the division helps with shows being too drawn out.  The new management is also going to help alot with that.