THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 18, 1994 TAG: 9412160273
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 25 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE MICHAUX SUN SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
IT IS A Sunday afternoon in September and Reed Panasiti is sitting on the couch channel surfing.
Choice No. 1 - Panasiti's beloved Pittsburgh Steelers are taking on Indianapolis.
Choice No. 2 - The SplitFire Spark Plug 500 Winston Cup race.
``I would tune into the racing and catch up on the Steelers during commercials,'' said Panasiti, who was named the general manager and racing promoter at Southampton Speedway last week.
``There is something about it,'' Panasiti added. ``Once you get into it, you give everything to it and it becomes a passion.
``It's man and machine and the smell of the tires and gasoline. . . something about it just makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.''
Panasiti hails from a paper-mill town in Pennsylvania, but planted his family in Virginia Beach after 22 years of service in the Navy.
``I was worried about what I was going to do afterwards,'' Panasiti said. ``I wasn't sure after 22 years in the Navy what I could do, but I wanted to be a part of racing.''
Racing has been a part of Panasiti's life since he attended his first go-kart race at the age of 9. Since then he has been ``hanging on the coattails'' of childhood pal Oma Kimbrough, who races for Overbagh Racing and runs the IMSA endurance circuit and occasionally runs the Winston Cup event at Watkins Glen, N.Y.
Panasiti always left the driving to Kimbrough, but his eyes light up at the mere thought of taking a spin around Southampton's 3/8-mile dirt tri-oval.
``(Kimbrough) developed the talent for driving and I had more of a talent for promoting,'' Panasiti said. ``I'd love to experience racing from the driver's perspective.''
Possibly the only other thing that excites Panasiti as much as racing is music.
He doesn't play an instrument, but he can't think of any type of music he doesn't appreciate.
``Rock, hard rock, country, jazz, you name it.''
And Panasiti can't think of a better place to hold a summer concert than Southampton Speedway.
``There is something about an outdoor concert in the summer that is relaxing, stimulating and pleasant,'' Panasiti said.
Bringing bands to the track is just one of the ways he hopes to make the Speedway more than just a place for Saturday night racing.
``I think the track can be opened up for anything,'' Panasiti said. ``I would personally like to see concerts, motorcross racing, tractor pulls, car shows. . . I'd like to have camping.
``I want to let people know that they can stay overnight if an event runs late or we have a weekend event.''
Southampton, which sits on 61 acres off route 58, can seat 3,500 for a night of racing plus roughly 100 more in the Park-and-See spaces, which Panasiti said can be taken out to increase bleacher capacity later on.
It is estimated that 15,000 to 20,000 could cram the infield for a concert.
Panasiti is the third promoter at the track, which opens its fourth season in March.
``The owners needed to take the track to the next level,'' Panasiti said. ``It's a very well-received track. Dirt-track racing is different, and it's a great place for young drivers to start.''
Panasiti is also quite proud of Southampton's no-alcohol policy on race nights.
``This facility is for family entertainment,'' Panasiti said. ``Families include children. We want people to feel welcome here.
``I don't want to leave here on a Saturday night to drive back to Virginia Beach and know that someone who has been here drinking all night is getting on Route 58 with me.''
Unlike Langley Raceway, which is a Winston Racing Series sanctioned asphalt track, Southampton is an independent track, which means they can design rules and regulations to fit their needs and sponsors' needs.
Because Southampton is a dirt track, it isn't really competing with Langley for entries and Panasiti thinks there are enough fans to go around, too.
``Dirt track racing is different and we will try not to hold any sort of conflicting events,'' Panasiti said. ``We are offering an alternative.''
There are five permanent divisions - Late Model Sportsman, Limited Sportsman, Limited Stock, Mini Stock and Hobby Stock - competing for a purse that averages $7,500 spread among the divisions with the Late Models taking the biggest payout.
``We know we have one of the nicest (dirt) facilities, but the other thing that draws drivers is purse. Where we stack up there, I don't know yet,'' Panasiti said.
Southampton has a 34-race schedule set for 1995, which is five more races than last season, with a car-show and drivers' practice set for March 11 and two non-points races on March 19 and 26.
``That gives the drivers a chance to get the cars going and get everything sorted out,'' Panasiti said. ``And in March it is still cold at night, so we have those races set for Sunday afternoons.''
After that points races begin Saturday night, April 1, and will run every Saturday night until October. The last race is set for Oct. 28 with the flexibility to run into November if the weather necessitates any makeup dates.
Expect some later announcements about weekend events and concerts as the season approaches. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Reed Panasiti, new general manager of Southampton Speedway, says
racing has been in his blood since he attended a go-kart race when
he was 9.
by CNB