Respect is key factor in Orange Show Speedway revival

SAN BERNARDINO – The man being called the savior of Orange Show Speedway has never driven a race car or bought a ticket to a race and says he doesn’t know what the various signal flags mean.

Joe Ganino Jr. said he is “going to continue to not know anything about racing, too. I think it’s better that way.”

It would be hard to mount an argument against that belief, given the changes that have taken place at the quarter-mile paved oval since midsummer, when, Ganino said, he was given about five minutes to decide if he wanted to try his hand at running a race track that otherwise would have closed its doors.

Ganino’s business is security and safety. Blackhawk Protection, a company the former San Bernardino County deputy sheriff founded in May, 1991, has become the leading provider of security and emergency medical services in Southern California, with a client list that includes Petco Park in San Diego and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, in addition to the National Orange Show and the annual Route 66 Rendezvous in San Bernardino.

He wasn’t a complete neophyte when it came to motor sports, though. He jokes that his main exposure to racing came from rooming for a time with championship off-road driver Spencer Low. But he gained some insights into racing at the major league level in the eight years his company provided security for Sportservice Inc., the main concessionaire at California Speedway, and he learned the rudiments of short track racing in six years of working with previous directors at Orange Show Speedway, a Western cornerstone of the American Speed Association (ASA) Member Track program.

The latter association made Ganino aware of the extent of the discontent hanging over the speedway, with car counts declining and complaints about management decisions, rules enforcement and late purse payments escalating almost daily.

Ask Ganino why he agreed to take on a job with so much baggage and he says he has “no clue” other than his awareness that if the track closed the racers “had nowhere else to go.” Then he talks about how “we all look for new challenges, we all look at the other guy’s business and say I’d do it this way.”

The 43-year-old father of four boys jokes that shortly after taking the job he looked around and said “my God, what did I do?” But, he said, he’s been learning every day, and the main thing he’s learned is that people in general, and racers in particular, respond positively when treated with dignity and respect.

That response has come in several forms – increased attendance, improved car count, less negativity, and a lot of word of mouth recommendations from the racers, who Ganino said are really the ones responsible for the turnaround.

Super Late Model driver Mark Shackleford, a three-time track champion, said Ganino is “treating people with respect and doing the things he says he’s going to do. He really seems to want to make it work. His desire has kind of made everybody else want to work more at it. Now they want to go show their cars and hand out tickets and promote the race track with them. Before, it was ‘the promoter’s not doing anything, so why should we?”

Ganino arranged for free tickets to be distributed in the communities around the track at the National Orange Show Events Center, revamped the concession and vendor areas, stabilized rules enforcement, and told the competitors their concerns would be addressed and improvements made.

He benefited from the completion of projects that had been in the works for a while, such as the installation of 4,000 individual seats to replace wooden bleachers that had been in place since racing debuted at the facility in 1943 and the introduction of a system in which drivers are paid their purse money on the night of the event. Shackleford said that’s been a major factor in changing attitudes, “especially for guys like me that don’t have a lot of money to go racing with anyway.”

Ganino also made plans for the future. The infield is being paved to accommodate both an Outlaw Figure 8 division and 21 drifting programs that will augment the 30 stock car dates, a scoring pylon will be installed, and a museum established to preserve some of the memorabilia from 60-plus years of racing.

The association with ASA also has been strengthened. Ganino said the sanctioning body and its president, Dennis Huth, have been provided invaluable assistance while he has been familiarizing himself with the business and the two sides recently finalized an agreement in which Orange Show Speedway will continue as an ASA Level 1 member for the 2007 season. That benefits both the track and the racers through ASA’s enhanced insurance program, point fund contributions and marketing assistance.

Sport Truck driver and MAKER Racing team owner Ed Reid said, “I like what I see. He’s (Ganino) the kind of guy who’s got his heart in the right place for the Orange Show and his brain in the right place, too. He knows he doesn’t have all the answers and that it takes the whole team to make everything work. In my opinion, that’s what we’ve needed for years.

“He’s left the racing side to the racing people and let them do their jobs, and he didn’t try to step on their toes. To me, that gains more respect for a promoter than probably anything else. He’s been very firm on standing behind his guys. He’s gained more respect from drivers than I’ve ever seen, honestly. Whether they agree with him or not, everybody still respects him and appreciates his efforts. But he would not shine as brightly as he does if did not have the support group he does. They all deserve a pat on the back. They’ve all done a wonderful job trying to turn things around.

“He’s gained the respect of racers, brought more attention to the track and put more people in the stands than there have been in years, and made more improvements than there have been in years. If I was doing a report card, I think I’d give the man straight A’s.”

Ganino will accept the accolades, but prefers anonymity. He said he is “not a story” and doesn’t want to be one.

“It’s just been the racers,” he said. “They’re the ones that turned it around.”

Racing at Orange Show Speedway is sponsored by Leno’s Rico Taco, Blackhawk Protection, CEC Embroidery, Golden West Tire, Lucas Oil, Soboba Casino, Budweiser, Sunoco Racing Fuel, Hoosier Racing Tires, Center Chevrolet, Pick A Part, Neff Rental, Pepsi, Loma Linda University Medical Center, J&M Trophy, Matich Corp., Lazer Radio (101.7 and 105.7 FM), La Salle Medical Associates, California Highway Patrol, KCAL radio (96.7 FM) and the San Bernardino County Sun newspaper.