Auburndale Raceway Is An Accident Waiting To Happen
Lately my friends and I have been attending the races at the Auburndale Speedway in Florida on Saturday nights. My 4 year old niece named Madison has a great time, and she wants to go every week.
Last night was a special event, which was suppose to end with figure 8 racing and a demolition derby. I couldn’t believe how busy it was there. Usually the line to buy tickets is about 3 or 4 people long. Last night we had to wait in line for about 30 minutes, which was fine because many spectators showed up for the demolition derby.
Everything was going well, until the extended intermission in an attempt to sell more concessions. The management did a great time boring us to death during this long one. They have a 50/50 raffle, and this week it was up over $300.00. The last racing event was a 50 lap race. At the end of this one the winner of the raffle was to be announced. They were about 10 laps into the race when it started drizzling. The announcer said “Don’t worry folks, we just checked the radar and it’s just a passing shower”. I was impressed that they had a meteorologist on the payroll.
Some people did start trickling from the stands. I think they just wanted to claim their shelter in case it started pouring. Well, it did. As Forrest Gump says, it was “raining sideways”. Now everybody got up at the same time, some to leave and some to find an overhang to stay dry. The problem is, the only place to stay dry was the Bottleneck exit. My brother in law was getting nervous with his 4 year old in his arms because of the confusion, and so wasn’t many other people. I could clearly see it in their faces.
The problem? Half of the people were seeking shelter from the rain, and the other half just wanted to leave. This created an almost trample in the exit. Half the people were just standing there, and the other half were trying to leave. People started actually yelling, saying “come on, move it. I just want to leave”! There was no management there to direct or secure an exit line.
When we finally got out we took a breath of relief. Looking back there was still many people trying to bust through. This place is an accident waiting to happen. I sincerely hope the Fire Marshall looks into this.
Google Map Image Showing Bottleneck - The exit ws the only shelter from the rain - Click To Enlarge
I went on their website this morning and there is nothing on their website. I want to know, who won the 50/50?
