Reaction to Unity Raceway's closing

People's responses to the announcement today that Unity Raceway would be closing its doors in 2008 ranged from matter-of-fact to disappointment. Here's a sampling of the reactions from the central Maine racing community:

"I just feel bad. Anytime a track closes, you feel bad. That's a piece of history changing, just like in NASCAR when they got rid of The Rock and all the short tracks. That's where racing came from."
-- Doug White, Wiscasset Raceway owner

"This is a re-vamping. This is not a closing. It’s not the end."
-- Ralph Nason Jr., Unity Raceway general manager

"I’ve got to find a way to get better at (promoting a race track) in the new age, versus how I used to do it in the old age."
-- Nason Jr.

"If you look at the car counts and the people in grandstands, it’s hard. I’ve been around racing my whole life — before I was born, my father was racing. It’s hard to see the change to where there’s not as much interest in Unity as there was 10 years ago. It’s even worse when you look back to 15 years ago. It’s hard to face this, but it’s where we are today."
-- Johnny Clark, 2-time PASS North Series champion and winner of the '04 DNK 250 at Unity

"Dougie (White) and those guys, they're going to have it good down there for a while (at Wiscasset), but then it's going to fade and it will be hard for them, too. That's just what the trend is."
-- Ralph Nason, Unity Raceway owner

"That track has more grip than anywhere else. That's the thing, the track itself is great. It's bumpy, but it's really fun too race on. You'd hate to see it not be there anymore."
-- Cassius Clark, PASS North Series driver