Gary Palmer Pledges To Get Accord Back Into Racing Shape

Racing This Friday Cancelled – Racing To Resume On New Clay Friday, June 9th

By STEVE BARRICK

Gary Palmer had long dreamed of widening and enlarging Accord Speedway, the place that has become his life’s work. His off-season goal was to reconfigure the track, built in 1962, to make it wider, racier, more competitive, more fan friendly.

Unfortunately, Palmer’s well calculated action plan has not worked out as he had expected. The track opened with a very rough and dusty surface for a STSS Modified event. Afterwards Palmer promised to take off the new clay, let it dry and they put it back in layers to build a solid base. At the track’s Friday night opener two weeks ago (May 19), the entire program was run up to the Modified feature. After two unsuccessful attempts to start the race, the cars went back to the pits and night was ended

Track workers prep the racing surface for the STSS event held on Tuesday, May 9. (SDS Photo)

“We raced, got down to the Modified feature. I didn’t like what I was seeing with the dust. Didn’t want to see anybody wreck their car because of the lack of visibility. I did what I felt I had to do, cancel the Modified feature,” Palmer told Area Auto Racing News.

“I dug the track up, took off all of the clay I had bought, dug down two feet,” Palmer began. “When we put the first batch of new clay on, we got a lot of rain and the area got flooded. It was under water, and it never dried out. I tried turning it over with a disc a lot of times. Two feet down with an excavator to get to where it was finally dry.”

Palmer spent last week and will spend most of this week taking off the new clay he had applied to his

Matt Sheppard (9) and Mat Williamson (3) battle for the win of the Battle of Bullring on May 9. (SDS Photo)

widened speedway before the start of the season. After more work to improve the surface following that event, Palmer postponed the entire show the next Friday (May 26th) after what he felt was unsafe conditions after warm-ups had been held.

The nature of the clay itself, which Palmer said has characteristics of “talcum powder”, coupled with the rainy siege while work was being performed, has created an area leading into the third turn that is sodden with water below the surface.

“This past Friday, we went out in the third turn, pumped water out of it again. It’s a big area, a hundred feet long, right dead in middle of where the cars are racing. It would have been like a roller coaster there in turn three, we have to get that fixed before we can race,” Palmer said.

“I can’t commit to anything right now. I have other clay, hope to get it Tuesday or Wednesday this week,” Palmer told AARN on AARN’s Monday deadline.

“I doubt very much I will be racing this week, don’t want to put myself in a position. What ever we decide I’ll know by Wednesday of this week and will post it on our website and Facebook page.”

On Tuesday (May 30) it was posted on Accord’s Facebook page that Friday night’s June 2 event was indeed cancelled to give Palmer amble time to bring in new clay. Racing is now rescheduled to resume on June 9th.

Drivers inspect the track surface as track work continued in advance of the STSS event held on Tuesday, May 9. (SDS Photo)

Palmer has pledged to refine the improvements he has made to get Accord Speedway back in shape

“I’ll get it, the new track shape is going to make for excellent racing. We’ll get it right with the new clay,” said Palmer
Clay has been the issue throughout the project.

“I couldn’t get the clay I had wanted at first because it was too wet and we would have had to build a road to go down and get it. So I had to get this other clay. But that clay was garbage, it’s now all off the track and now have to get new clay to replace it. There is a farm three miles from here, plenty of clay there, as long as we can get in there to get it,” Palmer shared.

Though Palmer now knows his first resurfacing of his track was done with clay lacking in desirable properties, he attributes part of the dust problem that Accord, and other dirt tracks are experiencing, to the coil over rear suspension systems that have proliferated in Dirt Modified racing.

Palmer said that he is gratified that far more people have offered their support to Accord than have not.
“I know I have to get this right need to get this right, and will get it right,” the Accord Speedway owner said.

As a test run for racers and the new surface, Palmer is hoping to schedule a mid-week practice days before the scheduled June 9th event on the new surface.

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– New Racer Friend System Part Of Rob Fuller’s Reorganization Plan –
Race Parts Now Available 24-7 At TFR Distribution In West Boylston, Mass.

By LEN SAMMONS
Rob Fuller’s TFR Distribution in West Boylston, MA, is now offering customers the chance to purchase and pick up race parts 24 hours a day, seven days a week at its state-of-the-art facility. The move is part of a business redevelopment plan to reduce operating costs and keep pricing as low as possible for customers.
The 24-7 accessibility is part of large-scale business changes made by owner and president Rob Fuller to better serve his customers. These changes include having Troyer and LFR chassis and parts built off-site and subletting space to other local businesses.
“We went through a phase where we looked at our overhead and all of our expenses. We would either need to raise our prices between 5 and 10 percent every year or make a change. If we kept going like we were, we would out-price ourselves in a market that couldn’t stand for it,” said Fuller.
“So we stepped back and looked at what we were doing and tried to fix our program. We found out we could manufacture our cars with less overhead by outsourcing. Then we looked at our sales and felt we couldn’t have two guys answering our phones all the time — how can we make it easier for our customers and save us money at the same time?”
TFR Distribution, the official retail and wholesale distributor for LFR and Troyer Race Cars’ asphalt Modified brands, has an extensive Parts Department designed to support an entire racing program. Through recent advancements, racers can now pre-order parts for pick-up at their convenience or arrange in advance to walk the showroom and purchase what they need whenever they choose at TFR’s headquarters at 158 Hartwell St., Unit D, West Boylston, MA 01583.
“We wanted to make it easier for our customers. This really is a weekend sport, not a 9-to-5 job for the majority of the racers. I found myself or Angela going to the shop on Saturday or Sunday morning to get someone the parts they needed,” said Fuller.
“So we spent the money and made it a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week accessible facility. It’s relatively new, we’re still working out some tweaks, but last week we had three customers come in — two on Saturday and one on Sunday — that we have a relationship with. Off their feedback, we’ve already made some adjustments, but they were happy because they got what they needed on the weekend when they needed it, and I didn’t have to pay anyone overtime, so it worked out for both of us.”
Customers can pre-order in advance with parts pulled and ready in the vestibule for pick-up, walk the showroom and shop after they arrive, or use a combination of both methods.
“They can pre-order, but it’s like a candy store. You think you know what you need when you go in, but you’re always going to grab a couple of gummy bears before you walk out,” said Fuller.
“There is a point-of-sale purchase at the exit, and everything is bar code scanned. We had done that years ago for our dealers.”
Dealers and customers are charged directly to their pre-set account credit card on file. Fuller has extensive security in place to ensure the system runs smoothly and all parts taken are charged accordingly.
“There are 17 motion-activated cameras inside. To get in, they need to email sales, and they’ll get a one-time 24-hour access code. There is a keypad outside the facility for those picking up parts and another to get into the parts room,” Fuller explained.
“If they are only picking up parts, they will be in the vestibule, and they only need the one code. If they are going into the parts room, they get another keypad code to give them access to the entire building. You have to have an account with us and a credit card on file. As they leave, they scan the parts and get a bill, it runs their credit card, and they get a receipt before they get to the hauler.”
Fuller said the new 24-7 access will be very valuable for teams needing parts immediately after problems at the track next season.
“At the recent World Series at Thompson, I had teams that were racing two or three times over the weekend. I went back and forth from Thompson three times to get parts for racers,” said Fuller.
“Now I can just give our customers the code, and they can go grab what they need, and I can stay at the racetrack and help the customers. It’s going to be a home run.”
Extensive remodeling and relocation of Fuller’s facility is now complete.
“After working out of trailers for 14 months, it’s nice to be in a brand-new facility that is custom built to sell race car parts,” said Fuller.
“We knew what we wanted. It’s two stories with a mezzanine that works out great. I have a 38-acre industrial park with 60,000 square feet now developed. I didn’t need a 100,000-square-foot building for TFR, but when you get permits to build that size, you go ahead and build it. So I built commercial condominiums. I took two of them on two floors, and I’ve got other companies in the other parts as I develop the real estate.”
The change in LFR’s business model has allowed Fuller to reduce staff and focus more on what he does best.
“Now I don’t have to be on hand all the time. I just have Angela ordering parts from our different manufacturers, and it’s really working out,” said Fuller.
“All of our chassis are being built right now down south. We also have 11 other outsource manufacturers for about 3,600 parts. We have CAD drawings for everything, so we can outsource the work all over the world and take advantage of the best price available. The volume we’re now doing is also letting us keep our prices down. We are no longer ordering one or two of this or that — we’re ordering, say, 50 two times a year.”
Fuller started the LFR Modified chassis business in 2014 as a direct competitor to Troyer Engineering, which he later purchased in 2019 from Billy Colton. His plan was to build all cars at Troyer’s manufacturing plant in Rochester, N.Y., but that model changed. Fuller sold Troyer’s dirt Modified program, outsourced the asphalt chassis production, and moved out of the plant.
“We still work out of Maynard’s (Troyer’s) original building. We do all of our fabrication there for our body panels — the tins, doors, and quarters — with Jeremy, who’s been an employee for 28 years,” said Fuller.
“We kept him on board because it’s such a niche part of what we do. It’s not easy to outsource them for an asphalt Modified. You need a guy like him that’s been doing it for so long.”
While Fuller doesn’t stock parts for New York-based customers at the Rochester location, parts can be ordered and picked up there.
“We have a box truck going back and forth from Massachusetts to Rochester every other week. We have customers order parts, and we drop them off there, and they pick them up there to save shipping.”
Fuller said all of the original Troyer dealers remain strong sources with inventory on hand.
“I’ve always wanted to stay loyal to those who have been loyal to the brand over the years, and I don’t want to flood the market with new dealers,” said Fuller.
“We’ll always have the (Keith) Roccos, the (Matt and Tony) Hirschmans, Northeast Race Cars, Sly Sabin who won the NASCAR title this year, Oval Speed on Long Island, Tom Buzzie, and Hamke Race Cars down south. The dealer network has been great for us, which is so important with the customer base we have of 188 customers. You can’t take care of all of them by yourself — I need the support of the dealer network, and they’ve done an amazing job for both brands.”
TFR had an LFR Chassis Modified on display at the recent Northeast Trade Show in Syracuse, N.Y. Fuller — president of TFR Distribution, LFR, Troyer Race Cars, and Troyer Manufacturing — spent Friday and Saturday at the show.
“Nothing new on the car right now, but we’re working on an LFR Gen 3 chassis. Plan on debuting it at Loudon (New Hampshire mile) next year,” said Fuller.
“The Troyer chassis, in my eyes, is supposed to stay as the tried-and-true. The LFR is the more technologically advanced chassis. We’re going to do some more R&D work to evolve that chassis. What we learn will trickle down to the Troyer chassis, but it’s like the rock brand that really never changes much. The LFR will keep evolving until I’m done.”
Well-funded asphalt Modified teams with full-time employees often choose the LFR brand and win races and championships on the NASCAR Modified Tour. Smaller teams often prefer the proven Troyer brand, leveraging decades of setup notes.
“Matt Hirschman is incredible. I’ve seen him with several books of notes and pages laid out from different years, looking it all over before an event,” said Fuller.
“Him and his dad have been doing this a long time, and they continue to get it done with the Troyer brand, which is awesome.”
Across both brands, Fuller estimates he owns about 88 percent of the market and hopes to gain another three percent next season.
“Right now we have 14 cars on order — nine of them are Troyer. That market is definitely bigger,” said Fuller.
“It’s more challenging to handle those customers, but the dealer network really helps us with that.”
Fuller’s competition includes Fury and PSR.
“After Tony Eury Jr. left Fury, I don’t know where they are at, and PSR is down south — not many of them up north. Other than that, there really isn’t much competition out there for us anymore. It’s certainly not easy doing what we do,” said Fuller.
“This is a niche market. You really have to have the passion to do this because no one is doing it for the money. I’ve been involved in Modified racing for 40 years now. I don’t do it for the money — I do it because I love it. I have partners that think I’m crazy for the money and time I spend on these cars, but I don’t plan to go anywhere.”
Bicknell, the leading builder in dirt Modified racing, produces over 100 cars a season, but that’s a completely different landscape.
“Guys who go dirt racing can grab a friend and go race for 30 laps, and they’re home that night. I would love it if we could get back to that one day,” said Fuller.
“But we’ve got races with live pit stops where you need eight or nine guys to go with you. The expense has gone through the roof. Instead of me just adding to the expenses, I’m doing everything I can to at least keep the prices the same or reduce them a little bit through volume manufacturing. It took a little bit of time to get it done, but I felt it was a necessity to keep this going in the right direction.”

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