Site Plan Recision Gives Five Mile Point Speedway A Temporary Reprieve

By STEVE BARRICK

A ruling by the Town of Kirkwood (NY) at its Tuesday May 20, 2023 work session that rescinded a developer’s prior application to rezone the Five Mile Speedway site has provided an opportunity for track owner Andrew Harpell to continue racing operations through this summer.

Five Mile Point promoter Andrew Harpell presents Justin Holland with what was thought at the time to be the last winner’s trophy at the track. (Alex & Helen Bruce)Speedway site has provided an opportunity for track owner Andrew Harpell to continue racing operations through this summer.

“The plan had been rescinded. It’s being changed, and a revised site plan from the same buyer will be resubmitted,” Harpell informed.

Harpell’s first contact with the buyer was in November of 2020. The revision came about because of public opposition to the original plan as it had been submitted.

“Quite frankly, the same people who complained about the race track were the ones who were complaining about the site plan,” Harpell said.

Harpell believes that the newly submitted plan will revise the previously proposed entry way. Refiling a new site plan will create additional delays moving forward with redevelopment.

“It doesn’t give me any clarity whatsoever at this point, I have no answers,” Harpell offered.

While answers are elusive, the renewed opportunity for racing at Five Mile Point has taken hold.

“Our first Modified race on the May 21 we had 26 Modifieds which in these days is pretty good,” Harpell shared.

The events scheduled are primarily on Sunday nights. When the redevelopment track had seemed to be speeding along, Harpell had ceded Saturday night to Afton Motorsports Park.

“There are people on social media who will blast anything, find a conspiracy in everything. I gave my Saturday nights, the night Five Mile Point has run on for 72 years, to another track. If you think that’s the basis for a conspiracy, you’ve lost your mind,” said Harpell.

“I’d be running Saturdays obviously, but that’s not an opportunity that I can do at this point.”

Five Mile Point has already run three Sunday races, two featuring Sportsman cars and one with Modifieds.

“We have five Sunday races scheduled moving forward, with the additional, who knows if we might be able to do more.

Current dates are June 11, Tuesday, June 20 for the Mike Colsten Memorial, July 16, July 30 and August 13. All the race dates will feature Modifieds as the premier division.

The Colsten Memorial on Tuesday, June 20 was scheduled by Harpell at the request of the Colsten family who wanted to perpetuate the memory of one of the speedway’s most popular drivers and among its most prolific winners.

Though sacrificing Five Mile’s Saturday night race night in retrospect wasn’t wholly desirable, Harpell did not sell off the track’s equipment as had at one point been planned to take place by the end of 2022.

“I don’t believe I jumped the gun with any of this, last year we really did want to run one last race. When that race was over, I thought it was over,” said Harpell.

“When the opportunity presented itself to reopen, I honestly had no expectations. In years past, we knew we had our weekly guys. Now, we don’t really have anybody. In all fairness to them, they have to make choices as to what they wanted to do. So, I’m appreciative of the turnouts we have had.

Cars race past the Five Mile Point sign on the wall in last October’s presumed finale. Since then the track has found new life. (Joe Kaminsky Photo)

“If you love Five Mile Point, the track is just racy as it has always been. The races we have run have been run off well,” Harpell said.

Harpell was fortunate in that he had subcontracted his concessions a few years ago and was able to maintain those relationships when the track reopened.

“We have food trailers as concessions, which we started during COVID and kept using them. We were lucky about that,” he informed.

Yet the course of events, while positive, is not an easy one to undertake and promote.

“Because of the timing, we came into the season with zero sponsorship. That is what we are struggling with right now, struggling to sell laps for Mike Colsten’s race which we have done every year.

“It just makes everything harder. In fairness to people, they don’t know what to expect and I don’t know what to expect. The track could be here another ten months, it could be here another ten years,” Harpell reasons.

At this point, Harpell said his guidepost is to make the best of the information he has available to him and make decisions on additional races this year and beyond as the sale process evolves.

“One thing people need to keep in mind is we need to run races to keep our zoning especially if things ultimately fall completely apart. That’s another big consideration for racing this year as we are.”

Harpell believes that the current Five Mile Point schedule could very well be extended into the fall, depending on the continued high level of competitor and spectator support.

In that, he is limited by the uncertainty of when – or if – the proposed redevelopment plan moves from concept to shovels-in-the-ground.

– 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.”

The Official Site of Area Auto Racing News Area Auto Racing News

Feature Winners: December 2- December 7, 2025

Feature Winners: November 18 – December 1, 2025

Feature Winners: November 11 – November 17, 2025

Feature Winners: November 4 – November 10, 2025

Feature Winners: October 28 – November 3, 2025

Feature Winners: October 21 – October 27, 2025

Feature Winners: October 14 – October 20, 2025

Newsmaker of the Week // PA Posse 410 Series

Newsmaker of the Week // Joey Braun

Newsmaker of the Week // David Gravel

Newsmaker of the Week // Alex Payne

Race Parts Now Available 24-7 At TFR Distribution

GM CT525 Crate Motor Continues To Make Waves In The Northeast

Bicknell Makes 2026 Chassis Changes With A Focus On Safety

McCreadie, Briggs Found Stride After Program Overhaul; Pairing To Continue In 2026

Site Plan Recision Gives Five Mile Point Speedway A Temporary Reprieve

Related Articles