I’m sorry to hear this. The first time I went to Skyline was way back when it first re-opened. Late Models were the headline class and I was worried that the lack of modifieds would somehow make the show seem less than complete, like a salad with no meal to follow. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This was before Thunder Mountain was open and there were 50+ cars in both the Street Stock and 4 Cylinder classes with Late Model car count in the low 20’s. The heat races meant something.
At the time, the rules were unique for Skyline. The Street Stocks were more restrictive than the class that was running at Penn Can and Five Mile at that time. The 8 Cylinder Late Models were also unique as Penn Can and Five Mile were running a 6 cylinder class at the time.
The place was packed with very passionate and vocal fans. They were nearly as entertaining as the racing.
It appears that changing times, changing tastes and a glut of entertainment options, both racing and non racing, have taken their toll on Skyline.
A big part of the end of Skyline has to be the death of the low budget, stock car that was their bread and butter for so many years. The advent of professionally built race cars has put a damper on the “Mom and Pop” race tracks that catered to the hobbyist who’s racing budget came from a weekly paycheck and not sponsors or well heeled family members.
I hate to see any track close, but trying to do the same thing as everyone else isn’t going to work. They felt Saturdays weren’t working so they switched to Fridays. When that failed, they went back to what had already been proven not to work, they returned to Saturdays. They never gave Sundays a shot. Not that there are any guarantees on Sundays as Utica Rome and Glen Ridge are both facing challenges on Sundays.
Maybe someone will come along and save the track. Small cars may work. I know they tried it this year with limited success, but maybe, with the right people behind it, the track may not have to die. I certainly hope this isn’t the end of racing on that hill.
(Don’t mistake this as a criticism of Dean and his team. I have no doubt they put everything they had into the track.)