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(Tioga Center, NY 3-25-25) Work details have been continuing at Shangri-La II Speedway in Tioga Center, NY in anticipation of the track’s Saturday, May 17 reopening date.
Jason Makarewicz, who is the owner/promoter of Evergreen Raceway in St. Johns, Pa., will be running the track under a lease agreement from the operators of the adjacent Sky View Drags, who oversee the property.
In recent weeks, Makarewicz has focused on reconditioning the track, which has been unused for the past 10 years. He has cleared all the weeds, and now only the concrete in certain areas – specifically coming off turn two – needs repair before race cars can start turning laps.
The concrete work will be done this coming Friday, March 28, by Fixing Finger Lakes Foundations LLC of West Danby, NY. Fixing Finger Lakes Foundations is run by Super Stock racer Bill Frisbie Jr., a former racer at Shangri-La II, who noted that he and his crew will be shaving down the trouble spots and should have everything ready for cars to compete on once the work is finished.
“We’ve been putting in a lot of long hours to get the track ready for fans and racers. It’s been an ongoing project and we’re not done yet, but rest assured we are continuing on the path to bring the track back to its glory days and it’s exciting to see how the transformation has been taking place so far,” said Makarewicz.
“Honestly after cleaning up all around the track surface, it really is looking good and when Bill (Frisbie) gets done with his repairs, we should be in good shape for cars to start practicing.”
Aside from the race track itself, Makarewicz has also restored power to the safety lights and scoreboard and likewise with the grandstand speakers. The grandstands have some replacement boards that need to be addressed and along with that general cleanup-up of the grounds will be the focus.
“It’s been an effort for sure but what’s nice is all of the positive feedback we’ve been getting about reopening Shangri-La II and hearing from so many people who are excited to see the track come back to life,” said Makarewicz.
“We are aware, also, that there is some negativity going around and that is to be expected. But as I have said from the start of this project, we are going to do our best and whatever needs to be addressed in order to make it right, then we’ll do it.”
Recently Master K’s BBQ of Elmira, NY has signed on to the be official food truck vendor of Shangri-La II.
Saturday, April 5, from noon to 4:00 pm, is the first of three pre-season open practice days. Saturday April 19 and again on Friday, May 16 will be additional dates. Any race car with a role cage can take part in practice.
The first race will be held on Saturday afternoon, May 17, starting at 2:00 pm. Opening Day will consist of Sportsman Modifieds, Super Stocks, 4-Cylinder Stocks and Hobby (Factory) Stocks. More information on payouts and such will be forthcoming.
In the event of inclement weather, Sunday, May 18 will be the rain date.
For updated information please check out the official track website and Facebook page at
https://www.shang2speedway.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/998028902197312
For all other inquiries please contact Jason Makarewicz at 570-956-6347 or email him at Evergreenraceway@gmail.com
