RPW Column: Exciting Season In Store For Racers & Fans Alike In 2023 At Accord Speedway
News Director 
Column By: MIKE TRAVERSE / RPW – ACCORD, NY – There is always a lot of excitement at the Accord Speedway.
The quarter mile bullring presents some great racing.
However, track owner, Gary Palmer, is taking steps to make it even better.
You may have seen some of the excellent drone coverage from Geoff Baer of G B F P V that has been posted of the work at the track that has been occurring since last season ended, Steps are being taken to make the track more racey as Gary explains.
“We’re making the track wider. The backstretch wall has been bugging me since I owned the place. Just never had the wherewithal or the right mindset to be able to do it. We are putting in mafia blocks. That backstretch wall was so beat up over the years. The concrete will be nice and straight. The track is now about 25 feet wider on the backstretch. We made the pond smaller going into the 3rd turn. With the width going down the backstretch is almost like a Fonda. With the pond filled in, you have a nice longer, wider run into the 3rd turn.”
In addition to the backstretch work, attention has been given to the whole racing surface.
“We’ve taken all the banking down, it’s down to about 5 to 7 degrees. The bottom will be super fast. The mafia blocks are all coming out from the bottom of the turns. We got a lot of good clay out of those turns.”
Gary has been hearing from racers that want some information about Accord who may be interested in racing there this year.
“Every weekend, there are 20-30 people pulling up looking at the track and they are amazed at the difference and how it looks.”
One thing about Gary is that he puts whatever he can back into the track to make it a better experience for the racers and the fans.
“I’m never going to be rich, I just want to pay the bills without anyone knocking on the door for money. I’ve had opportunities to sell, but this is my life now. The track is it for me.”
When you spend a lot of time at Accord, you realize what a nice family run operation it is.
“Thank God for my daughter, Melissa. I’m not a bookkeeper, even when I owned a body shop. I didn’t do bookkeeping, I worked on the frame machine. Melissa has taken over the office part, the bills are paid. She’s great, I’m so proud of her. My other daughter, Sarah, does the scheduling and all the other graphic kind of work that we need and I’m really proud of the work that she does. And we are having Geoff Baer to be our new video guy. He does such great drone work and he’s really into it.”
It is really set up for a great season at Accord. Many big events are on this year’s schedule. And the addition of the Accord Speedway Vintage Modifieds is a fantastic addition to those of us that grew up with these types of cars. More about that class in an upcoming column.
It’s a great atmosphere that Gary, Donna and the Palmer family have built up at Accord over the years. It’s an awesome track to cover as a media member and I’m looking forward to my weekly trips to the Bullring this season. Make your plans to be there and support your local track!!
