FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) – Tri-City Speedway, of Franklin, will soon have a new owner who is also a familiar figure with fans of the racetrack. Photo Courtesy Rick Rarer.
Roy Hill, of Virginia, recently told exploreVenango.com that Mark Tatalovic will buy Tri-City, and lawyers are now working out the details.
It is still too early to tell when Tri-City will reopen after the legal transaction is completed because extensive vandalism must be repaired.
Tatalovic is buying the track for one of his associates, Chad Wagner, and his son Sam to operate.
“Mark’s the one that used to bring school buses out there when they raced buses when I first started up there,” said Hill.
“We’re in the process of buying it from Roy,” said Tatalovic. “One of my associates here, Chad, has worked with Roy, and I took him in. Sam and Chad are great friends, and I just wanted to help them out, and I still race and wanted to have it, too.”
Tatalovic is owner of PM Bus, Inc. of Guy Mills, Pa., and with nearly 80 school buses on the road is a school bus contractor for both the Titusville Area School District and the Penn Crest School District in Crawford County. Sam is a maintenance supervisor with the operation.
“There’s a lot of work to be done,” explained Tatalovic. “They vandalized it pretty bad and took all they could, including the wiring. By the time we get the vandalism all repaired and the wiring replaced, it’s going to be awhile before we get it open. I don’t know if I’ll have it in shape and have a race this fall. We’re hoping to have it ready and have one big event this fall, but we don’t know yet. They stole everything that could possibly be taken.”
Tri-City is a high-banked, big 1/2 mile track with first class facilities that has seen a rough decade. Tri-City hosted several World of Outlaws Late Models events; one (now defunct) National Sprint Tour race; and several All-Star Circuit of Champions races.
The track closed for awhile in 1988, reopened in 1996 with Roger Crick and Mike Graham, and recently has been closed for two or three years. Earlier this year, Mike Thomas announced he was acquiring Tri-City and was going to rename it Allegheny Motor Speedway, but the deal failed, and Thomas recently handed the keys back to Hill.
The name ‘Tatalovic’ is also fast becoming a very common name in the truck pulling part of USA-EAST. The team has moved to near the top in two different pulling divisions in the USA-EAST Pulling Series. Mark competes in the Modified FWD Truck class called “Run What Ya Brung” with his “Mighty Mouse” Dodge on Gasoline. Sam has a very strong RWYB truck called “White Night” and an up-and-coming Pro Stock Diesel truck named “Gone Wild.” And, there are rumors that the team may field an all-new truck in the Street 2.6 Diesel division this summer.
“I have always loved racing, and Sam and Chad love it, too,” said Tatalovic. “They just wanted to get back in order, but like I said, I don’t know when we’ll get it done.”
“I used to race school buses there, and I still like to race a little bit. Before I get too old, I’m going to try a little bit more truck racing and try to promote it a little bit. Everything looks good, but who knows what can happen down the road. It’s between the lawyers.”
Recent Articles
Community Partner
