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Mansfield Cancels 2009 NASCAR Truck Series Event, Iowa Grabs Open Spot On Schedule

In a move not seen in recent years, NASCAR was forced to cancel a scheduled race on Wednesday when Mansfield (OH) Motorsports Park indicated it would not be hosting a Camping World Truck Series event set for May 23, 2009.

The speedway announced the change with the following brief press release on its website.

“Due to the economic times that we are all facing, Mansfield Motorsports Park will not be hosting the 2009 NASCAR Truck Race. We will begin processing refunds immediately. Please accept our apologies and please be patient while we are going through the refund process. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Later in the day in an interview with the Mansfield News Journal, track owner Mike Dzurilla made an even more distressing announcement.

“As of right now, we will not be staying open,” Dzurilla stated. “We have no events planned. I dealt with the unfortunate task of telling my remaining employees that, by Christmas, they would be unemployed. Unfortunately, this has been in the works for quite some time. I tried to pull a rabbit out of the hat, but my last option ran out night.”

Apparently, NASCAR wasn’t out of options as the now cancelled May 23 Truck Series event was immediately shifted to Iowa Speedway and a September 5 date.

According to a NASCAR public relations press release, the realignment of the race was a result of Mansfield’s request that the event be moved from its track because of its inability to meet the requirements necessary to remain a NASCAR sanctioned facility.

“It is always exciting to go to a new venue and show the fans what the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is all about,” said NASCAR’s Vice President of Racing Operations Steve O’Donnell. “The Midwest has some of our sport’s most loyal fans and Iowa Speedway produces some incredible racing as we’ve seen with the NASCAR Camping World East and West Series. We look forward to racing there this season.”

Iowa Speedway, a state of the art 7/8-mile facility, will also host NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World East and West Series events in 2009.

“We are extremely pleased to continue our strong relationship with NASCAR with the awarding of yet another NASCAR series race to Iowa Speedway,” said Iowa Speedway CEO Stan Clement. “We know from past experience that fans here in the Midwest will support this exciting new event.”

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