OSKALOOSA, Iowa (March 24, 2002) – He’s always had opinions about how race tracks should be operated.

Bill McCroskey, who takes over this season as promoter of Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, will put many of those ideas to the test beginning on opening night April 17.

“I’ve criticized and critiqued other promoters for years. Now it’s time to put up or shut up,” McCroskey said. “I see so many guys promote out of their hip pocket. We approach it like a business because that’s what it is.”

Jamie Adams takes over as track manager, handling many of the day-to-day and race night details.

“She’s the straw that stirs the drink. Lack of time kept me initially from being interested in promoting Oskaloosa on a weekly basis, but that changed when Jamie offered to help,” McCroskey said. “She’s a racer at heart.”

While most of the track staff will be new, tech inspector Mike Shrader and chief scorer Anita Shrader will return to their respective posts.

Three I.M.C.A.-sanctioned divisions, the Modifieds, Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks, are back on the Wednesday night program at SIS.

“I.M.C.A. has a distinct, defined set of rules. Not everybody is going to like every rule, but they’re fair,” McCroskey said. “The thing I like best about I.M.C.A. is that they’ve been around for a long time. Other sanctioning bodies come and go, but I.M.C.A. is always there.”

McCroskey described his own career in racing as “a little bit of everything,” and much of that in or near a sprint car.

He started racing in an entry level class at Newton that had a $75 claim on the entire car, engine and all.

“It was a lot of fun. Grassroots racing is like a fraternity. Everybody knows everybody,” said McCroskey, who took a 28-year hiatus from driving to raise a family and start an auto dealership in Chariton. “Everybody wears their emotions on their sleeve.”