DeSoto Speedway to be auctioned in March

DeSoto Speedway, a staple in Manatee County since the early 1970s, is available for purchase through a foreclosure online auction set for 11 a.m. on March 27.

Dennis Meyer, of Clearwater, bought the 3/8th-mile asphalt racetrack in February 2014 for $1.082 million, according to Manatee County records.

Under the name DeSoto Speedway LLC, his company bought the track from Full Throttle Speedway, which purchased the track from John Sarppraicone in 2013.

Sarppraicone owned the track from 2000-13. His company, Sarppricone Land Development Inc., still held the financing end of the track and set in motion the upcoming foreclosure auction with complaint on Dec. 7, 2017, according to court records.

“They didn’t make the installment payment in October of 2017,” said Scott McKay, the lawyer for Sarppricone Land Development.

Meyer said there are three or four interested buyers, but did not name any and referred all other questions to his lawyer, Tim Grogan.

The auction is scheduled to take place in late March on www.manatee.realforeclosure.com following a motion granted on Thursday, according to court records.

The minimum to bid on the 65-acre property is $1.17 million, which is the total debt owed to Sarppraicone, McKay said.

Bidders must deposit 5 percent of the bid at the pre-register deadline, which occurs four days prior to the auction.

The remaining balance and registry of the court service charge is due at 9 a.m. on March 28. There are no exceptions and payments must be ACH (electronic) only.

If there are no bids that exceed the minimum of $1.17 million, then Sarppricone Land Development Inc. will take over the track.

“It’s possible Sarppraicone will own it again,” McKay said.

The track is located in East Manatee County off State Road 64.

Tragedy struck the facility in March 2017 when driver Dave Steele was killed during a race.

By the summer, the track closed.

“As a resident of the county, as a guy who races cars, it makes me sad,” McKay said. “We’re losing something cool to do and something that people have done for (more than 40) years in this county.”

This story was originally published February 9, 2018 at 2:31 PM with the headline "DeSoto Speedway to be auctioned in March."