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Shady Oaks Speedway promoter Jim Scribellito down, but certainly not out

Jim Scribellito and his wife Laurie sold their successful business ventures in California last year and moved to Texas to fulfill their dream of owning and operating a stock car race track by purchasing Shady Oaks Speedway in Goliad, Texas.

“We found the track listed for sale on the internet,” Jim said shortly after his arrival in Texas last year. “Laurie and I flew to Texas to have a look, fell in love with the place as soon as we saw it and here we are ready to make Shady Oaks into one of the finest racing facilities in Texas.”

Jim, a dirt track Dwarf Car driver in California, came well-equipped with a sound business plan and the willingness to do whatever it might take to get the track in racing shape by the start of the 2009 racing season. After lots of hard work and lots of support from the South Texas dirt track racing community, Shady Oaks opened for business as planned on April 4, 2009, and, by all accounts, was an instant success.

Always a racer first, last Saturday, August 9, 2009, Jim hopped into his Dwarf Car to compete on his well-prepared dirt racing surface as he has several times in the past, not only at Shady Oaks but at the neighboring Texana Raceway Park in Edna, Texas, as well. No need for details here, but Jim and his car ended up in a series of flips that left Jim strapped to a backboard in a helicopter headed for an emergency room in San Antonio.

From his hospital bed, Jim asked that the following be posted on the Shady Oaks Speedway forum on Lone Star Speedzone.

“Every time a race car driver gets in his car, he/she can expect at least minimal injury – at worst, death. The excitement of beating that overrides all of that concern.

You Shady Oaks drivers have come to know me as one of the hardest working and caring race track promoters you’ve ever known. My plans for Shady Oaks Speedway will continue through me or vicariously through me to become the most well-run facility you’ve ever been to.

The Lord found Shady Oaks for our family and brought us here for that reason. We’ve met so many good people since our arrival. I cannot express our gratitude enough for that!

The extent of my injuries, at this point, is serious enough to not know my future. But I do know, and you know, that I fight for everything I do and will continue to fight to survive. The extent of my injuries up to this point includes two broken shoulders, a broken back and a very bruised spinal cord – all of which have caused paralysis from the neck - down. I’m going on a ventilator in order to breathe.

I have hope, as I have some feeling in my lower extremities. With this hope, I will fight for every inch of ground, to recover and come back as your Shady Oaks promoter.

Please do not give up on Shady Oaks Speedway, as the people in place care as much as I, for the well-being of Shady Oaks. Shady Oaks is not just a race track, it’s a way of life.

I thank each and every one of you for your support up to now and in the future. I will be back, but it might take a while. I’ve never loved anything more than my family and the life we’ve begun at Shady Oaks Speedway.”

And he signed it, “With Hope and Determination, Jim Scribellito.”

The South Texas racing community has, as you might expect, rallied around the fallen track owner.

There is a benefit racing event planned in October. Someone set up a PayPal account to help with the medical expenses (which will be enormous). Several racers have stepped up to take care of the track maintenance and preparation in Jim’s absence. Folks have volunteered everything from fire wood to media support. The Race Director has stepped into the Promoter’s role.

All this in less than a week with plenty more to come.

Racers by nature are a very independent, competitive bunch, but when one of their fellow racers goes down, the whole racing community suddenly puts old rivalries aside, forgets - for a while at least -who put whom in the wall last time out and bands together to do whatever it takes to take care of the one in need.

Jim, your dream is alive and well. A whole lot of your fellow racers will see to it.

by Nick Holt

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