Bracket racing veteran starts new position as race director at Edgewater Sports Park By Van Abernethy

Rob Weinle , the youngest of five sons who are the heirs of this iconic dragstrip owned by their father , was first to meet with Richardson and immediately knew Richardson was the person to take the track in the direction it needed to go .

“ Everyone kept telling me I needed to talk to Scotty Richardson , and so I did and I liked him ,” says Weinle , whose father owned the Cleves , Ohio , dragstrip from 1979 to 2019 . “ As the sons of a gentleman who owned a racetrack for 40 years , we knew surprisingly little about the nuts and bolts of racing .”

The brothers have all owned successful businesses over the years , they just weren ’ t entirely related to racing . “ The world lost a wealth of knowledge with the passing of our father ,” Weinle says .

Richardson believes his arrangement with Edgewater Sports Park is the perfect marriage , and he was thrilled to assume the role of race director at the onset of a brand-new season . In addition to being a well-known fixture in big-money

bracket racing , Richardson is also a multi-time world champion who ’ s won many races across the county , including several at the track that now employees him .

“ I didn ’ t race here a lot , but my best memory is winning a NHRA divisional at Edgewater in 1994 ,” recalls Richardson .

When he came to Edgewater to answer the new position , he found a facility with tons of potential for growing an already robust business . There ’ s a huge pool of racers from which to draw from nearby Cincinnati and the surrounding areas .

“ The goal for this year is to simply finish the races we run and get a core foundation started for the future ,” says Richardson .

Among the most celebrated regular events already in place at Edgewater is the monthly Friday night gathering known as Cincy Street Nights , which has a small-tire slant and is contested on the eighth mile , while a huge gathering of testand-tune racers turn out for a crack at Edgewater ’ s all-concrete quarter-mile surface .

“ I was amazed at the success of this event , but I think it can be grown into something even larger ,” says Scotty .

While he ’ s made a name for himself in the bigmoney bracket arena , Richardson feels the format can get stale if you don ’ t mix it up somewhat . “ Everybody ’ s doing the same thing it seems . Sure , I want to bring those races here , but why not throw in a 1,000-foot gamblers race , or even a quartermile gambler ’ s race ? We ’ ve got the perfect facility to do it , and I think it would be very successful ,” says Richardson , who also has plans to relaunch his “ Schooled by Scotty ” drag racing school from Edgewater this coming December .

Richardson ’ s heart is squarely in tune with the bracket racing scene , but he wants to bring in a variety of different races . “ In order to get real rewards , you ’ ve got to be willing to take risks ,” he believes . “

While already a top-tier facility , Edgewater is getting a facelift in a number of areas , including massive amounts of asphalt that was just laid in the pits . Other upcoming improvements include the extension of the right-hand side safety wall , sand pit installation and also a safety net .

“ We haven ’ t held a divisional points meet here since 2003 , and getting one back at Edgewater is high on my list ,” says Weinle .

Richardson shares many of those same aspirations . “ The potential is so great and I treat this place as if it ’ s my own . We ’ re just finding our groove right now and it ’ s only going to get better ,” concludes Richardson . DI

PHOTOGRAPHS BY VAN ABERNETHY