Copart Inc. withdraws zoning application for Grandview Speedway property
Oct. 28—Amid its pending purchase of Grandview Speedway, Copart Inc. has withdrawn its zoning application to Washington Township, according to a township official.
Township manager Rich Sichler told the Reading Eagle on Friday that Copart has withdrawn its application to the Washington Township Zoning Hearing Board regarding the purchase of the property that included the one-third mile dirt racetrack outside Bechtelsville.
Sichler also said that Copart has dropped its ongoing appeal with the board, which was based on the company's second zoning application. The application was denied earlier this month, Sichler told the Reading Eagle on Wednesday.
Copart officials were not immediately available for comment. The Rogers family, the owners of Grandview Speedway, were not immediately available for comment.
The developments come just a day after Grandview Speedway announced it will be open for its 61st season of racing in 2023. The date for the season opener is to be announced.
The future of Grandview had been uncertain since late August, when it was announced that the Rogers family had agreed in principle to sell the 20-acre property to Copart for an undisclosed amount.
Copart, which specializes in the resale and remarketing of used, wholesale and salvage title vehicles for a variety of sellers, according to its website, had plans to build an auto auction and storage facility on the site, according to township officials. Its first zoning application was denied by the board in September.
In other developments related to the speedway, the Pennsylvania Sprint Speedweek series will return to Grandview in 2023.
It was announced on Friday via Facebook that the track will host the Thunder on the Hill Racing Series Hodnett Cup on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, at a time to be announced.
Thunder on the Hill Racing Series promoter Bob Miller declined to comment further.
Grandview's biggest race in recent years, the event has attracted NASCAR drivers such as Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Tony Stewart, Rico Abreu and Kasey Kahne. Abreu won this year's edition of the race, while Larson, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, won four times between 2017 and 2021.
Grandview will be a part of the Pennsylvania Sprint Speedweek series for 29th consecutive year in 2023. Speedweek features winged 410 sprint cars across dirt tracks in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The full 2023 schedule for the 33rd annual PA Speedweek series has yet to be announced.
Brent Marks won the series title in 2022, the first of his career. Marks won five of the nine races.
