Del Merritt admitted that it was “emotional” at first when he decided to sell Hermon’s Speedway 95 to former NASCAR Cup Series winner Ricky Craven this summer.
He knew it was bringing an end to a 57-year relationship with the auto track, which began when friend Dana Crockett invited him to be an assistant flagman there in 1968.
Merritt had never even attended a race but said he liked being involved with the sport “right away” and still has passion for it.
“If someone had told me 57 years ago that I would still be doing it, I would have told them they were nuts,” said Merritt.
He has come to terms with his decision to sell to Craven.
“I feel more comfortable with it now,” said Merritt. “I’ve seen what he has done out there. I see his interest in it so I’ve relaxed some.”
Merritt will be involved in his final race weekend as the owner on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the annual Paul Bunyan Speed Weekend.
“We’re going to have a super weekend. We always do,” said Merritt. “I think I’ll go out with a bang. Rick will do a great job.”
He has nothing but positive thoughts about the ownership change.
“If I thought something different, I never would have sold it,” said the 80-year-old Merritt, a 1964 graduate of Bangor High School.
“Did I want to sell it? No. Did I have to sell it? No. But I think it’s time. Everything has its time,” he said.
After serving as flagman and working in the pit area, Merritt eventually became a part-owner when he, Maynard (Red) Baker Sr. and wife Alice Baker, John Michaels and some minor investors bought the track for $200,000.
Michaels would eventually sell his share to the Bakers and Merritt and, when Red Baker died in 1991, Merritt and Alice Baker co-owned it until she sold her share to him in 2011.
“It has been fun. If I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t have stayed in it as long as I have,” said Merritt, a Maine Motorsports Hall of Famer. “I enjoy the people and the racing.”
Merritt also owns two restaurants, Judy’s in Bangor and Cap’s Tavern in Brewer, along with several apartments.
“For me, it has never been a big profit item,” Merritt said about the track. “I have other businesses that do far better.
“It’s a hobby,” he added.
And he knows he will miss it.
“But I will be able to go there any time until Ricky throws me out. And I don’t think he’s going to,” Merritt said about Craven. “We talk every day. I’m just going to try to keep him out of trouble. Or get him in trouble.”
Craven, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner from nearby Newburgh, has a long history with the track.
“Del is a wonderful human being,” said Craven, who raced at Speedway 95 as did his mother, Nancy, and late father, Alan. “He has been a tremendous guardian and asset to me. We talk every morning.”
Alan Craven raced in the track’s debut on July 3, 1966.
“He is 100 percent behind me,” Ricky Craven said about Merritt.
Craven said the most enjoyable part of making the purchase has been getting to know Merritt and confiding in him.
Kim Baker Allen, Red and Alice’s daughter and the track’s long-time office manager, said Merritt has put “blood, sweat and tears into this thing. Literally.”
Baker Allen called Merritt “an amazing guy.”
Unity Raceway owner Ralph Nason, who is the only driver to ever win three consecutive Oxford 250s (1998-2000), said Merritt has done an “excellent job” running Speedway 95 and pointed out that he had several offers from construction companies who wanted to buy the track to use the land.
“But he was adamant that he wanted it to remain as a race track and he stuck to that,” Nason said about Merritt.
Craven has promised to keep it as a track for at least the next 10 years.
Baker Allen said drivers and other people who enjoy Speedway 95 “have come out of the woodwork” to thank Merritt for keeping it a race track by selling it to Craven.
“It has been amazing,” Baker Allen said. “He cares deeply about the track.”
Nason said Merritt has always been reputable to deal with.
“He has always done what he said he was going to do,” Nason said. “He’s a good guy. I’m glad for him and I’m glad for Rick.”
Racing is a passionate sport and tempers can flare.
When Merritt was inducted into the hall of fame in 2022, Baker Allen said that he has taken his share of abuse from drivers, but never holds a grudge and will always welcome them back if they leave.
“If we don’t have employees and drivers, we’re nobody,” Merritt said at the time. “You have to have thick skin. Everybody loses their temper once in a while.”
Merritt admitted this week that the track has “had its ups and downs,” with both bad years and good years along the way.
But he said he has no regrets.
“Not one,” said Merritt.