BUSTI, NY — For 70 years, the Stateline Speedyway in Busti has delighted racing fans young and old. One of those very fans is now the owner, and he's ready to kick off their biggest season yet.
Opened in April 1956, the Stateline Speedway was one of a handful of racetracks in the area. However, Stateline would remain as the last track standing.
"It just says a lot about the vision they had and the foundation that they (the original owners) built," current owner Bill Cantania said.
Cantania and his wife took ownership of the speedway in 2024; his connection with the track dates much farther back. Cantania's grandfather began fielding cars during the track's sixth year in operation. His father, Bill Cantania Sr., began racing in 1975 and continued to do so until 2000.
"This was my dad's preferred track," Cantania said. "I was at his side the whole entire time. I can remember sitting right there with my grandparents right here in one of these seats on the front straightaway before I was old enough to go in the pits."
Cantania himself was also one of the track's many racers.
"I started racing here in 1993 when I was only 17, and this just became part of my life. So growing up, this, this is where I spent every weekend." Cantania continued. "As a kid in the grandstands with his grandparents, watching my dad and then ultimately helping my dad, and then as a driver."
"I guess this is the last hat I can wear: being the owner."
Since taking ownership, Cantania has worked to celebrate the track's history, but expand the venue into new territories.
"This is, if not the top one, of the leading entertainment destinations," Cantania explained. "You're going to see more in terms of music and concerts this year, really trying to position this more as an entertainment venue than just the racing side of it."
WATCH: Driven by History: The fan-turned-owner leading Stateline Speedway into a new era
One of the major events set for the summer is The World of Outlaws series event, which Cantania described as the "NASCAR Cup series of dirt racing" and an event he's expect to draw in thousands of fans.
As for celebrating the track's history, one of the new additions is a menu item highlighting one of its oldest-living legends.
"Sammy's (Sammy LaMancuso) 95-years-old and raced at the first race ever at Stateline, and he's up there in that VIP booth every single week twiddling on his iPhone at age 95," Cantania said. "(He) Climbs the stairs every single week."
In honor of LaMancuso, the track will now serve the Sammy Lemon Queso. A hot Italian sausage sandwich with peppers and onions and marinara sauce.
On top of celebrating the track's history, this season is allowing Cantania to celebrate his own personal history with it as well.
For the first time, the Stateline Speedway will be serving pizza to its hungry fans, but that pizza isn't coming from any old oven.
"There's a pizza shop in Mayville called Andriaccio's, which, as a kid growing up here, we stopped after every single race," Cantania explained.
When the opportunity presented itself, he purchased one of the shop's pizza ovens.
"I call it a legendary oven," he said. "It's about a 30-year-old oven that cooked probably hundreds of thousands of pizzas at Andriaccio's through the years, but now it's going to live the rest of its life here at Stateline Speedway."
As the 70th season gets underway, Cantania also took time to reflect on the track's lasting legacy.
"What it means to me is nostalgia, right? It's because it helps shape kind of where I am," he said. "I learned through racing and just being here, work ethic, and just a lot of things that have shaped me, who I am as a human being. I think you would find that to be true for a lot of people."
He continued, "But I think the biggest thing is excitement. When you come here, there's excitement. And if there's not, then we're doing something wrong."
Inclement weather has postponed the original opening day of May 2, and it has now been rescheduled to May 9 with the 9th Annual Bill Law Memorial event. The gates open at 4 p.m., and the race will begin at 7 p.m.
