BUFFALO TWP — Calling it his dream job might be a bit of a reach.

But it's close.

New Castle resident Mike Lysakowski, 46, was recently hired as general manager of Lernerville Speedway. He replaces Fr. Tim Tomson, who resigned midway through this season to devote more time to his ministry.

Lysakowski began his new position Thursday.

“From age 2 on, I've been the biggest racing fan,” Lysakowski said. “I loved coming to Lernerville to watch the races.

“Until I was old enough to drive myself there, my parents' way of getting me to do my homework and behave myself was to cut down on Friday nights at Lernerville. I wanted to go all the time.”

Lysakowski has spent his working life in the racing business. Most recently serving as general manager of Jennerstown Speedway and track announcer at Tri-City Raceway, he began working fulltime in the business at age 17. He began traveling with the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars, serving as a traveling announcer and publicist.

He's worked for NASCAR, the U.S. Auto Club and various racetracks along the way. Lysakowski said he's watched races at 140 short tracks a year since he was a teenager.

“I used to hit the road every year when I was younger,” he said. “I'd see all the best races, traveling to 18 states. Now that I'm older, that lost its appeal.

“Yeah, I'm giving up some of those thrills. But I'm sleeping in my own bed every night, I'm with my dog all the time now. That makes it well worth it.”

Lysakowski first met the Tomson family — which owns Lernerville — at a promoter's workshop in Reno, Nev.

“There were 300 track promoters in the room and I saw three people with the Lernerville logo on their shirts,” Lysakowski said. “Naturally, I went over to talk to them.”

He learned of the open general manager's position while meeting with the ownership group about developing a racing souvenir program for the track.

Lysakowski had developed similar souvenir editions for six other tracks.

“Our conversation quickly turned toward the general manager's opening,” he said. “I'm thrilled to be given a key to work at the place I used to yearn to come to every Friday as a fan.

“Any job like this I've had before, it's been a situation where I was called in to fix something, to get it going again. There's nothing wrong with Lernerville. This bus isn't in need of repair, it just needs someone to drive it.”

Lysakowski has been involved with the Butler County Chamber of Commerce for years and is among the founders of the Butler County Young Professionals.

He hopes to serve as a “bridge” between Lernerville and county residents who have never been to the track.

“I've talked to people who have never seen a race in their lives,” Lysakowski said. “Lernerville's schedule is so diverse and offers all forms of racing. I want to bring people to the speedway, get them hooked, give them the same lifetime buzz I've had.

“My immediate goal for next year is to get 50 to 100 people here each week who either haven't been to Lernerville in 30 or 40 years, or not at all. They need to see what they're missing.

“Any problems that pop up on a race night, I'll be there to handle it. When it comes to dirt tracks, there's probably no problem I haven't seen,” he added.