Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com
Speedbowl Archive Returns
Tom ‘Sid’ DiMaggio is back with the retrospective web site, SpeedbowlHistory.com.
The site was once hosted by Jeff-Pearl.com, which kept it online for several years after the team shut down its main site. Once the host was transferred, DiMaggio had a massive undertaking. The first site was built in 2005 and DiMaggio had to manually enter the data for the latest version.
DiMaggio had the opportunity to work on the project due a limited schedule last summer and the changes in track ownership at New London-Waterford Speedbowl.
Mark Caise designed the new web site. He operates Thirty Marketing in Gales Ferry, CT.
The web site has been in the works for the last 15 months. The framework was setup in November with graphics added in January and February. It has taken over a year to import the data from the old web site.
“He’s done a fantastic job and really excited to have it actually launch now,” Caise said of DiMaggio’s efforts.
“A lot of the initial coding and everything that was in there, it was great for the time. However, with a lot of advances, and a lot of the ways that code is now being written as we move into more and more generations of web design, it really wasn’t practical to take that framework and the way the information was held, and transfer it over.
“Now that we’ve updated it and the way that we have transferred it over, you can now export it if in another ten years another redesign comes around on a new platform, a new technology we can easily take that data and move it to a new platform relatively easy. … We got everything cleaned up. Everything is all on the same framework, same database, and it’s going to be great moving forward.”
“Mark has been a great friend to Vault Productions for a long time,” DiMaggio said. “He designed our business site and our Sid’s View site. Mark is who we lean on to make things look good because he is a talented graphic designer. The look of the new site is incredible. He’s a racing guy, so he is a good fit for our project.”
The modern web site makes the statistics more accessible and includes photographs from photographers and fans who have contributed. The video from Sid’s View will be included.
Footage from A Speedbowl Story will be included later. The team has been working on a documentary for the historic oval since 2008. DiMaggio provided an update on their status.
“On the production side we have a list of people we still want to interview and we hope to have them completed in the next several months,” DiMaggio said. “That project is taking way longer than expected and sometimes I just want to stop because it’s so huge. Our budget is so small, sometimes it feels impossible, but we will finish it and it will be awesome when we’re done. So thrilled with all the people who are willing to participate. We’ve met so many amazing people doing this and stuff like that keeps us motivated to continue.”