Waterford — Only a few lonely pairs of clapping hands greeted attorney Garon Camassar’s announcement that Bruce Bemer of Glastonbury had made a winning bid of $1.75 million in the auction of the Waterford Speedbowl racing arena Saturday.

It wasn’t until Speedbowl fan Jerry Collett leaped in front of the attorney to shout that the 64-year-old shoreline oval would continue to operate that fans realized car racing would continue on the track. Cheers erupted from the 100 or so people ringed around Camassar in the Speedbowl parking lot.

“It’s wonderful what you’re doing,” one fan said as he shook Bemer’s hand. Murmurs of “thank you” echoed as racing fans approached the bidder in sporadic waves.

Bemer “was not on anyone’s radar,” said Shawn Courchesne, who maintains the racing blog RaceDayCT and is a frequent face at Speedbowl events. Multiple people at the auction said they didn’t even know who Bemer was.

“I’m shocked, just shocked because I felt like I kind of knew most of the players here,” Courchesne said, calling Bemer a “mystery man.”

Only two parties aside from Speedbowl creditors Rocco Arbitell and business partner Peter Borrelli showed up to bid at the noontime auction. Creditors often cast the first bid in foreclosure auctions to protect their assets, according to Camassar, whom New London Superior Court appointed as Committee of Sale.

Both bidders — Bemer, CEO of Bemer Petroleum, and a couple who own a body shop in Montville — told The Day before the auction that they intended to keep the track running. No one arrived seeking to develop the land for the industrial uses for which it is zoned.

Arbitell and Borrelli filed for foreclosure against track owner Terry Eames in 2008, and six parties have since been added as creditors in the foreclosure. The track was slated for sale at auction on Halloween in 2009. The auction was canceled when Eames filed for bankruptcy.

The Speedbowl slipped into foreclosure for the first time in 2006. Eames sold 8 acres of overflow parking space at the Speedbowl to Harvey Industries in 2006 for $1.6 million, to make good with Washington Mutual, his creditor at the time. Arbitell and Borrelli came onto the scene in 2007, when they lent Eames $750,000 to cover the remainder of his debt to the bank.

As fans and racers celebrated in the grassy parking lot of the 26.7 acre property Saturday, Eames stood off in a clearing. He focused his eyes on his smartphone as he texted, his back turned to a Speedbowl sign advertising the “Smacktoberfest” demolition derby event scheduled to start an hour after the auction. Smacktoberfest was the last racing event of the season.

Looking up from his phone, he said he found it difficult to comment on the situation because he hadn’t yet spoken with his attorney.

“It’s definitely not a home run,” said Eames of the sale, which still has to be approved by New London Superior Court before it’s official.

Eames in April estimated that he owed $1.9 million to his various creditors. The appraised value of the track and land together is $2.8 million.

Bemer said he and Eames were in discussions about whether the soon-to-be former owner of the track would stay involved in operations.

“I just thought Terry seemed to do a decent job,” Bemer said.

Fans and racers are split in their opinions of Eames’ approach to running the track. Some have said that Eames mismanaged the track.

Collett, now a preacher, said he knew Bemer from past involvement in the oil and gas industry. He said Bemer first told him in the spring that he was interested in the property. Collett said he advised the executive to wait until the auction to purchase.

Bemer’s bid turned the tide, if not for Eames, then for most of the crowd Saturday.

‘Your last dinner’

For the auction, Ed Thompson, of Ashaway, R.I., brought two small barbecue grills in the back of the tow truck he uses to drag the mangled carcasses of overworked cars from the track on Wednesdays and Fridays. He said race car drivers begged him to bring the wrecker to tailgate the auction. On the grill Saturday morning were hot dogs, hamburgers and cuts of chicken.

“It’s going and having your last dinner,” Thompson said as the minutes ticked away before bidding.

“I don’t have a good feeling,” said self-employed video producer Tom “Sid” DiMaggio, who is making a documentary about the track. Normally a regular at the track, DiMaggio said he had stopped filming there for his Web video series, “Sid’s View,” in July after a spat with track management.

At 20 minutes until the auction’s scheduled noon start, only one bidding party had arrived. Bob and Doreen Mrowka, who own B&D Auto Body in Montville, said they had heard about the track being up for sale from their employee, Speedbowl racer Dave Trudeau.

“Really, where else can you take your kids for fun around here?” Doreen said, as she and Bob made their way to the stands for a quick tour of the grounds before bidding began.

At first, some attendees of the auction assumed only the Mrowkas were interested in keeping the track running. DiMaggio said he was initially nervous when he saw Bemer’s unfamiliar face in the crowd.

Bemer arrived about 10 minutes before the auction and could be seen in the parking lot speaking privately with Eames up until the auction began.

During the auction, the Mrowkas stayed silent, apparently bidding through Arbitell and Borrelli’s attorney Bill McCoy. After Bemer made what became his winning bid, McCoy, Arbitell, the Mrowkas and others huddled for a short conversation.

McCoy emerged, and with a swipe of his hand, told Camassar, “We’re done.”

Bemer was subdued in his responses to questions from reporters and thank-yous and handshakes from Speedbowl fans. He said he was surprised McCoy didn’t voice higher bids.

Asked about the profitability of the track in light of other local tracks closing over the years, he said “it would be nice” to break even. He plans a few physical improvements to the track but declined to state specifics. He expects the track to be open for the next season. Seasons normally start in the spring.

“I really like racing. I’m sure a lot of other fans really like racing,” he said. Bemer, 60, said he had raced at the track in his youth.

As auction attendees trickled out of the parking lot, trucks pulling spray-painted sedans began pouring in for the demolition derby.

“We’re all satisfied, the racers are satisfied” and life “goes on,” said Arbitell before leaving.

t.townsend@theday.com

Twitter: @ConnecticuTess