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Post by Ben_B on Dec 2, 2019 10:15:25 GMT -8
Interesting report about the mess at Laguna Seca. Sounds like this new guy is being brought in by the county board to run the track into the ground so they can sell the property to the highest bidder. link
Ben
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Post by robhart on Dec 2, 2019 12:48:28 GMT -8
Yeah, it sounds like the county would rather see the land used for something other than a racetrack. Given that the track sits in the middle of some of the priciest real estate in the country does not bode well for it's future.
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Post by 4wheels on Dec 2, 2019 14:35:38 GMT -8
I have a BAD feeling about this! Won't be the first time a track has been "condemned" by political maneuvering.
Do some research on the "demise" (read: bulldozing, both political AND literal) of the New York State fairgrounds one mile dirt oval. Attended many races there in the '70's, '80's and '90's, it was one of only THREE remaining one mile ovals in the country, but it had to go! I even attended concerts there, stage on the main straight, using the race track grandstands, nice events. Had to go to build a new amphitheater down the road. This track was a stop on the Indy schedule for many, many years, history up the wazoo, all gone. I'll never attend another event at the NYS fairgrounds.
Brian
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Post by robhart on Dec 3, 2019 19:12:33 GMT -8
There used to be a 3/8 mile paved oval about 15 miles from my home. It was well managed, ticket prices were reasonable, and the fans always got a good show. It had to shut down in 2004 when the city would not renew the land lease ostensibly to expand the small airport that the track was adjacent to. To date the airport expansion has not taken place.
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Post by Ben_B on Dec 4, 2019 6:19:41 GMT -8
This kind of thing has been a sore spot for me for years. Racetracks, airports, any large tract of land is seen by developers and the politicians they own as a way to make more money. They closed a historic airport near me a couple of years ago, just because UNC wanted more campus space. The heavily-wooded trail I've run on for years is now flanked by neighborhoods where they just clear cut everything. When you're up against big money and their politicians, everyone loses.
Ben
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Post by Patrick on Dec 4, 2019 11:59:19 GMT -8
How can the political Board NOT see how much income this track brings into the County coffers! Are these folks BLIND or paid off? My first race was at Laguna Seca and I'll forever be "Keep Laguna Seca local"!!
Patrick
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Post by Joel_W on Dec 5, 2019 13:45:14 GMT -8
Truly sad news. It's also not the 1st time that I've heard of this. My home track to both watch classic road racing like the USRRC, The Can Am, and Trans Am, and one that I ran time trials on and then raced on in Enduro Karts was also in the upper class areas of the Hamptons. No matter the amount of money it brought in, the people who lived there hated the track and the noise. And they had the political muscle to turn it into what it now is: Another crappy golf course, like the Hamptons doesn't have enough of them. But to preserve the history of the track parts are still there but slowly decaying away.
As for airports, Long Island was literally dotted with small airports including giants in aviation history such as Michell Field, and Roosevelt Field. Michell field is now part of Hofstra University, and Roosevelt Field is an industrial complex that's got a ton of boarded up hangers and buildings as there isn't a manufacturing industry left here worth noting.
National Raceway is long gone as well. Only the 1/4 mile banked oval in Riverhead is still there, and does host regional NASCAR events.
I wonder what Roger Penske and his organization can do to save the Laguna Seca now?
Joel
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Post by mjjracer on Dec 10, 2019 11:52:41 GMT -8
There used to be a 3/8 mile paved oval about 15 miles from my home. It was well managed, ticket prices were reasonable, and the fans always got a good show. It had to shut down in 2004 when the city would not renew the land lease ostensibly to expand the small airport that the track was adjacent to. To date the airport expansion has not taken place. It sounds like you are describing my old home track, Cajon Speedway in El Cajon, outside of San Diego. If not, how tragic the same thing happened elsewhere.
My daughter and I have great memories of the place. The city has lost many thousands of dollars in not just the lease but taxes on sales at the track.
Plus they had the best darn corn dogs!
I now live in the Bay Area and to see where things are going at Laguna is sickening.
MJ
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Post by vintagerpm on Dec 10, 2019 12:58:16 GMT -8
I do have one question about turning the track into a housing development. Would you buy a house and want your kids playing next to an unexploded bomb site?
Mike
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Post by robhart on Dec 10, 2019 12:59:06 GMT -8
Yes, I was talking about Cajon Speedway. I'm glad to hear that you and your daughter also fondly remember the place.
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