The NASCAR track will never fly the way it has been proposed, the taxpayers will never foot the bill. The only way a speedway will be built is if it is done with private money.

Hmm. That's an interesting thought. Pacific Raceways appears to have a headstart on the proposed NASCAR track intended to be built on the Kitsap Penninsula. Funding is in place, essentially, and the pitch to King County officials seems to be further along.

At each of the three Northwest Nationals I've attended at Pacific Raceways, I've observed a pretty strong cross-over fan base. In other words, lots of NASCAR T-shirts mixed in with the NHRA-related shirts.

But, that makes me wonder...will those folks abandon drag racing altogether if/when ISC gets a NASCAR oval built? Or will motorsports fans be stoked to have major events in the two most popular series in the country? I couldn't even begin to speculate.

Here's another thought: What if Fiorito persuades NASCAR to use the new road course? Can you have a road course event in the same state as an oval track event? I can't answer those questions. I just don't know enough about NASCAR.

I'm not sure where things are at with the other proposed NASCAR track. They proposal seemed stalled last I looked.

But, Fiorito also told me (though it's not in my story, it's in my notes) that their business plan doesn't depend on NASCAR using the Pacific Raceways road course. There's always IRL, Champ Car and LeMans Series events, not to mention the club users.

The idea behind the whole master plan is diversify. Multi-use. Appeal to the entire spectrum of drivers and motorsports fans. Therein lies the formula for success.

Kris,
Bandimere, other than having a karting track north of the parking lots, is a drag racing only facility.

The largest flaw, IMO, with the drag strip at your place is the direction of the track. East to west is not the way to race when the sun is setting. Racers can't see when they're looking directly into a setting sun. The track needs to be south to north, or some angle that isn't east to west.

After reading the link that Darr provided, one thing comes to mind (well, maybe two, gotta wonder if the Drag City boys have been making suggestions). Digging the new track 20 feet below ground level would seem to me to be a recipe for water percolating up through the track surface. Sinking it would be good for noise control, but you don't have to worry about noise if the track is covered with water bubbling up through it from underneath -- there won't be any racing.
They definitely need a real tower with a real media center that provides an actual view of what's happening on the track for those whose job it is to report it. That trailer at the end of the track just don't cut it.

Bob

Does the track already have a commitment from NASCAR for an event? Just building a track does not mean it will host a NASCAR event. Private developers built the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta Kentucky.

It is a great track but has not been able to land that big race from NASCAR. NASCAR just keeps blowing them off. They do run some truck and Busch races but that is all.

The track owners are in the process of suing NASCAR to get a slot in the schedule.

The difference between the track that is being proposed in Bremerton and Kentucky Speedway is that the Bremerton track is to be built by ISC, which is owned by the same folks who own NASCAR. And because of their television package, NASCAR wants a race in the Pacific Northwest market. Because of this there is little doubt that a new track in the Pacific Northwest would get a Nextel Cup race date.

That said, I am not at all optimistic that the state legislature will give their needed approval for the proposed track - especially after the controversy and grief they got over the building of the Mariners and Seahawks stadiums.

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Oh, yes. I have heard complaints about the track direction since I made my first trip out there in 2004.
Pacific Raceways is, for all intents and purposes at this stage, a drag racing facility only. Hence the proposed changes.
The track direction change, a shift 90 degrees so it runs north-south, will eliminate sight line issues. I agree that the media center is no good. I walked in there in 2004 and turned around and walked right out.
I sat in a tower suite on Friday. While I appreciated the a/c, the building is also not well situated. I think Jason Fiorito would agree that these changes need to be made, too.
As I understand it, the racing surfaces currently sit at the top of a hill. There's already an existing water drainage issue with water running off into neighboring properties (something only I have reported on, seemingly) to the south. Proper water drainage is something that will be dealt with as part of the master plan, though I think I will clarify your point about water percolating up into the sunken track surface with the folks over there if I can.

Much of the information I am stating comes from a 2-hour interview with Jason Fiorito and Charlie Kester. Unfortunately, I can not seem to upload the PDFs anywhere in order to share them. My piece is more in-depth. And I have considerably more information in my notes, too. Some of my statements are extrapolations based on statements made during interviews with Jason and Charlie and discussions, as well as statements made at the annual conditional use permit meeting last October held at King County's Department of Design and Environmental Services.

Kris,
Can't you post your pdf files as attachments?

I have tried. They are too large, apparently. I'm not sure how to deal with that particular error. Doesn't my buck count for something?

Bob, water is not going to be a problem on the site. The whole property has one of the best gravel runs in the area, one of the reasons for lowering the track surface besides noise mitagation is to sell the gravel to pay for the project. Jason and his dad come from the gravel buissines and know what to do to make it right.
The new track will run from North to South.
Ohh the press trailers have not been at the top end for 3 years, they have been in the staging lanes the last 2. Still not great but alot easier to go out and watch, and with large LCD tvs on the Motel6 vision feed helps.
And no NASCAR is not part of any of this project Road Course or the oval.
As for the Big NASCAR track that keeps coming up here in Washington, ISC only wants to spend 50 million and wants the taxpayers to spend 200 million, that will never pass. We are still paying for a Baseball and a football stadium.

I can host them for you and provide a link. Just e-mail them to me at kholmes_tex@yahoo.com

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You make a great point Kathleen, but I think Nascar would be Stupid to pass on the Northwest. That whole region is untapped by just about everything but NHRA and the Outlaws.

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Shift for Brains!!!!

Thanks for the info Jeff!

Yay! Oh, Kelly, that reminds me, I posted a video on my myspace page just for you. It's 2 minutes, 23 seconds of Capps. Heh.

I will send you the PDFs momentarily.

And Jeff, thanks for clarifying that info on the gravel. I was fairly certain water wouldn't be an issue, but didn't think to ask about water coming up through a sunken track. It was my understanding that drainage would be handled and I'm no engineering expert, I just left it at that. It's my understanding that the gravel is going to cover a nice chunk of the cost of the renovations.

Thanks. Funny.....I about knocked the parachute out of his hands while he was folding it after the 4th session of quali's in Dallas in '03. He waited until the 4th session to qualify! I walked up and smacked him on the arm cuz he damn near gave me a heart attack!

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If you can't stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them!

Yes, that is certainly a valid concern, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it WOULD happen. There probably is a fair bit of crossover interest between NHRA and NASCAR which could help or hurt P.R.'s fan and media base. One school of thought has it that the more racing of any kind there is in a market, everyone benefits.

Another factor in P.R.'s favour is the Canadian market - as of now the only professional drag race in Western Canada is the IHRA event in Edmonton. Much as I love the Rocky Mountain Nationals (it's at my hometown track), it's a different animal from the NW Nationals. Western Canadian drag racing fans who want to see an NHRA event will still have to go to Seattle. I don't know how many fans were from Alberta and B.C., but there were sure a lot of racers from these parts.

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“One day when I was walking through the pits,” Millican said, “Evan said he wanted to talk to me. ‘Do you know how many millions (of dollars) I’ve spent to beat you?’ he said. ‘Since I couldn’t beat you, I’m going to own you.’ "