why aernt there more places to race?

[Rct851]

it seems to me that Houston has the money in the car scene to support multiple drag strips and roll race locations. All I ever hear are complaints about royal purple being over crowded all the time.

We have several motocross tracks that are getting the attendance to stay open and its far more expensive to prep a moto track day after day compared to a strip of concrete. endless videos daily of houston area high dollar cars with expensive mods running down public streets. Paying a track entry fee of at least equal to an mx practice day fee of $25 seems affordable to say the least.

if im on the gas in my slow car for even 2 seconds im looking for lights in my rear view. i dont think running some of yalls cars up to 140 or whatever it is would even be enjoyable knowing you could see lights at any time. really though how the hell do yall not get pulled over more often?

just drinking my coffee watching some of these race vids in pics and vids and got me thinking. surely this has never been discussed lol

 

[SID297]

Lawyers and millennials.

 

[blk02edge]

We have a world class road course (private though), several wicked MX tracks and then one lousy 1/8 mile strip on a cracked abandoned airport... Would be nice to have more of those vegas 4 lane strips open up everywhere but I guess they rather spend the money on cracking down on speeding

 

[bluebosss197]

NIMBYs

 

[Weather Man]

Zoning, my state of MN being a perfect example.

 

[Blown 89]

The real reason is that there isn't any money to be made in it.

Zoning and encroaching development is usually the other reason. "Woe is me, I bought a house next to a race track and the noise bothers me. Shut it down so I can sleep. Boo hoo."

 

[BlckBox04]

I feel your pain. We're pretty much down to one race track in NJ after E Town closed this year.

 

[Reaper14]

My closest track is a 5 hour trip. I have owned my 5.0 for 2 years & never been to it. We do race from time to time but always away from town. Far away from any traffic. We get 2 spotters going & have at it. No spectators other than the ones waiting to race.

V.C

 

[03cobra#694]

It’s aren’t, lol.

 

[Mojo88]

........ if im on the gas in my slow car for even 2 seconds im looking for lights in my rear view. .......

Yeah man, I hear ya about the lights in rear view BS. One of my best buddies is local retired detective. He drives around like a maniac in his Corvette or Mustang or Ducati, all of which are fast. Tickets are not a concern for him. Cops don't normally cite other cops.

My suggestion is: join local LEO force and basically never worry about traffic citations again, LOL. Heck, around here they get great salaries and incredible pensions too!

But it truly sucks about not having more local places for private citizens to wring these vehicles out and have some fun. We have local abandoned runways that guys have been trying to get permission to race on, and for some kooky reason, the local council keeps rejecting the proposals.

 

[ON D BIT]

Land and insurance is expensive.

 

[CobraBob]

Land and insurance is expensive.

That, and zoning restrictions (noise regulations), legal hurdles, liability issues. Back in the '50s-'80s land was more available and there were fewer regulations/hurdles to deal with. We had a small drag racing track in Colchester that I visit frequently back in the early '70s. Connecticut Dragway. Gone now, of course, and now there is nothing within an hour drive. You have to drive to New York, New Jersey, or New Hampshire.

 

[13COBRA]

The land is expensive.

This is how they look at it ('they' being prospective track builders/owners/businesmen):

1.) I have $10mil to spend that would bring in $50k a year at a track.

2.) I have $10mil to spend that would bring in $1mil a year in rent/mortgage/etc.


Choice B wins every time.

 

[vortecd]

All depends on where you live. There are at least 4 tracks within 2 hours from where I live. The closest 25 minutes away.

You would think living around big cities there would be more but like said, there is more money in building other things

 

[mcaligiuri]

On Long Island they all closed because developers built houses next to them and people complained of noise. You bought a house next to a drag strip what did you expect? It’s like buying next to an airport and having them shut it down because it bothers you. What did you expect? Silence?

 

[VegasMichael]

I've always thought Vegas was an ideal place for some quarter mile tracks. All that unused land in the outskirts could be used because people always complain about how they have to wait for hours to make a run at the Vegas Speedway.

 

[ford fanatic]

I'm minutes from a track and haven't been in years...

 

[DaleM]

You guys are racists, lol.

 

[jmsa540]

Op, road atlanta.

Sent from my SM-G892A using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[CV355]

Tracks are loud. People complain.
Tracks are dangerous. People sue.

And as Sid297 pointed out, millennials. They're too busy with avocado toast and soy lattes to be concerned with automotive culture (unless it's awful trends like fart cannons and stance). It makes me wonder if the appreciation for classics will be maintained after the baby-boomer crowd is in full retirement mode.