clwill
Nitro Member
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2008
- Messages
- 2,953
- Age
- 68
- Location
- Woodinville, WA
As a number of people pointed out ETown is hardly alone in the short shutdown club, Pomona is just as ugly if not worse. At the risk of being sacreligious, I wonder if Pomona is really as sacred a place as it's being made out to be.
Don't get me wrong, I love traditions, and I respect the history of the sport. But even though I'm there twice a year for the race, and I really enjoy "the hallowed ground", I wonder if it's all that important.
Pomona has a number of problems, the shutdown is only one of them. I was told by a very reliable source (someone you all know, but I won't name) that the only piece of the property owned by the NHRA is the tower building and the actual two lane racing surface. The rest -- the stands, the parking, even the return road, is all Fairplex property. The return road is a bumpy mess, but they can't fix it, it's not theirs.
It's also not clear that the Fairplex really likes having the racing there. They just evicted the Hawley racing school from their building there because "they needed the building". Now that Hawley's not there, how many times a year is the elaborate race facility going to be used? Would the Fairplex rather have the ground for something else?
And it's certainly clear that the city of Laverne (literally right across the tracks) doesn't like the racing. As I've heard it told, there are two old ladies who are largely responsible for the ridiculous curfew hours at the track. I'm told they've been offered paid vacations, and lots of money, to vacate their houses, but just like being sticks-in-the-mud.
So, even though there's plenty of history, there's also a history of NHRA moving as needed (see: US Nationals at the start). I wonder if Fontana -- or some other property? -- wouldn't be a better, nicer, safer Southern California home for the Winternationals and the Finals?
OK -- flame away (ducking for cover)
Don't get me wrong, I love traditions, and I respect the history of the sport. But even though I'm there twice a year for the race, and I really enjoy "the hallowed ground", I wonder if it's all that important.
Pomona has a number of problems, the shutdown is only one of them. I was told by a very reliable source (someone you all know, but I won't name) that the only piece of the property owned by the NHRA is the tower building and the actual two lane racing surface. The rest -- the stands, the parking, even the return road, is all Fairplex property. The return road is a bumpy mess, but they can't fix it, it's not theirs.
It's also not clear that the Fairplex really likes having the racing there. They just evicted the Hawley racing school from their building there because "they needed the building". Now that Hawley's not there, how many times a year is the elaborate race facility going to be used? Would the Fairplex rather have the ground for something else?
And it's certainly clear that the city of Laverne (literally right across the tracks) doesn't like the racing. As I've heard it told, there are two old ladies who are largely responsible for the ridiculous curfew hours at the track. I'm told they've been offered paid vacations, and lots of money, to vacate their houses, but just like being sticks-in-the-mud.
So, even though there's plenty of history, there's also a history of NHRA moving as needed (see: US Nationals at the start). I wonder if Fontana -- or some other property? -- wouldn't be a better, nicer, safer Southern California home for the Winternationals and the Finals?
OK -- flame away (ducking for cover)
