NHRA to skip Seattle in '07? (1 Viewer)

[Kris]

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

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.

 

[Bob]

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

 

[Kris]

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?

 

[clock guy]

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.

 

[Kelly]

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?

I can host them for you and provide a link. Just e-mail them to me at [email protected]

 

[Toejam]

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.

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.

 

[Bob]

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.

Thanks for the info Jeff!

 

[Kris]

I can host them for you and provide a link. Just e-mail them to me at [email protected]

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.

 

[Kelly]

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.

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!

 

[Dougster]

Not necessarily

One of the advantages NHRA had in the Sea-tac area was it was the only Major Motorsports series in the Northwest. If that new Nascar track goes in, NHRA will fade away on the Local media radar!

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.

 

[Kelly]

click here for Kris's story!

 

[Kris]

Kelly, you are my Internet hero.

Maybe I'm a bit of a braggart, but I love the quotes I close the story with. Hehe. Oh, and to toot my own horn some, Jason said it was "a killer story" when I bumped into him at the track on Friday afternoon.

 

[Kelly]

It is a killer story! Congrats Kris!

And you're welcome.

 

[Rollout96]

click here for Kris's story!

Cool article Kris. I hope they get the approval they need.

 

[Rich]

Congrats on an excellent article. The proposed makeover for Pacific Raceway sounds great and I am excited about the future of NHRA drag racing for fans here in the Pacific Northwest.

 

[Mr. Jean]

Good read. Nice job Chris.

 

[Kris]

Thanks for the positive feedback, folks. I will continue to follow the progress as the proposal wends its way through county permit approval process during the coming months. I'll share again next time I write a story about the issue.

 

[sparky]

That was a great article, Kris! I look forward to following the ongoing issues regarding the King Co. permiting process for the Fioritos. Its going to be a tough process but it sounds like they are up to the task. Good luck, Jason.

Only one thing about the article you may or may not know about. As a former dirt biker, Motocrossers are known as "riders" not "drivers". Bikers get kinda pissy when it is said that a motorcycle is driven and not riden.

I thought I would help you with that tad bit of minutae(sp?) for any of your future articles.

Good job. We could use alot more writers like you in these parts. You could easily replace Holly Cain (motorsports writer of the Seattle PI) tomorrow with that kind of work.

 

[Sully]

Interestingly, the Pro Stock Motorcycle riders want to be called "drivers."

 

[Toejam]

That was a good article, I loved the Real Estate ad in the middle "Priced from the 600's up"! Must be nice to afford that kind of real estate! Seriously I plan to go up to Seattle again, I'm just glad I keep missing the sorring heat.