Western Members - Good news about Fontana/Auto Club Dragway!

This is taken from the PSCA facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/PSCARacing):

"SOME GOOD NEWS ABOUT FONTANA!!

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. (July 31, 2012) – “The Auto Club Speedway has reached a settlement with a local group of concerned citizens in the San Bernardino County area known as CCoMPRESS, represented by Chatten-Brown & Carstens related to the operation of the Auto Club Dragway. As a result, the Auto Club Speedway may resume operations at the Auto Club Dragway if it first complies with a series of requirements intended to mitigate the environmental impacts to the surrounding community, including construction of a soundwall.”

They knew they needed a soundwall, not sure why it's taken them so long to get it done.

Wasn't the track there before the houses??? Were would they rather have us race??? Down their street or down the street at the track???

http://bangshift.com/blog/auto-club-fontana-drag-strip-almost-undead.html

"Great news from the world of Southern California drag racing today. It appears as though the currently dormant drag strip at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California will be reopening sooner rather than later after some changes are made to appease the group of neighbors that got the place shut down in the first place. The issue, as it normally is with racing facilities is noise. The track had to agree to construct a “sound wall” down the strip among some other stuff, apparently. What we’re confused about is how a sound wall is going to do more than the big ol’ wall that can be seen in the below photo. Hey, as far as we’re concerned it is fantastic news that the track will reopen and the greater LA area, which had zero strips for a period in the spring will be back to two functional weekly drag strips again (three if we throw Pomona in there but it isn’t like they run a weekly program). That still isn’t enough, but it is loads better than zero!

As more news comes in with regard to the track, like potential reopening dates and stuff, we’ll keep you up on all the news. For now, we’re stoked to hear that all parties have come to terms and that there will be smokin’ tires again at Fontana before too long. Often, these disputes drag on forever and lead to nothing but legal muck and mire. This is a very happy (almost) ending."

They bitch about the track even tho the train is in between. the train makes a good soundwall when its parked there tho haha

This is old news isn't it? When they were shut down they were ordered to build a sound wall. Now several months later we get a news article that says they met with some citizens and were again told to build a sound wall... What gives?

hopefuly i can run there once before i have to go back overseas. added a bunch of shit since the last time i was there

Nice but I'd wish they reopen Pomona's drag strip so us non-pro racers could run S.L.D. street legal drags.

I dont get it. Yes Fontana was there before a lot of the houses, and specifically it was there before those people moved there. Pomona is a similar thing...the track was there before most people moved there, and those who have been there since before the track are so old that they wouldnt hear it anyways.

It makes me so mad that these stupid people are like that. If i lived in a flight path, next to a track, or next to something else annoying, I would either move or learn to deal with it. For these few people to expect the world to pay for their lack or research is insane.

Once again we are missing a critical point in this whole mess. Most of those houses WERE there before. Just look on zillow.com and you will see that some of those houses were built as early as the 1950's and I assure you the Fontana Speedway not there as the construction was completed in 1996.

When the drag strip was first opened, it was located on the other side where there were no homes, just factories. The problem started when they decided to move the track to its current location. Now, I for one, wouldn't make such a big deal about the noise... frankly, I wouldn't care... but I'm not going to force a tax paying community to put up with that amount of noise so I can race my camaro a couple of times a year.

The Speedway and the community came to an agreement... the agreement was that the Speedway would build a sound wall... but, the wall was never built. The sad part was that the speedway had no intention on making good on its promise.

I feel that the Speedway has never given the track much respect by moving it from its original location opening it up for problems with the community. Let us not forget that the track isn't always prepped for the races....

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing but love for the Speed way. After all, I did work there when it first opened and to this date, my high school class is the only class to have ever had its graduation there.... GO GLASS of 99! However, I feel that when the speedway refused to make good on its promise, it was a big middle finger at not only the community, but to us drag racers.

To be honest, I makes me question whether the Speedway used this situation as an excuse to close the drag strip.

Simply put... there are two sides to everything and if we completely blame one side, we fail to hold the other side accountable for its shortcomings.

My understanding is that they never refused to build the wall but when they moved the track from its original site to where it is now they never got a environmental impact report, this was finally brought out in the court case and the judge shut them down. The track prep is very good for the Summit races or PSCA but its pretty much impossible to have perfect conditions for a street legal.

Kevin

The track prep is very good for the Summit races or PSCA but its pretty much impossible to have perfect conditions for a street legal.


Yeah, I guess you're right... I guess if I want to stop spinning my wheels, I have to invest some $$ on slicks...

I still don't understand why the Speedway moved the track to its current location where it was quite predictable that it would cause friction with the neighbors. If that action had not been taken, we wouldn't have a problem today.

I guess the speedway had its own reasons and was watching out for its best interests, but so are the neighbors...

I hope that whatever agreement they came up with is both binding and is good for both sides.

They moved the track to where it is now so they could build the wolfgang puck restaurant for the 2 races a year they were having, now they only have 1 race a year, go figure.

Kevin