Desert Mavericks.......Sand Box

When they close ...nobody's going to build a new one. Better be happy with at least having a couple of mediocre tracks, then having none.

 

Yeah Don is right, I wouldn't expect anything new to open up either. If California is an example, tracks there have been legislated out of existence. Foolish people building homes near a track and not expecting noise. That and property values have kept new tracks from being built as well. Building a new track is no small investment. The only reason Speedworld was even there in the first place was because the hard work of compacting the soil and the initial concrete and paving work were done by Luke Air Force base as a backup landing strip back in the 50's. And from a personal standpoint I enjoy going to watch racing as much as racing itself. This will be a huge loss for me. I actually picked my home location based on this. If both tracks are gone, I would seriously consider leaving the valley. The other two things that I didn't touch on is the impact to the street racing scene and the impact of local speed shops/performance tuners. Street racing will increase (it is already at unacceptable levels as far as I am concerned) and why will you need a dyno shop if you aren't going to have a race track to go to? I may be taking this too far, but I think that this is a travesty. There aren't even any circle tracks close by that are open any more. I feel sad for kids growing up without anything but an occasional Nascar race to look forward to.

 

All good points Tony and I feel the same way. I just hate the fact that in 20 years I havent seen anything fixed or improved at either track. especialy with all the other work done around speedworld youd think they would atleast fix the track up a little.

 

I agree...better to have something than nothing...I would hate to see the tracks close. Being able to drag race at a track was one of the main reasons I bought another Maverick.

 

Hey Tony...I haven't seen anything on the SpeedWorld website indicating that they need help again. Where did you hear this?

 

What do they need help with? Is there pending legislation?

 

It was on their facebook page this morning. It seems that they are on county land and from what Speedworld is reporting they are not going to let them renew the lease on it.

http://www.facebook.com/speedworld.dragstrip?ref=ts&fref=ts

This all stems from issues that the county has regarding drainage and improvements that have been made to the property. They have multiple venues there, R/C airplane and car track, motocross track, off road track to name a few. My understanding from what Speedworld has reported is that they pulled permits to build all this stuff and the county kept coming back with change after change. They make it sound like the county has been trying to push them out. Read the postings on the website for yourself, as I am probably not doing it justice. This goes all the way back to June, so if you are interested please make sure to scroll way down on their facebook wall as well.

Oh and to answer your question Craig, they are asking people to petition the Governor to keep the track open via mail and e-mail.

 

Here is another link that explains in a bit more detail...

http://www.arizonaautoscene.com/archives/11605

 

It will be a sad day for me for sure. I have been racing there for 20 years. The stands and other thing may look a little ratty but the racing surface is top notch. better than Firebird any day.

 

It leaves me wondering...what will everyone do with their dedicated race cars? Mine was built with street and strip in mind (made that mistake years ago with my Mustang and I was determined not to go there again), but there are a TON of cars that are built for strip only. And if we lose both tracks what would you do?

 

They do space rentel in tucson. I'll leave my rig at SIR and just go down there to race. If that doesnt work out I'll put the drive train in a pre 66 car and part out the mustang. Plus there is always E bay. It's going to be real hard to sell all the cars here in town.

 

WOO HOO!!! I made it...best run of the day was a 14.92 at 89.61 mph! Of course temps in the low 40's didn't hurt!

 

congrats Gene!!! welcome to the 14s

 

link to car show in prescott

http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?p=929384#post929384

 

Thats awesome Gene. now its officially faster then my 2011 305hp v6 mustang, best is 14.98. I still need to run you with my maverick and maybe beat you for once.