Calgary Kart Racing Club to Build New Track

[speedog]

Originally posted by chrenan
CSCC is running a time attack series at Castrol in Edmonton this summer. I participated in the first event and they did a great job.

Meanwhile in Calgary?

[MGCM]

Originally posted by speedog


Meanwhile in Calgary?

perhaps you should attend one of the cscc monthly club meetings and ask them.

[speedog]

Originally posted by MGCM
perhaps you should attend one of the cscc monthly club meetings and ask them.

If I was actively involved in Calgary's racing community I would, but my interests lie elsewhere and I am involved there.

What I take issue with is people blaming the CoC for the lack of racing facilities that the average joe blow can use instead of racing on the streets. If the racing communities in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat can create and keep going local tracks there that don't appear to have any public tax dollars supporting them in any way, then how come it isn't being done here?

I do realize that there is an increased amount of Nimbyisn in Calgary's surrounding rural areas which will mean a new publicly accessible racing facility will have to be built a bit farther out from Calgary but we've seen nothing in the 5 years since Race City has disappeared outside of just a few proposals that haven't put down one inch of asphalt to date and those few proposals certainly aren't going to be catering to Race City's secret street night crowd and such.

Rocky Mountain Raceway Park down near Aldersyde would be a great example of another failed facility - probably catering to too small of a market. So where can one put a track that'll cater to regular people (not well monied) who like to race whether it be on a drag strip, road course or an oval because all three were very well used venues at Race City - I'm still thinking Aldersyde area but that may prove to be too far out for many racing fans. But more importantly, is there anyone out there willing to step up to the plate and create such a facility that isn't a membership type of place? Maybe the solution is one of the two native reservations (Tsuu T'ina or Stoney out by Cochrane) where nimby's will have less control - problem is finding the monies and getting such a facility off of the ground.

[egmilano]

Fingers cross for a jr program, I'd love to put my son into it once he gets older , so he can live out my dream ! F1 here he comes lol

[tsi_neal]

Originally posted by speedog

Why shame on Calgary - a lot of these karting enthusiasts probably are Calgarians.

If you're making a reference to Calgary's racing community then shame in that community and not Calgary as a whole - if Calgary's racing communities want racing facilities closer into the city, then those racing communities need to step up to the plate.

The first and most obvious issue is land, it is impossible to buy land and build a racetrack of any kind. Assuming that an appropriate plot of land can be found in the city (it can't) There are zoning and approvals issues that will stop it fast, if not instantly. The vast majority of people don't want a racetrack in audible distance, the exact same people that say "go make it happen" are the ones that kill it. This also has nothing to do with funding, privately funded ventures get turned away.

I'm impressed with the rocky mountain group, they have a close possibility. They are also a very long way off from building and personally i think the upcoming hurdles will be very large.

The "private club" is not true. There is that aspect but there is also the rentals aspect that will run exactly like race city ran. I'll repeat is part of badlands business plan to run a rental track, just like race city was. This means it is accessible...

Travel is also part of racing, maybe not ideal for the more casual guy that wants to do a track day but it's a reality.

Incorporated drag strips / road courses are dangerous. It's not the rocky mountain group just talking. Drag track prep turns into literal black ice with even the lightest sprinkle of water. Imagine coming out of a corner with predictable grip and then losing it all, that destroys the intent of a road course.

And as for "shame on..." Keep on talking. This is not the city's problem, although it would be nice to have help with zoning it's no secret why they stay out of it. As far as local clubs, with the CSCC you have a member base of a few hundred people spread between multiple types of racing and frankly very few of the money or political connections to make things happen. And wait, development is happening, Castrol is in operation, and we all have a place to race soon to be two and hopefully three. The kart club did not, and they are making that happen. So shame on who? (Ok maybe the drag guys, but getting a track built isn't as easy as paving 1/4 mile or it would have happened already)

[Sugarphreak]

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[MGCM]

Originally posted by speedog

If I was actively involved in Calgary's racing community I would, but my interests lie elsewhere and I am involved there.

What I take issue with is people blaming the CoC for the lack of racing facilities that the average joe blow can use instead of racing on the streets. If the racing communities in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat can create and keep going local tracks there that don't appear to have any public tax dollars supporting them in any way, then how come it isn't being done here?

wow this is silly, you apparently have "all the right ideas" but you dont want to invest any time into it? Easy to sit there behind a computer screen and rant/rave about how nobody has done anything yet you wont do anything either........i feel like im kicking a dead horse.......As another post stated, compare property value in Med Hat to the same approx piece of land here Does not matter if u go north/south/east/west from Calgary you will find disgusting prices that no autoclub could ever afford. How many businesses here actually own the land their office is on? Very very very few can afford the land, so they lease. Then if you know ANYTHING about how the world works, you have to convince the county to let u build a track there without every farmer bitching and whining how their once peaceful farm can now hear loud cars racing around a track. Now think from the farmers point of view, he has a nice peaceful life out there, why does he want to vote for a track to be built there? So he votes against you and tells all his farmer friends to do the same.......who the fuck do u think wins that vote? Farmers will 9/10 times. How much do u think it costs to get to the point where the farmer tell u haha fuck u go away we won.......not cheep thats forsure, and no potential site for a track is going to come along easily.........if u think your so smart, go build one and make all this money Med Hat is apparently making, ya?

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
Grey Eagle Casino would be a great spot for Autocross, they have a huge parking lot and facilities on site

Why didn't they think of this sooner!

been there, done that, they claim we were "too loud" and local residents complained about hearing the tires squeeling. And thats straight from the horses mouth. Here is pics of what we had goin, and one old man complained to grey eagle and boom were kicked out..........whats louder? Auto-x or a full blown drag car tappin the gas crackin thunder across half the neighborhood.....







YES, SHAME ON CALGARY, WHY? Very simply, the CoC complains about street racing ect all the time, but will do nothing to help us find a piece of pavement in some random parking lot so that we can play around with our cars OFF the street. Whether or not the CoC wants to take responsibility or not, ulitimately they have more power to change things than we do.......yet they dont. Whats the difference between a skateboard park and what we are searching for? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!!!!

[speedog]

So MGCM - what's your proposal?

People need to realize that cities aren't going to be throwing tax dollars at racing facilities - Edmonton hasn't and thus why the tracks up there aren't in city limits. I believe that the Lethbridge and Medicine Hat tracks also are not within city limits.


So why is it that the counties/MD's surrounding those cities have allowed or welcomed such facilities and such facilities have been built where the average joe can go race be it autocross, drag, oval or road course? Why is it that nothing has come to be in the Calgary region other than a kart track? What is different?

Personally, I'm not a racer and that's why I won't be involved and like I said earlier, I am involved in certain things I take an interest in. Sitting as a president of a non-profit that supports one type of amateur sport that includes athletes from elementary right up to Olympians. My wife sits on two boards - one that supports a different amateur sport and another that runs a farmer's market. Have sat on my community's board in the past and am still involved there.

The lamenting of no local racing facilities falls back on the shoulders of those enthusiasts - it's the only place it can fall. Circle 8 Speedway, Calgary International Raceway (once called Shepard Raceway), Stampede Speedway and Race City didn't come about because of an influx of public tax dollars - nope, they were facilities that racers or people with an interest in tracing built and the average joe could race at those places, no special club membership was needed for a lot of the racing at those places.

Somehow, Calgary needs to get a regular racing venue - something that a 17 year old kid can take their car out to whether it be road course, autocross, oval or drags. There still must be a need for such a facility in or near Calgary and it's going to take the concerted and combined efforts of many average joes making their voices heard to make something like this happen. Something like the proposed track up by Airdrie won't do because it's only catering to a very small segment of the racing crowd here in Calgary - if Castrol Raceway can be developed and built by local racers up there, then what exactly is the problem down here in Calgary? Hell, that facility is less than two miles from a city of 27,000 people - surely something can get done here that is as good and publicly accessible as Castrol.

[Sugarphreak]

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[rage2]

My dad was a Manager at Grey Eagle, believe me we've tried everything to get them to host it again, but it was Lakeview residents who put a huge stop to it with non stop complaints. As much as an Indian Casino had a right to do whatever they wanted, they still wanted to be good neighbors, and Sr. Management refused to budge.

For the same reason, they will never build a track on Tsuu Tina.

[Sugarphreak]

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[MGCM]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak


That post clearly went way over your head... it was directed at Speedog's armchair solution.

FYI: My car in one of those pictures

We agree to disagree, i still believe the CoC needs to play an active role in this whole thing.

[Sugarphreak]

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[danno]

I think it's awsome that something is being done somewhere. I've done the Allen berg course and it was expensive but fun. Maybe ill get into karting more once the track is done.

[speedog]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
Pretty much sums it up... the same typical BS that happens all over Calgary

I thought it was one guy putting in endless complaints though? IMO it was a BS complaint, DB levels were strictly kept in check.

They should have stood their ground though.... an entire motorsports community > a handful of residents that have nothing better to do than complain about everything.


Of course given that "Wild Wednesdays" is such a success I can see why they just decided to stick it to motorsports... we apparently just take it smiling.

Just thinking out loud here but couldn't the Tsuu Tina build something a few miles to the southwest of Grey Eagle - somewhere a mile or two north of Bullhead road and 3-4 miles west of the 37 Street SW. Google Streetview view of noted area - link.

Far enough away from most communities with lots of bush and land elevations to absorb/take care of noise issues and also, the land elevations could make for a great road coarse venue.

[chrenan]

Originally posted by speedog


Meanwhile in Calgary?

Take highway 2 north for a couple hours and you can't miss the track. There are signs for it on the highway, it's south of Edmonton so you don't even need to come into the city. Before Castrol was finished we had track time at Namao, Stratotech and the City Centre Airport course and plenty of Edmonton guys would still head down to Race City for events. I was at Castrol on Friday and there were people there from Grande Prairie, Calgary and Regina. Just get in your car (or tow vehicle) and come to the track, it's that simple. If a track does get built around Calgary will you complain it's on the wrong side of the city and too inconvenient?

[speedog]

Originally posted by chrenan


Take highway 2 north for a couple hours and you can't miss the track. There are signs for it on the highway, it's south of Edmonton so you don't even need to come into the city. Before Castrol was finished we had track time at Namao, Stratotech and the City Centre Airport course and plenty of Edmonton guys would still head down to Race City for events. I was at Castrol on Friday and there were people there from Grande Prairie, Calgary and Regina. Just get in your car (or tow vehicle) and come to the track, it's that simple. If a track does get built around Calgary will you complain it's on the wrong side of the city and too inconvenient?

You're not getting this. The real problem at Calgary is there's no local publicly accessible racing facility and there isn't going to be one for the foreseeable future - if something was built akin to Castrol that would be within a 30-45 minute drive of most Calgarians, I personally don't think there'd be many complainers.

[chrenan]

Originally posted by speedog

The real problem at Calgary is there's no local publicly accessible racing facility and there isn't going to be one for the foreseeable future...

I am getting it, that's exactly my point. For the foreseeable future come to Castrol. You realize there were Edmonton guys there this weekend for the NASCC races who towed their race cars up from Miller Motorsports Park in Utah where they keep them and run them regularly? Travelling a couple hours to a track shouldn't be seen as a barrier to participation. Most people, myself included for many years of my life, would kill to be a couple of hours from a track!

[tsi_neal]

Originally posted by speedog

You're not getting this. The real problem at Calgary is there's no local publicly accessible racing facility and there isn't going to be one for the foreseeable future - if something was built akin to Castrol that would be within a 30-45 minute drive of most Calgarians, I personally don't think there'd be many complainers.

I think your not getting this. Actual racers who have replied to this thread have no issues with the current and forthcoming facilities. You as a guy who proclaims to not have an interest in racing has a problem with no local track, not sure why.

[speedog]

Originally posted by chrenan
I am getting it, that's exactly my point. For the foreseeable future come to Castrol. You realize there were Edmonton guys there this weekend for the NASCC races who towed their race cars up from Miller Motorsports Park in Utah where they keep them and run them regularly? Travelling a couple hours to a track shouldn't be seen as a barrier to participation. Most people, myself included for many years of my life, would kill to be a couple of hours from a track!

But having no publicly accessible racing facilities in the local Calgary area has most likely made a serious dent in the grass roots business and also hobby side of auto-sports here in Calgary.

Secret street was a very well attended pretty much weekly event and I'd dare say that 75% of the people who attended secret street have either just stopped racing or have found less legal ways to go about it. O\val racers - probably a fair number are travelling several hours to other venues but there's also probably a lot of cars/racers that just hung up their helmets, street stock, mini stock and enduro racers notably. Road course racers - hard to say what they've done locally but there's also probably a fair number of local auto enthusiasts who used to go to track days at Race City that just don't bother any more.

It's not that these people aren't interested - it's that they're not interested enough to drive a few hours to keep their hobby alive. A local Castrol facility nearby Calgary I would dare say would re-ignite the racing scene here in Calgary and would most likely benefit more than a few speed shops here.