| Is this the 2-mile facility that's backed by Bobby Unser among others?
According to various racing rags, the project has had a difficult time
getting financing, but has had good support within the community (I
have no independent info on whether this is true). Certainly CART
could use another first-class superspeedway now that Michigan is
showing its age and Pocono has been consigned to the dustbin of
history. Unfortunately, it's becoming difficult to determine which of
the many superspeedway projects that have been proposed in recent
years might eventually materialize (Myrtle Beach, Maryland, and the
Quad Cities project come to mind). Given the softness in the economy,
and the limited number of first-class series dates available, only a
very few of these projects will see the light of day unless they've
lined up backers with deep pockets and secured strong local support.
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| Article 119 of rec.autos.sport.info:
From: [email protected] (David Reininger)
Subject: INDYCAR: Penske Plans New Speedway
Date: Thu, 21 Apr 1994 03:48:23 GMT
Lines: 69
KAISER RESOURCES & PENSKE SPEEDWAY PLAN TO DEVELOP CALIF. SPEEDWAY
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RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CALIF. (April 20, 1994) -- Kaiser Resources, Inc.
(NASDAQ:KRSC) and Penske Speedway, Inc. announced today that they have
entered into an agreement to develop The California Speedway, a high-speed
oval track for professional auto racing, located near Fontana, California
in San Bernardino County. Plans call for the new facility to be built on
approximately 500 acres of Kaiser's former steel-manufacturing mill near
the intersection of Interstates 10 and 15.
Under agreement, a new business entity will be formed comprised of The
California Speedway and Penske's privately-owned Michigan International
Speedway (MIS) near Brooklyn, Michigan and Nazareth (PA) Speedway. The
formation of the new entity is expected to occur upon Kaiser's completion
of the scheduled environmental remediation of a small portion of the
property and the granting of acceptable land use permits by the County of
San Bernardino.
Kaiser and Penske are jointly funding the preliminary activities and expect
to submit the first of the necessary applications to the County of
San Bernardino within the next four months. Upon completion of the
specified objectives, Kaiser will have a 20 percent interest in the
new speedway entity with Penske, which is responsible for operating
the business, having an 80 percent interest.
According to Daniel N. Larson, Kaiser Resources, Inc. President and Chief
Executive officer, "This is a tremendous opportunity for Kaiser, the Penske
organization and, most importantly, motorsports racing fans throughout
Southern California. Roger Penske and his entire organization are world-class
partners. With Penske Speedway's experience in the development and operation
of motorsports facilities, combined with the local community and political
support, we intend to make every effort to bring this concept to reality."
At MIS, Penske Speedway conducts two national Association for Stock Car Auto
Racing (NASCAR) Winston Cup Series events and a Championship Auto Racing Teams
(IndyCar) PPG Indy Car World Series 500 mile event. At Nazareth, Penske holds
a NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race and a PPG Indy Car World Series event.
Walter P. Czarnecki, President of Penske Speedway, Inc. said, "There is great
interest in the country's second largest market for the return of professional
auto racing competition on a high-speed oval track utilizing the stadium
concept we have developed at MIS. We are contacting the major U.S.
sanctioning organizations to inform them of our plans for The California
Speedway. While there are a number of hurdles between now and the first
race, this project has the highest priority. Working closely with Kaiser
Resources, we are moving forward to meet our facility completion target of
1996."
Throughout Southern California, Penske operates auto dealerships, sells and
services Detroit Diesel engines, and maintains Penske Truck Leasing and
rental facilities. The Penske organization also owns the most successful
team in Indy Car racing history and has won a record nine Indianapolis 500
mile races. Penske also competes with a team in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.
Kaiser Resources, Inc. is an emerging environmental resources company
pursuing projects that address critical issues in Southern California
including solid waste management, water resources and property redevelopment.
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|
For those around Colorado Springs, CO, Pikes peak International
Raceway has scheduled some great races for this, it's first, year.
It's at the site of the old Pikes Peak meadows horse track, south of
Colo Springs. It has a 1 mile D-shaped oval, and a 1.25 mile road
course on 1600 acres. They're completing grandstand seating for 42000
spectators, and since it's the only facility of it's kid within a
1000 mile radius, they hope to lure up to 4 million potential fans
within a 2 hour drive. PPIR is located 20 minutes south of Colorado
Springs in fountain, just west of I-25 and accessible from exits 122
and 123. Here's the schedule;
June 7-8: USAC Rocky Mountain Classic featuring USAC midgets and Silver
Crown cars, along with WSMRA supermodifieds. Tickets $10 to $50 and up.
June 27-28: Indy Racing League, in addition to Formula Ford 2000 and
formula Mazda. Tickets $20 to $85 and up.
July 25-27: NASCAR Winston West Series. tickets $20 to $85 and up.
Aug 15-17: AMA Superbikes, also featuring Super Twin, 250 Grand Prix,
750 Super Sport, Formula Xtreme. tickets $15 to $50 and up.
Sep 5-7: SCCA Trans-Am Series. Tickets $15 to $50 and up.
Sep 26-28: IMSA Exxon World SportsCar Championship, also featuring
IMSA Endurance Championship, Black Magic Pro Series, GT Series.
Tickets $15 to $50 and up.
For ticket info call (719)382-RACE or (800)955-RACE.
Pete
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