Minneapolis Open drag/race track!!!

I know this sounds crazy but just read on...

My father is planning on retiring soon and after a long and detailed discussion yesterday he finally confimed that he does infact want to invest in something soon, kind of a pet project so he doesn't get bored in old age. So naturally i brought up the fact that not all of us are dying to drve up to brainerd or somewhere else to hit a track, we want something locally. He seriously is considering the idea, He is currently looking for land( he'll need a ****load) on the outlying areas of the city, (more westward). and we think that if we present this case in the right way it may be possible to get a grant from the state, it would be a local way to keep kids from street racing:roll: ..... he asked if id post and ask you guys if there was something within an hour of the cities(brainerd is a little over 2 hous out), would you guys go, often? He doesn't like that brainerds an INTL raceway, he thinks its discouraging and too 'big time' and wants to make a more open track/strip, you come, pay your ticket and get like(10laps or 5 or something) and keep it low key, low stress and most of not intimidating......I know where im from kids would line up and honestly I feel like im intimadsated by the brainerd track.....question?,comments?,concerns?.... just to say hi?

 

If the prices were good I would be there a bit. I want to race but will not street race and would love a place to have some fun with the car. Sounds like a great idea to me.

 

hasnt there been a company trying to get a track open for the past two years but cant get anything to go thru. Somewhere in lino lakes or something? cant remember off the top of my head

 

Push hard on the street racing bit. Bring up how the media has covered it more than once and the accidents and deaths it causes. I think that'll really help with a grant. Also if you work with other clubs in MN (forums or whatever) you'll be able to call upon a lot of support. I'll be there every summer if it opens and when my kids are old enough they'll be there too.

 

agreed.. the media and government piss and moan about street racing but they do everything they can NOT to allow a race-track locally... friggin morons...

Lets get a petition going through ALL the clubs...

 

no matter how many tracks you put up, there is still gonna be street racing, most of the ricers wont pay 20 bucks to race, that and thier cars wont pass inspection

 

does your dad have a lot of money to invest? I'm talking like several million dollars. That's what its probably going to take. People have tried this about 5 times int he last 5 years, from the pine run guys to other private investors and what it has always come down to is that absolutely nobody wants a racetrack in their backyard.

emphasizing street racing WILL MAKE THINGS WORSE. One of the primary reasons why pine run got rejected was people's fear that it would attract street racers and "unsavory city types" to their area, bringing crime (heavily associated with street racing) to their community. It might give the cops some warm and fuzzies to tell them you're making a ractrack halfway house for street racers, but it sure as hell doesn't make the future neighbors of the racetrack feel good. They'll probably request and environmental impact statement (like w/ pine run) that will be so expensive and pointless that it will deter the investors.

its also wishful thinking to think that car clubs are really actually going to get behind this. they haven't in the past and they won't in the future. nobody else here was at any of the pine run meetings. Nobody in the sport compact world in MN does much actual racing and has much sway in the racing community. The metropolitan council of sports car clubs has absolutely no members from the sports compact/sports car enthusiasts clubs except the PCA and the NCCC, which are really old national charter clubs. If people want to get more involved they should really try to start there.

I'm not trying to be too negative, but i don't want your dad to throw his money down the same hole as a lot of other people.

absolutely 100% correct. Every autocross i have been at has some douchebag who does burnouts outside the place just to try to flex on everyone (but too much of a ***** to actually race that car). If you put a track right next to midway and charged 5 bucks a night people would still complain and street race, and a good deal of them would probably do it on the way to or from the track too. I've seen grown old men street race right outside real race events all the time because something about it just riles them up or something.

most of the cars i see that street race wouldn't pass tech, or the driver would put it into a wall anyways. The insurance would be out of control after a few such incidents. most of these people don't know how to drive and will never learn because they have already convinced themselves that they're excellent drivers. an incident there like a bad crash could make the whole thing fall apart very easily. God forbid robyn robinson and her yellow journalism scum team gets word of it, they just love looking for private enterprise to ruin.

 

If there is room for RallyX in the infield that would be great for those of us that like to get dirty. No jumps just packed dirt or gravel (easier on the cars) for cones. The Land of Lakes Rally Cross group is always looking for new venues that could draw more people in to the sport.

Did you see the article in Subiesport recently (maybe the current one?) about the autopark in Japan for the average type to get out with their cars? One of the main points was to get the kids off the streets and mountain roads.

West of the cities would be great....

 

there is a big army base thing you drive past on your right when your going from saint paul to anoka..... thats like 2 minutes from anywhere and used to be used as a track at one point..... if he could figure out a way to let him regulate the land etc for weekend nights that would be 10000x more effective then going out and buying a **** TON of money

 

well there are alot of good thought beign said in there. my .02 is that skreet raceorz wont pay $$ to drive out for 30 min and race. when they can do it at home for free.

Myself on the other hand. i would be willing to go, i have thought about tracking my car before but brainerd is way to far away, and far to intimidating. I like the idea since you can test your car / go as fast as you want without worries of speeding tickets ect.... Plus if there was a MNsubaru discount or track day it would bad ass!

 

That's it. if your dad can find some land and supportive neighbors, by all means go for it. The Pine Run guy sounds like he had practically unlimited funds, just no place to put it. So he gave up and bought the Brainerd track instead.
http://www.brainerdraceway.com/birstory.html

Anyway, research that to find out what he went through. Here's a start...
http://www.pinecitymn.com/main.asp?SectionID=13&SubSectionID=19&ArticleID=2546

If by some miracle this were to happen, be sure to lay down a large enough chunk of asphalt for the autox guys to use.

 

It's not that he didn't have a place to put it. He just had money for land but didn't buy people. This is America where there's a price on everything which is why I can never be in politics. You want something, you need to pay the right people to get what you want.

 

yes sound like a good ideal, i hate street racer! street racing is illegal in the state of minnesota

 

well it aint free when they get caught... or when they kill someone innocent and live the rest of their lives with it....

granted there will always be street racing... but when you can pay $10 all night racing then youwould be suprised how many people (mature mentally) will take their cars...

My ex-girlfriend's Dad back in Australia half owned the local dragstrip... they ran street racing nights.. drew a good crowd.. others still raced leaving... big burnouts etc.. thats always fun... but hey idiots will always be idiots... race track or no race track... but I woul dpay $10 evry now and then to go LEGALLY race my car for fun....

 

I would pay more than $10, I was just at RA and that was $80 for 2 hours in 2 days. Something like $30 - $40 wouldn't even be bad for a few hours. Someplace to meet people hang out play with the car etc..

 

NEW IDEA!!!! AN MNSUBARU GARAGE!!!!

heh. It would be pretty sick to have like 6 four posts, some tools, etc. We could work on our cars whenever and such. Then to make it "worth while" we could get involved maybe with a program like big brothers and sisters or treehouse or a group for troubled teens, and teach them some stuff about cars, chill with 'em, do some sort of a charity event or invite them to the track.

 

Personally, I like that garage Idea a lot better----I will throw it his way and see if thats something he would be interested in--il make shure his gears are always turning

 

heh, at least it would get all of your stuff out of that third space! :biggthumpup:

It would also be a great place for everyone from mnsubaru to do meets, set of time slots for lifts, wrench on their cars, bring their families, friends, you name it.

Biggest problem is just the fact that it probably wouldnt generate any revenue, or even be able to pay for itself unless there were mad fund raisers, or it was involved with some sort of large non-profit.

Maybe...

"Subaru.......











....My anti drug." :jumpy:

 

If you want it to work, it could, but it would have to be and indoor track.

 

speaking of close tracks, there is a 1/8th mile track in grove city which is roughly an hour and 15 minutes from downtown how many of you have been there?

besides the fact the people who currently are idiots and charge $35 a night for "street" drags and dont realize that if they charged $10 or $15 a person more people would show up and they would make the same amount of money.
.

 

Grove creek btw ive been there, its a blast, and its where subies really shine

 

just a question, but isnt there a 1/4 mile oval in shakopee or somewhere, where they have an open track on wednesdays or someting like that.

 

^^^ raceway park... I believe it is dirt... not 100% sure, but my old techs used to talk about it and wanted me to go race the WRX as they said with awd and the power I had I would kill everything off the line but would have to watch out for the jerkwads who hate getting beat by a 4cyl that may bump you into the wall...

one guy put his girlfriends brand new Mustang cobra (I think) into teh wall...

 

There's lots of land for sale out where I live... very cheap farmland.

It's about 60 minutes west of the Twin Cities (Litchfield area). There's already a 1/8th mile track (Grove Creek Raceway in Grove City) and a great Cart Track.