my friend BUTT BUDDY JON know of an old landing strip around here that the old guys used in the 70's as a drag strip. its i think about 1 mile long and its already paved. the city owns it so ive heard and all you need is lines and bleachers to make it work and people to work there. i also talked to 1 guy in elizabeth city and he said they made there money back in a couple of years so i mean its profitable. im just saying if we band together and stuff that this could work turning it into a drag strip. also if you write letters to the editor of the paper it would help and if you look at the article about the accident you will see a lady to call to talk to her im sure she could help us. because if she would write an article about the strip it would change alot of peoples minds and every1 would be for it. that just my 2 cents.. jdm

 

Man, i would love to see this happen. I mean i get tired of driving all the way to MIR or to Dinwiddie..like was said in an earlier post, it doesnt have to be a VMP, a nice 1/8th would do just fine for the local area and local hang out. i think there is alot of money to be made from this...when i get back im playing lotto maybe i can hit it big..lol.

but yeah whats up with using an old airstrip or adding to Lagley, im sure Langley could use all the extra money it can get.

 

i think you naysayers are forgetting that this isnt supposed to be a highclass dragstrip. just a hang out just like any other "spot" that has a strip. that cuts out alot of the big costs. you wouldnt even need timing and displays in the beginign. just who gets to the end first in true "street racing" fashion. no that won't cut down on the precautions that wil have to be taken. but it keeps it for the most part. feasible.

 

Having corporate sponsorship before going to the city would only help getting things passed.

It's a big Catch 22 though. It's eaiser to get sponsors once the various government offices have given the ok, and it's easier to get the government to give that ok if you have sponsors

Basically anyone that has a connection that might be useful in this endevour should try to see what they would be willing to offer.

 

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you know billy and sammy from pomoco? i was about to say my family is friends with the pomoco owners but if youre gonna go ahead and ask them, great. i put in a word to my dad who already said hed like to see his company's name on a drag car in the next year or two and he seems interested. i'll update as things happen. has anyone actually talked to someone who knows and can handle the legal aspect of building a track? what would the owner be liable for? sung hows the website comin?

 

Hey guys, I don't have time to read this entire thread at the moment, but I followed a good bit of it. I apologize if some of this is repetitive.

I think there have been a lot of good points made here and a lot of good ideas put out. IMO, money, noise, and insurance are the main issues in the beginning. Money is an obvious obstacle. Noise is one of the most prevalent reasons tracks are shut down - suburban sprawl is everywhere and it’s only a matter of time before homes are close to the track and people complain about noise. Insurance again, is obvious. For the person who asked why Suffolk was shut down, I believe it was due to mismanagement. The shutdown of that track is also the main reason VMP (Dinwiddie) was built. SMS was planning on building a 1/8 mile strip this year, but as far as I know those plans were scrapped. I’ll see what I can find out on that front and I encourage some of you to inquire as well. That may be a good starting point. The Mid-Atlantic Motorsports Park just over the VA line is also in progress, but my efforts to contact their PR person have been ignored.

I agree with Sung in that this is an opportunity to use the media to our advantage. I publish a regional motorsports pub, and while this is far from the mainstream media coverage a project of this magnitude needs, I’d be happy to help in any way I can. The magazine currently works with many local car clubs and councils to help lobby state legislation affecting auto hobbyists. I think this is an effort we can assist as well. I’m open to any ideas as to what I can do. Thanks for the opportunity to put that out there.

 

Maybe you should take care of POMOCO but I will still try cause it seems like you know different people than I do.

 

i can ask my dad to talk to some people, he knows just about every "high up" person there is and a lot owe him favors... i will see what we can do

 

A good idea to show interest and to prove to prospective sponsors how many people are willing to be invovled in this is to hold a "drag wars" type event at one of the local/military air fields. It could be a 1 or 2 day event where a small entrance fee is required to cover rental costs and everybody races for distance; ie. who ever gets to the other end first. It's one thing to say to a possible sponsor "blank amount of people are going to come to this track if you build it" it's better to SHOW them first hand what the local interest will be.

 

Well my dad works for Sara Lee, they make coffee and other food products, they sponsor the Hills Brother Nascar... and i can see if we can pull some strings to get them to take a look at our idea, i also say we get some local news stations involved... get our cause out to the public. More leverage for the city would be to say we could bring the NHRA or some big sporting event to the track every so often, that would boost economy, and the local area... i dunno im just throwin ideas