The Day the Music Died

July 29th 2009

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of when the music died as our engines met with silence that marked the end of Los Angeles County Raceway as we all knew and loved it!

So what is has been going on since then?

Plenty, but still to no avail, the saga along with the search for a place to race still continues.

For the past couple of years I have found several locations that would be well suited for such a venue only to be stopped in our tracks with the legal issues and rhetoric verbiage from the County level.

They say they need someone that is a competent operator of such a complex, when we have the operations management, the crew, along with the financial support that would be needed! The hurtle as it seems is as to be able to find the property with the correct zoning and the community support to back it up!

The County suggested finding Industrial M 1 type or land zoned D as they would be the easiest to cultivate into a facility worthy of a race track!

So I’ve used the County GIS maps on line to find such a property. The problem is that most of the land in the unincorporated Count of Los Angeles is zoned A-1 for Agricultural and they are not willing to change the zoning because Agricultural properties are also a kin residential offerings.

On May 2nd 2008 Brian Golden wrote a small inconspicuous column in the AV Press that was titled “Antonovich Still Pushing For The Rebirth of L.A.C.R..”

Every time I’ve had a meeting with the county, I walk out with that warm and fuzzy feeling that something would be done, that the County might help, shown areas of interest, and told that they get back to us, only to wait with baited breath waiting for the phone to ring!

The County had suggested several times that we should go to Fox Field, because they owned the land, so we did just that and spent several months talking with the county, getting blessings from both Fox Field operations and the City of Lancaster, we went as far as to come up with a general plan and layout of the track, to include terms of a 30 year lease, only to be shot down by the FAA who underwrites the airport with grants in order to operate.

Four months turned into a big waist of time!

In the interim I’ve also asked the county if we could shut down a street, one that leads to nowhere on the east side and allow us to hold legal and safe races with the crew and support needed. They came back with find a street then you will have to do and pay for a environmental impact report and then submit it to the county for review. I then asked what about all of the filming I see as the desert streets are closed off, there are lines of trucks, tones of gear, and very large crews, with explosions and special effects going on in the middle of nowhere do they need an environmental impact study? The answer, “Well the Film Commission and the County has a special deal!”

Why can’t we get a special deal?

Getting back to the GIS maps, the maps only show the zoning for the unincorporated areas of the County and do not show the industrial boundaries within the incorporated cities of the Antelope Valley.

Just recently we had a supporter get in touch with the City of Lancaster, and through that contact we found out that the City of Lancaster is planning a Cart Grand Prix in the City streets of Lancaster slated for October 10th and 11th of this year. So with that in mind I contacted the parks and recreation department and we had a meeting.

First of all the people that I met with have some very creative minds and are open to all sort of ideas.

I talked with them about finding a permanent property and they obliged me with a map that shows the lay out of the land which includes light and heavy industrial areas and what they call the Specific plan zonings for the future which at this point can be manipulated to our advantage as long as the property owners in the area are willing to either lease or sell the properties. This area covers almost 14 sq. miles of mostly undeveloped land!

Second was my concept for a 1/8th mile legal street race, providing a safer environment for racers of all ages by using Google earth.

I have found several areas within the City boundaries of Lancaster that might be suitable for such an idea. The City was very accommodating in providing me with information regarding the proper permits in order to do so. After all they too have also had to pull permits in order to run their slated grand prix. Once a suitable location is found then the concept will have to be approved by City Council and then we can move forward to raising the monies and pulling the permits to run a race. I’ve also found a couple of industrial parking lots that might do the trick also.

With a 1/8th mile race the track itself is only 660’ with another 660’ for run out, totaling 1320’ all together.

Yes we all want a ¼ mile track for our permanent situation but for something temporary 1/8th mile will do! 1/8th mile is also safer for the drivers and easier to control.

In San Diego, the San Diego Police along with the city and the county put together a program called RaceLegal several years ago. It’s is a 1/8th mile race that they hold in the Qualcomm parking lot using a portable timing system and provide all of the safety equipment and crew needed to run such a race. They have been very successful and run races there once a month, with between 250- 500 cars in attendance at a time. This program has been very successful and not only beneficial to the community but the kids who attend.

If we succeed with the City of Lancaster then I can run with the idea to City of Palmdale and so on, as to then create a race program that could possibly run as a bi monthly event. Allowing not only to give the kids something to look forward to but also allow ol’time racers the opportunity to fire up our engines and roar down a portable track to victory! This too could boost the local economies in the areas of where a race would be held, by food, lodging and automotive expendable and parts sales.

Imagine if you will teams made up of youngsters and of seasoned racers getting together once or twice a month in a different city or town in the Antelope Valley. Team Lancaster, Team Palmdale, Team Lake LA, Team Littlerock and so on. A program like this could open doors for outside competition bringing in teams from other Cities outside of the Antelope Valley. It could open doors to young racers by getting them interested in their cars instead of drugs, give them something to look forward to and provide a safe environment to allow them to race. The ol’timers set as avatars, teaming up with our youth, teaching them the ins and outs of their machines and the skill of racing like as it should be done. A Brotherhood so to speak! In fact the Brotherhood of street racers has endorsed these ideals for years and still does.

When we lost our Alma mater, the alumni not only lost a safe place to race but a place where people could congregate, to continue an institution for the good of our youth and the future of racing.

Something really needs to be done and I continue my quest in doing so. Please join me, speak out my friends, even shout it if you can, for the squeaky wheel gets the grease and eventually someone will listen!

A Big Thanx to everyone for your continued support,

Jeffrey W. Hillinger, A.K.A. Moldy Marvin
http://www.savelacr.org