I got the following from the Alabama Regional Director of the SCCA:

ROAD ATLANTA’S EXISTENCE IS UNDER AN IMMEDIATE THREAT AND I ASK ALL SCCA MEMBERS TO IMMEDIATELY EMAIL, WRITE, OR CALL THE HALL COUNTY COMMISIONERS LISTED BELOW BEFORE JUNE 19TH TO LET THEM KNOW JUST HOW IMPORTANT ROAD ATLANTA IS TO THE MOTORSPORTS COMMUNITY AND TO REITERATE ITS POSITIVE ECONOMIC IMPACT ON HALL COUNTY. ACT NOW.

An Atlanta Developer has contracted to purchase a tract of property off of Highway 211 that is directly adjacent to Road Atlanta. In fact, the property line is fifty feet from the actual race track along the Turn 9 backstretch. Nine acres will be reserved for commercial development and the remaining acreage will be developed into HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL. The project will be called the “Park at Riverside”.

Road Atlanta is one of the premier road racing circuits in North America if not the world. Its unique topography with its challenging elevation changes combined with a fast and flowing course design can not be duplicated on any other real estate. Since the 1970s Road Atlanta has operated with the protection of reasonable zoning that provided appropriate non-residential development around the track.

The current REQUEST TO CHANGE THE ZONING for this new project to allow residential development will no doubt lead to homeowner’s complaints, petitions for sound abatement or limited operating hours. This requested zoning change would seriously challenge Road Atlanta’s core business. Road Atlanta attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. According to Hall County’s own Visitor Bureau statistics, Road Atlanta contributes 53.5 MILLION DOLLARS a year to the Hall county economy alone. That is 27% of Hall County’s total tourism expenditures from visitors.

This project is up for review on JUNE 19TH with the Hall County Planning Commsion. Pleae help save an irreplaceable “institution” in Motorsports by contacting the Hall County Commissioners. If you have personally visited Road Atlanta, let them know how you spend your hard earned dollars in their county because of Road Atlanta.

Hall County Commissioners:
Hall County Website
Tom Oliver
Chairman
toliver@hallcounty.org
Deborah Lynn
Commissioner District 1
dlynn@hallcounty.org
Billy Powell
District 2
bpowell@hallcounty.org
Seve Gailey
District 3
sgailey@hallcounty.org
Deborah Mack
District4
dmack@hallcounty.org
Jim Shuler
County Administrator
jshuler@allcounty.org

-----------------------------------------------------------
It couldn't hurt to let the above Commissioners know that loss of Road Atlanta at some point in the future would be unfathomable!!

You must have the inside scoop . Road Atlanta website and a google search turns up nothing on this

Not damn, JUST damn!

This sounds like panic. People camp farther than 50 feet outside of turn(?) 9 at Rd ATL. The track dump/crash & burn school is out there. There were rumors that Doc Panoz had bought out chicken sheds to get rid of the smell near the track and his Chateau Elan winery. (Chateau de Plonk celebrates its 25th anniversary this summer. $50 tickets for one afternoon VIP wine sippin' tour anyone?)

As much as I despise dilletante race fan Panoz; he has spent beaucoup millions in Hall County GA. Unless Doc has had a recent stroke; I doubt this concept will get much traction. LOTS of testing, driving schools, and ad filming goes on at Rd ATL. Sales to non-motorsports fans will be slow most days.

My Mom & stepdad live 6 road miles from Rd ATL. The latter complains of racing noise at night. I take pains to assure him that only 1 night's noise per year (Petit) is from other than Lanier National Speedway's 3/8 mile paved oval across the road.

I smoked on Mom's front porch a month or so ago during the Mitty. I thought the background sounds were wonderful!

Surprising? Not terribly when you think about Atlanta's population boom over the last 20+ years, they, the city and county, need to learn to build in grrrriiiiids. None of this cul de sac crap with "backyards", nobody goes outside anymore anyways. Let alone in that humid armpit that is the summer there.

Am I personally pissed? Kinda', I wanted to tie-in some visits to my sister, her husband and my nephew with some track races there. Oh well.

I'm pissed too, too bad I can't do sheit about it.....

....
This sounds like panic. ......

My Mom & stepdad live 6 road miles from Rd ATL. The latter complains of racing noise at night. I take pains to assure him that only 1 night's noise per year (Petit) is from other than Lanier National Speedway's 3/8 mile paved oval across the road.

I smoked on Mom's front porch a month or so ago during the Mitty. I thought the background sounds were wonderful!

I hope it is not for real. I know RA brings in a lot of money for the surrounding area.
And yeah, I'm sure that short track across the road is responsible for more noise than RA. And RA does observe the quiet hours on Sunday morning.

If a residential development goes in next door to Rd ATL I will do my part by mooning real estate agents and potential buyers next door during race events. I say this just because I'm a race fan and a nice guy.

If a residential development goes in next door to Rd ATL I will do my part by mooning real estate agents and potential buyers next door during race events. I say this just because I'm a race fan and a nice guy.
ROFL.
Maybe we should go out and buy the houses ourselves!!:D

I would hate to lose Road Atlanta with its rich 35 year history to suburban sprawl. Dilletante Doc Panoz has made the place unfriendly to hardcore race fans with camping and infield parking fees while spreading VIP passes far and wide. Limited ALMS TV coverage cannot hide the sparse attendance in lousy weather. Claims of 80,000 people at last years Petit LeMans were ludicrous. I caught crap + "warning points" (big whoop!) on another forum for pointing out this gross distortion of facts.

ALMS does not offer much suspense as a racing product for spectators. Audi wins; or hell froze over.

-----

Grand Am DOES offer competition; and will do so July 30 at Barber MS Park. I am hammering alledged/potential race fans to attend this one, despite the heat. See you there, Vick?

Wow.... They always have to take away what means so much to us..

....

-----

Grand Am DOES offer competition; and will do so July 30 at Barber MS Park. I am hammering alledged/potential race fans to attend this one, despite the heat. See you there, Vick?
I don't know if I'm going anywhere that soon.
I had full knee replacement surgery 3 weeks ago and am in rehab now. I sure would like to go though, and I will if I can get out that much. It's about a 5-hour drive. And that is a killer deal for the 3-day advance ticket ($40). I might even take the gas hog (motorhome)!!
I hate to say I haven't been to a competitive event at Barber yet, just driving in HPDE several events.:o

If a residential development goes in next door to Rd ATL I will do my part by mooning real estate agents and potential buyers next door during race events. I say this just because I'm a race fan and a nice guy.
Man, we're behind you all the way! I'm on the next flight to Atlanta!!!
DOWN with the ****** "Park at Riverside"!!!

that would suck if they took that track away. one of my favorite

Throw some triangle shped rocks around and some bones and claim that was an anicent Native American burial ground or something.
No one builds on those.



















Seriously that really sucks. Anyway shouldn't RD have some sort of right because it was their first and is semi historical.

I believe you might be on to somthing...
It might even mean more racing if they think it's an ancient burial ground... beacuse TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY is built on an Indian burial ground!!!
...wierd...??:-k :rolleyes: :-k

Talladega may translate as an Indian word for "poison water"; but the track is built on a WWII vintage airport. Blame the USAAC for grave desecration.

If a residential development near THAT track were to complain/file suit about noise; NASCAR mobs would burn it to the ground. ROFLMAO!!

Sorry/encouraging to hear about about the knee job, vick. One or both?

My boss (limped 25 years ago when I bought paint from him...) got one done in early Nov. He came back to work (with periods of backroom rest/elevation) within 2 weeks. He then had a minor coronary Thanksgiving Sunday. He just now is getting approved for replacement of the other one.

My adoptive sister had one replaced a few months earlier. A circulatory problem prevented motion for a few days after the surgery. This was a major setback in her recovery.

My take is that you should work that joint; quicker the better! Bring yo' bus to Barber! We be hangin' when we run out of beer! j/k.

Rolex is awesome at Barber! I say this as someone w/3 decades spectating at Rd ATL.

I doubt Road Atlanta will be shut down for any reason. No way in hell. If it does, I'll eat my shorts. I'll video tape it, too.

I would rather watch an (unoccupied) residential development burn; if it's all the same to you, Mopar68...

I doubt Road Atlanta will be shut down for any reason. No way in hell. If it does, I'll eat my shorts. I'll video tape it, too.


That's almost worth hoping for the loss of RA...

Almost.

.........

Sorry/encouraging to hear about about the knee job, vick. One or both?
.........
My take is that you should work that joint; quicker the better! Bring yo' bus to Barber! We be hangin' when we run out of beer! j/k.

Rolex is awesome at Barber! I say this as someone w/3 decades spectating at Rd ATL.
I had the right one done - the left one will be done later this year. And I am working the thing to death trying to get it loosened up.
Barber sounds good - I'll try to make it, remind me when it gets closer and we can meet up.

I doubt Road Atlanta will be shut down for any reason. No way in hell. If it does, I'll eat my shorts. I'll video tape it, too.

Ummm, I agree with you, but please, keep that tape to yourself if it happens!:eek:

Ummm, I agree with you, but please, keep that tape to yourself if it happens!:eek:

Oh please, you know you want to see it. It's not like I'm going to do a strip show or something to take them off. I'm not eating them in my boxers.

I think Steve has a better idea, though. Burning houses smells like victory.

^^Hell, yeah, go start burnin down houses now!.....

Dam, why even live close to a racetrack when ur just going to complain and contribute to the loss of a famous track?!.....

^Beause people are biaches that don't consider the people who were there first.
Like that woman who is suing Porsche and the the Swiss goverment on driving.

AWD is on the right track. It's the same with airports.

People who moved in decades after a major airport was there whine, beetch, and file suit ad nauseum over noise. Comedian Gallagher had the best idea: Buy up all the houses near an airport (or race track) and move all the deaf people there, LOL!

-----

When my Dad first considered selling the family farm; a friend suggested painting radioactive or toxic waste symbols on a rusty oil drum and half burying it in the bank of a creek beside the driveway.

Tree-huggin' hippie eco-freaks get way more traction than native Americans these days.

^Didn't you want to leave or something?
You have to pay to use RA right?
Wouldn't that lead to a loss of income for the owners of the track. So unless the people who buy the houses are willing to pay the owners of the track what they would normal earn it would be unfair right.

^Didn't you want to leave or something?
You have to pay to use RA right?
Wouldn't that lead to a loss of income for the owners of the track. So unless the people who buy the houses are willing to pay the owners of the track what they would normal earn it would be unfair right.
You are assuming US lawyers are interested in doing what is "fair" or "right".
Sadly, that's not the case.
Road Atlanta brings in a lot of income for the county, so it really would be stupid to reduce it's use!

This is happening all over the country. The Denver area lost all three of its tracks last fall. When a group of motorsports enthusiasts and investors tried to buy land for another Denver area track, they couldn't find a single spot that was free from residential developers.

You are assuming US lawyers are interested in doing what is "fair" or "right".
Sadly, that's not the case.
Road Atlanta brings in a lot of income for the county, so it really would be stupid to reduce it's use!

It was assuming the jurys were fair but along the same lines.
BTW I know almost nothing about USor any for that matter legal system.

ssssnake, what 3 tracks are you referring to???

It was assuming the jurys were fair but along the same lines.
BTW I know almost nothing about USor any for that matter legal system.
I didn't mean to sound like I was picking on you. It's the lawyers that screw things up! And juries *could* be fair, but most of the time the lawyers (especially defense lawyers) strike/remove potential jurors that either have a decent education or appear to keep up with real news, etc. I've been called for jury duty several times, but always stricken. They would rather take lazy folks that watch TV all day!
And don't complain to me if you are a lawyer! Sue me! (not really!)

ssssnake, what 3 tracks are you referring to???

Second Creek Raceway. Lost to real-estate developers, who convinced the town council to revoke the special use zoning.

Pikes Peak International Raceway. Purchased by the NASCAR cartel so that they could shut it down and reduce competition (which they did.)

Continental Divide Raceway. Owned by Larry Miller, who built the beautiful new Miller Motorsports Park in Utah (now the nicest track in North America.) He wanted to spend a bunch of money and expand Continental Divide Raceway, but the local town council told him he couldn't, and also began legal actions against him for noise. He closed the track.

So, we lost all three Denver area road courses within a space of two months.

SUCKS!

CO tracks got no press. I am sincerely sorry for your loss. (What about the wasted Castle Rock? Where is TTB to ***** about this!?)

RD ATL claims to be in use 340 days/yr. Races, race testing, carmaker testing/filming, driving schools, club days, etc., ought to make more tax revenue than property taxes from overpriced junk particle board residential development nearby. I forgot. New junk particle board residential development > 2500' sq is still worth 300K.

Like an airport; a race track needs a "noise footprint" established for zoning. If you develop, or buy in this "footprint"; you will have to deal with it!

I didn't mean to sound like I was picking on you. It's the lawyers that screw things up! And juries *could* be fair, but most of the time the lawyers (especially defense lawyers) strike/remove potential jurors that either have a decent education or appear to keep up with real news, etc. I've been called for jury duty several times, but always stricken. They would rather take lazy folks that watch TV all day!
And don't complain to me if you are a lawyer! Sue me! (not really!)

I didn't mean to sound like I though you were picking on me.:)
Wow that seems a bit unfair that the layers how will obviiously be biast can affect the jury. It seems to me the state should choose.

@sssnake: That noise foot print would be good but I could see someone finding a loop hole in that.

.......

Like an airport; a race track needs a "noise footprint" established for zoning. If you develop, or buy in this "footprint"; you will have to deal with it!
I agree - but look at what happens around airports.
People move in closer and closer to an existing airport and then start to complain about the noise. They start changing flight rules and then start looking to build another airport where the problem will, of course, repeat.
I know - I lived in 4 different locations very close to the "old" airport in Austin, TX. One place was no more than a few hundred feet off the end of a main runway. Of course we knew this and got cheaper rent than elsewhere because of it.
Still, the neighborhoods started complaining. Pretty soon the planes basically looked like dive bombers coming into the airport, just to reduce noise - it was very dangerous. Eventually they moved and the airport is now GA only. Of course, I'm sure the neighbors still complain!

Local news showed people whining after only a few test landings on ATL's 5th runway! Since it opened to service 5/29, I've seen 4 planes on climbout or final approach. I drive nearby 5 times daily.

Barber is only 10 or 15 miles east of Birmingham AL; but is built in mountain ridges on land formerly strip mined and then used for a landfill (dump!). I would want serious water testing before I would swim in the lake at the east end, LOL.

Hopefully this will keep developers at bay.

ssssnake; I was/am confused. Continental Divide has been long gone. It was plowed under before this 2002 image:

ssssnake; I was/am confused. Continental Divide has been long gone. It was plowed under before this 2002 image:

Continental Divide was the name that was used for two different tracks. The old one is long gone. It was located South of Denver, by Castle Rock. I don't know when it closed down, but it was a long time ago.

The newer one, also called Continental Divide Raceway, is/was located in Mead, Colorado, just North of Denver. It is owned by Larry Miller, who closed it down in November of 2005 after trying unsuccessfully to convice the Mead town council to allow him to rennovate and expand the facility.

Here's an info link:

http://www.trackpedia.com/wiki/Continental_Divide_Raceway,_aka_%22Mead% 22_(closed_in_2005))

Talladega may translate as an Indian word for "poison water"; but the track is built on a WWII vintage airport. Blame the USAAC for grave desecration.

If a residential development near THAT track were to complain/file suit about noise; NASCAR mobs would burn it to the ground. ROFLMAO!!

HAHAHA!!! You gotta love HARDCORE NASCAR fans!

You mean this one; right beside an Interstate:

You mean this one; right beside an Interstate:

Yep. Literally right next to the interstate, but they killed it because they were worried about vehicle noise :mad: One of the arguments the developers used was that the track noise would disturb migratory birds (seriously.)

So, now I have to drive all the way to Pueblo (3 hours) to get to a track. 2nd closest is Miller Motorsports Park in Utah (7 hours.) MMP is definitely worth the drive, but you can only buy track days there in 5 day blocks for $1700, and they only have a couple of open track days a week, so to get my money's worth, I'd have to make 3 trips.

What kind of dumbass worries about racing noise next to an interstate w/diesel trucks w/jake brakes?!? Answer: politician (whore) to developers/treehuggers.

PS. Tell me what I can do to to contribute to the EXTERMINATION of said birds sooner. They are due.