Local News RSS Feed
Print Story
E-mail StoryProject excites area racers
| Wednesday, Feb 7 2007 10:05 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Feb 7 2007 10:09 PM
Brian Richardson stood on a patch of barren ground, looked out past giant earth-moving equipment to where former farmland was being transformed into a new racetrack and smiled.
Our readers recommend:
Loading Stories
Related Stories:
He wasn't alone.
More than 300 people were on hand Wednesday morning for official groundbreaking ceremonies at a new, yet-to-be-named half-mile paved racetrack being built just off Enos Lane and adjacent to Interstate 5 -- about 20 miles from downtown Bakersfield. The track is scheduled to open in the spring of 2008.
"There's been such a void in my life since Mesa Marin closed," said Richardson, a former Late Model track champion at the east Bakersfield half-mile oval. "I'm going to build a new car, come back out, run Late Models and have fun. It's chance for (my) kids to watch me race."
The 85-acre complex, which will include large grassy areas, paved parking and race car shops, is a joint effort between the Collins family -- which owned and operated the old Mesa Marin track -- and the Destefani family, which has been involved in farming for decades.
Mesa Marin, which opened in April 1977, hosted its last race in October 2005. The new venture was announced on Dec. 1, 2005, and it took 12 months to obtain the necessary permits.
That, in itself, was a feat, said Tommy Hunt, U.S. Auto Racing Club vice president of Western operations, who made the trek from Sacramento.
"I'm very excited," said Hunt, who raced a Sprint Car at Mesa Marin on opening day in 1977. "Anybody who can build a facility of this magnitude in California, you have to congratulate them."
Larry Collins, president of the new facility, said it has been designed to be both racer- and fan-friendly.
The track will be D-shaped with an arc on the front straight. Banking in the corners will be complex -- 12 degrees down low and 14 degrees up higher -- which Collins hopes will produce two-wide racing.
There will be a 24-foot-wide two-lane tunnel with pedestrian walkway for access into and out of the recessed infield; a children's playground, grandstand seating for 5,000, more than 20 corporate suites and raised dining areas where fans can view racing from the top of the grandstand area.
"In this day and age you have to build a facility for people to come and enjoy the facility," Collins said of the design and amenities. "We have nice areas to eat and drink, the corporate suites, room for hospitality and plenty of things for the kids to do.
"With the tunnel we have the ability for spectators to come into the infield and observe the race and be close to the competitors. We have a lot of things so people are having a good time before they even wave the green flag."
Eric Richardson, who emerged as the final Late Model track champion in Mesa Marin history, was among a large group of racers on hand for opening ceremonies.
"I think it will be really cool," he said. "It's definitely good for Bakersfield. In the racing world I think it will pull in every bit of what Mesa Marin did and more."
Richardson, 21, graduates from Bakersfield College this spring and will be enrolled in a four-year school in pursuit of a degree in agribusiness when the new track opens. Still, he vowed to race there.
"Most of the racing is in the summer anyway," he said.
Bakersfield's Mike Duncan won the final race at Mesa Marin, a NASCAR Grand National West Series event, and also is looking forward to a new track. "I have a lot of memories at Mesa Marin," he said. "I cut my racing teeth there. I'm looking forward to calling this new facility home."
For Dan Holtz of Pacific Palisades, the new facility is an opportunity for both racing and business. He ran a car driving school at Mesa Marin and competed in various divisions.
He said his school, now located at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, would return to Bakersfield next spring.
"I had the best time in my whole life at Mesa Marin and I'm looking forward to doing it again at this new track," he said.
For some, the new track is a new beginning.
Bakersfield's Kevin Callahan, 18, competed in the final two Late Model races at Mesa Marin.
"I was just getting started and felt like (the opportunity to race) was being taken away from me," hew said. "Now they're giving it back to me."