Will Ventura Raceway Join Extinction List?

One of the biggest obstacles facing motorsports in Southern California is property values.

Almost any property large enough to accommodate racing can be made more profitable by being converted into residential, commercial or industrial complexes. Lions Dragstrip, Riverside International Raceway, Ascot Park, Saugus Speedway, Ontario Motor Speedway and five tracks in Irwindale are all defunct.

There is a possibility Ventura Raceway could be added to the list.

SFX Entertainment, considered the world’s largest concert promoter, is looking at the quarter-mile clay oval in a corner of the Ventura Fairgrounds at Seaside Park as a potential home of a 5,000-seat amphitheater.

No formal proposal has been presented by SFX, which got the idea from Mayor Sandy Smith after a proposal to build a 16,000-seat amphitheater in Camarillo fell through under the threat of environmental-related lawsuits.

Roger Gibbs, Seaside Park executive director, said SFX representatives visited the site. Gibbs is waiting to hear back from SFX officials.

Ventura Raceway promoter Jim Naylor, who considers himself “just the custodian” of the racetrack, said the concert promoter at Santa Barbara County Bowl and a local homeowner’s association are threatening legal action to stop the proposal.

“The real shame is that we have over $1 million in sprint cars alone that race here,” Naylor said. “That’s a very sizable investment, and these people would have no place to go if this plan goes through.

“SFX is not the bad guy here, it’s just doing a job like a big business should.”

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Word of the amphitheater proposal has some people mobilizing forces.

Mark Anton, who writes a column about sprint car racing in Southern California for www.hoseheads.com, has posted the address of the Ventura County Fair Board on his Web site.

Cory Kruseman of Ventura, a standout in the Sprint Car Racing Assn. who began his career at Ventura Raceway and operates a sprint car racing school at the track, urged fans to write letters to the fair board.

“If everybody writes a letter, we’re in good shape,” Kruseman said. “It doesn’t matter what they say, just write the letter that says ‘Save the racetrack.’ It’s a good racetrack and we don’t want to get rid of it.”

Letters should be sent to Ed Barlow at 10 West Harbor Blvd., Ventura, CA 93001.

Steve Larsen of Perris Auto Speedway said his operation could be hurt if Ventura Raceway closes.

“I couldn’t afford to run sprint cars every week,” Larsen said. “People from there couldn’t afford to come here every week.”

Naylor questioned whether an amphitheater could be profitable in Ventura County, and his sentiments were echoed by Joe Benson of La Crescenta, a radio disc jockey who is a driver and the public-address announcer of California Speedway.

“It will be interesting to see how they propose to fill [an amphitheater] with 60 shows a year,” Benson said. “They had so much trouble filling the [now-defunct] Ventura Theater, which was an excellent venue but couldn’t draw enough people to remain solvent.”

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Despite having a frustrating year in the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division, Palmdale native Ron Hornaday Jr. has maintained that his car and crew were capable of winning.

The two-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion finally broke through Sunday, capturing his first victory after leading 104 laps of the Econo Lodge 250 at Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania.

“The crew worked their guts out,” Hornaday said. “We found a little bit a few weeks ago, and found a little more at Watkins Glen, even though we blew the motor, and we came back to Nazareth and showed everybody what we have.

“It’s no secret, it’s this new shock package and the new Goodyear tires.”

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Bryan Herta of Valencia had a disappointing third and final outing substituting for injured Tony Kanaan in the Reynard-Mercedes owned by Mo Nunn.

Herta’s car caught fire in the pits on the 36th lap of the 112-lap Molson Indy CART series race at Exhibition Place in Toronto on Sunday as the crew was attempting to push-start the car after the clutch failed during the first pit stop.

“That was one of those freak things,” Herta said. “First, we developed an exhaust problem that burned up the clutch during the pit stop. And then the hot air caught some bodywork on fire, and then we lost our gearbox.

“The race was playing out all right for us, and then all of a sudden it was over before we knew it. What a shame. Now I’m off to play some golf next week and then go on vacation with my family. These last three races were fun.”