Yesterday was pretty depressing. I know that people who know more than me are saying that the fight is not over yet but we certainly took a big hit last night. Comments I read yesterday on social media from those who "know how these thing really work" did not do much to raise my spirits. Even the guys who know about the back up plans/permits that BITD always had if they ever lost a race permit at the last minute seemed to be short of ideas.
Obviously developers/big tax revenue/big business are going to bring in more money than what we bring into Jean. I get it.
When Roger bought HDRA and tried to move us onto his private land he explained to me that he thought racing on private land was the future of the sport. That all the government hoops were exhausting/political/expensive. Private land is where we will end up.
When I began to see groups like MORE and SNORE sort of "share permits" to have events I was excited to see the organizations work together to make things happen. I've always been bothered at the perceived notion that racing orgs dont really cooperate with each other. There has to be some cooperation but all of thaem have never formed a united front that I have ever noticed.
Now, as a guy who goes to almost every race and drives thousands of miles a year on highways going past what looks like millions of miles or dirt that would be fun to race on, I am lost.
If/when Jean goes away, where do we go? Do the small series promoters like we have in Texas and Arizona become the alternatives? Private land? Rockypoint MX?
But in the end even Roger, determined that land development is a far more lucrative endeavor.
For a substantial size race, it will be outside Clark County if the Jean area goes away. When you look at the size loops, we are already pushing the course beyond its capability with 200+ racers on it at a time. 2 wide starts, on 30 second intervals takes over hour and a half for a start now. That as you know puts slower classes in front of leaders as they come around on their next lap. Bring back land rush by class starts and we can go smaller - may only have 6 finishers at the end of turn 1 though also...
The Dust Control (which still confuses me) that submitted this recommendation for this land, even admitted it wont be available in this size. Utah has some great land and more importantly an internal push for more use in their lands. Andrew Blood is convinced he has a good size course in Colorado available. Texas may be a great opportunity as well.
Obviously Off Road will not go away. Off Road Racing will not go away in Nevada or the US. we will just have to reinvent and get creative again on how to manage it.
I mentioned it on my Facebook, and Ill reiterate it here: Off Roaders need to stop becoming reactionary members of the political environment. We have millionaires to guys filling pot holes and should be utilizing every connection we have at the County, State, and Federal level. we should be wine and dining all the time. We have Casino Executives, Athletes, Movie Stars and even other elected officials that race with us. We should be strengthening whatever we can. The support of the off road groups is good but on something like this, we should have had a high dollar lobby firm helping us.
I know from an emotional stand point we all wanted to talk like Lucas but that does not help this situation in anyway whatsoever. I know it was already a done deal before we got there as this wasn't a decision making process. That was already completed. But we could have damaged even more in the future especially to someone that will likely win the Governor race since Clark and Washoe Counties are still active Democratic areas that control what the remainder of the State is stuck with.
well lest see. across hoover damn, in AZ is the white hills area. Lots of room for racing there and I bet the racing world would be welcomed.
Parhump is still there, and areas beyond up towards Beatty. Apex north of Vegas is still there. Caliente is still there. there is plenty of places to race that I bet we would be welcome, Searchlight for another example. While not as convenient as Jean, being close to Vegas.....is a bummer...but its not like the racing community is being evicted from Nevada.
sadly its just Murphys golden rule......that is HE WHO HAS THE GOLD MAKES THE RULES and racing is small change compared to the developer's and other land use interests.
Pahrump is a challenge on land these days due to a frog no one has seen, a pupfish that lives in a spring, a tortise, and a few political issues. We can get some permits there but even for a moderate sized race, the ability to support is stretched thin. The BITD event there has roughly 150-200 entries and all rooms are sold out and food places cant handle the volume. Bigger events would be a stretch. Is it a back up, yes and a reason everyone maintains positive relationships with them.
Apex is not there - part of this was additional land to the Natives who already control the majority of the land. Yes you may be able to reach a deal with the tribal representatives, but like all tribal land that is at will and challenging to count on year after year.
Caliente and all of Lincoln County is a great place to race but current regulations limit the permit process to just 2 permits per year for a 4-wheel competitive event. I know as Donald is a Lincoln County Native along with his entire family there, we would love to be there more often. Heck I would live there if I could! but the permit process on the Fed side needs to change.
Other areas you mentioned have some limits due to the protected and areas of critical concern that are already identified by BLM. For instance from El Dorado Dry Lake, to Searchlight, is a critical area with no permits offered. The Az side, I am not sure. I have not done much there over the years. But I am not sure there are many areas for 100+ mile courses.
Absolutely. Come out of Paris de Noche at 3am and get a Lil too friendly with the “girl” who thinks you’re cute.
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Screw that - I hear there are Dinosaurs there these days - I will not become a Jurrassic Statistic
