Stock car racetrack dreams hit skids

Published 9:00 pm Friday, September 19, 2003

DARRINGTON – After revving the engines of this town’s rumor mill, racing officials looking to build a new NASCAR track in the Pacific Northwest stood Darrington up.

Representatives from the International Speedway Corp. of Daytona Beach, Fla., were expected to make a stop in Darrington Thursday as part of a regional visit, but apparently threw their plan into reverse at the last minute.

The reason is unclear.

Michelle Vincent at Darrington City Hall said the town was notified by phone early Thursday morning that the visit was off.

Vincent said media attention seemed to scare off the speedway reps, but she referred questions to the Snohomish County Economic Development Council, which was coordinating the visit.

Officials at the Economic Development Council would not comment or even acknowledge that such a visit had been arranged.

When reached by phone in Daytona Beach, David Talley, spokesman for the International Speedway Corp., said the company is looking for a track site in Washington or Oregon.

But Talley would not identify any of the sites the company is considering.

“I can tell you it’s very, very early in the process,” he said. “We have thought all along that the Pacific Northwest was an underserved area for motor sports.”

Whether Darrington was ever seriously considered is hard to tell. Talley would only speak in general terms about the search process and would not talk about specific criteria.

The mere mention of Darrington stirred passions pretty quickly for people here – and throughout the county – some in support, some strongly against the idea.

Dan Rankin, a Darrington native who is running unopposed for Town Council in November, said he is totally against the idea on the noise issue alone. He added other reasons as well.

“In every group that I’ve ever been in from the city of Darrington, the comprehensive plan and the vision of our area has never been to take on something of such magnitude,” Rankin said. “It just doesn’t fit.”

The track could cost $150 million to build, employ 2,200 people, generate $87 million in annual revenues, and another $58 million in state and local taxes, according to International Speedway promotional information sent to Darrington town officials.

David Bass, who moved his family and computer business here about a year ago, agreed with Rankin. He said he favors economic development, but not something that big.

“I was quite shocked to hear that it was even a consideration,” Bass said. “It’s such a very beautiful and unique area. It would be easy to destroy that.”

But others in town would love to see a track.

“The antis are definitely anti, but I’m definitely for it,” said Richard Anderson, owner of Sauk River Trading Post. “All my customers seem to be for it.”

Racing fans throughout the region were thrilled by the prospect as the news filtered through racing Web sites and other media.

Diana Moss of Lynnwood, a big NASCAR fan, and her father, Arthur, an Indy racing fan, would love to have a track so close.

“I think they should be going after NASCAR,” Diana Moss said. “It brings in a lot of money.”

In Darrington, Anderson said the younger hunting and fishing clientele of his store tend to be racing fans, too. He said some of the town’s old-timers are adopting a wait-and-see attitude. They want to know more about the specifics of the proposal before they commit, he said.

“I sure would’ve liked to talk to them,” Anderson said of the racing officials.

International Speedway Corp. has close ties to NASCAR, the sanctioning body for the country’s most popular stock car races. International Speedway’s chairman is Bill France, who was also chairman of NASCAR until last week, when his son Brian France took over.

International Speedway runs 13 tracks throughout the country, but the closest one to Snohomish County is in Fontana, Calif.

When asked about Darrington’s high rainfall (70 to 100 inches annually) and isolated location with a two-lane highway for access, Talley, the company’s spokesman, said those factors were not necessarily deal-killers.

He said other International Speedway tracks have similar issues that have been dealt with, but he emphasized that talking about specific sites was very premature.

The issue highlights Darrington’s struggle to agree on what type of economic development to pursue. In the past, ideas to attract large industry here have met with mixtures of ambivalence and resistance.

Rankin, who helps run the family timber mill, said he prefers a vision of small entrepreneurs – not corporate-owned franchises, and certainly not a 75,000-spectator racetrack.

“I hate starting a fight with McDonalds and Burger King, but I really don’t want them,” Rankin said. “It’s a safe place for our families, and to grow so quick with something so large would change the whole face of why we choose to live here.”

Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com.