NASCAR narrows track list to three

Snohomish County survived the first cut in the statewide bid to snare NASCAR.

Officials from International Speedway Corp. informed the Thurston County Economic Development Council that its proposal to build a major-league stock car track in Yelm was no longer in the running.

“I was disappointed,” said Michael Cade, executive director of the Thurston County EDC. “We knew all along that that site in Yelm would be a long shot.”

That’s because International Speedway had clear criteria for prospective sites. The Florida-based company, known as ISC, wants a site of at least 500 acres, close to an interstate highway and close to a major television market in the Northwest.

The speedway company has entertained offers from communities near Seattle and Portland, Ore. Yelm, southeast of Olympia, was deemed too far from Seattle and too far from I-5, about 15 miles, Cade said.

The roads from I-5 to Yelm are only two lanes wide and would have needed costly widening, he said.

With Yelm out of the picture, the only two sites remaining in Washington are in Marysville and in Kitsap County near Bremerton.

Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon downplayed the news, despite being a proponent of bringing NASCAR to Marysville.

“This doesn’t change anything,” Reardon said. “I wouldn’t say there’s any sense of excitement.”

Most of his discussions with staff Monday revolved around questions that constituents want answered, he said.

The key issues, he said, are how to move and restore a salmon-bearing stream on the site and how much access the community will have to the facility. The county’s proposal includes using the grass parking as athletic fields when no races are going on.

“Will it be a community amenity or will it be an ISC amenity?” Reardon said.

Jerry Whittington, a member of Snohomish County Citizens Against a Racetrack, or SCAR, also downplayed Yelm’s elimination.

“It’s not a surprise,” Whittington said. “We think Snohomish County is probably going to be the one selected, then one in Oregon. ISC will play one off the other. ISC will see who gets the best deal.”

His group, mostly people who live near the Marysville site, opposes the track because of concerns about noise, traffic and cost to taxpayers.

“We’ll just have to redouble our efforts,” he said.

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

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