On the Racing West message board under NASCAR Divisions - All, a question was asked regarding the selling of PPIR. While I was not a part of management, one does hear things.
It was my understanding that one of the big reasons the track was bought by ISC (International Speedway Corp.) was to get the July BUSCH race and move it to Martinsville, where it will be held this year on July 22, the first time for a BUSCH race there in many years. Along with that, it was stated that PPIR would be torn down and much of its physical components, grandstands, elevators, timing equipment, etc., would go to other ISC tracks that might need it.
Buying races is not unusual. For a few years, the Craftsman trucks ran races at Colorado National Speedway, so in 1997, PPIR bought a part interest in the track, and moved the truck races to PPIR. They lasted there from 1998 thru 2002 when NASCAR raised the sanctioning fee to some exorbitant amount, plus a guaranteed purse of nearly half a million dollars. Our grandstands held 40,000 fans. Needless to say, . . . . .
We paid the trucks just under two million dollars in prize money during those five years, and/or an average of $393,000 per race. From 2001 thru 2005 we paid the BUSCH boys a little over a million in prize money for each race. To be specific, on July 28, 2001 we paid the BUSCH boys $1,159,621 in prize money. That's in 2001. Look at some of the prize money in 2005. Maybe they didn't think Colorado money was any good. Whatever . . . .
Back to ISC. A few years ago PPIR and ISC entered into a mutual admiration society in which ISC would help with their experience in marketing, advertising, promotion, etc. They did not buy into it. The Lehman Co. (?), who are into the stock market, real estate, and who knows what else, were the owners of the track. It is true that PPIR was not a big money maker. (NASCAR wouldn't give us a Cup race even though we could have enlarged the facility to 80,000+ in a short period of time.) However, it was not losing money, and, I'm told, they would stay with us. As happens in this world, things changed. ISC bought the track, took the BUSCH race to Martinsville, and as I've said, were going to tear it down.
PPIR still stands in all its glory. Little problem. It's up for sale by ISC, provided the buyer doesn't hold any nationally sanctioned (NASCAR, IRL, AMA, etc.) races and can do with only 4,000 seats. Supposedly, as they said before, a lot of stuff (36,000 grandstand seats ?) will be taken to other ISC tracks. Who in the world is going to buy a one-mile oval with a mile-and-a-third road course, that can't hold a big-time event and only has 4,000 seats?
Two theories:
Theory #1: ISC has big plans for a major track in the Denver
area and doesn't want any competition from a track that close by. Well, dream
away ISC. First of all, we've heard that story before. Big plans for a superspeedway,
drag strip, hotels, shopping center, and like that. That was several years ago.
What happened? A whole lot of people didn't want it in their back yard, the
FAA wasn't too happy about a 747 dropping to a grandstand, and if I remember
right, there was some talk about who was going to pay for it.
Now the ISC has taken a page from the NFL owners, and figure that the local
townspeople would be so thrilled with having NASCAR in their midst, that they
would ante-up with a new tax for that privilege. Well, . . . Denver already
has the Bronco's, the Rockies, the Avalanche, the Crush, and a couple of others
I can't think of at the moment. How far will a persons entertainment dollar
go? Now if ISC wants to pay the whole bill, that's another matter. But don't
count on it.
Theory #2: ISC has more money than they know what to do with, so they've gone into real estate in a fairly big way; like in shopping centers and malls. That brings me back to PPIR.
That beautiful facility sits on 1,000 acres. At the moment, it may not be prime real estate, but it won't be long before it is. It is said that it won't be too long before there is a strip city from Cheyenne, Wyo. to Trinidad, CO. It's known as the front range. Believe it. Take a ride from Colorado Springs to Pueblo (PPIR is about half-way between the two) and see what's being built. Residentially and commercially. Or take a ride from Colorado Springs to Denver. If you don't take that ride every month or so, you wouldn't know where you were. Does that mean the price of the land will go up? ISC is obviously not run by a bunch of dummies.
Population. As you are presumably aware, there's a lot more folks around than there used to be fifty years ago. The more people, the more houses, more roads, more shopping centers, etc. etc.. If you haven't been to Denver in the past ten years, you've got a shock coming. Same with Colorado Springs. Probably the same everywhere. What do you build race tracks on? Land. You cannot imagine how Denver and Colorado Springs. have grown. And it ain't slowing down. So where do you build a new race track? Out in the boon-docks? There ain't no more boon-docks. I can remember when . . . . never mind.
That's a main reason I don't think you'll see a new race track anywhere near Denver. If they do build one, it would almost have to be to the east and probably far enough east, that you just as well go to Kansas Speedway. It won't be much further. And they can't build to the West. Seems there's a bunch of mountains there. Sure, you can build houses on mountains, but a speedway?
Build a race track to the north of Denver. Right. Been there lately? Which brings me back to CNS. When I first went to CNS back in the early sixties, it was truly in the boon-docks. There wasn't anything around but a few houses, telephone poles, antelope, and a big junk yard to the north. Today? Those of you that have been going to the Southwest tour races there the past few years, may have noticed a brand new interchange at I-25. Wonder why?
Go a couple of miles to the west and notice the new housing development. See those new houses to the east? See that big fence company building, or whatever it is, on your way to the track? See that big-ass sign that says something about commercial properties? Sad to say, but I'll give CNS maybe two more years.
But that's alright. I've got my memories of CNS. One more to come. August 19th, when the SWS and the MWS go at it again. Hope it's not the last one.
They say that progress is progress. To me, it depends on your definition of progress.
There's also an old adage out there that says, "Money talks, and the bul... race tracks go away".
