Nick Firestone calls the Santa Maria Karting Association’s racetrack at the Santa Maria Public Airport “the Fenway Park of karting.”
He should know a good track when he sees one. Firestone has raced on some of the most famous go-karting tracks in the world—Long Beach, Silverstone, Barcelona, Monaco—and has 10 major wins, including the one and only SuperKarts USA Winternationals G-1 Championship in 2008.
But it was the Central Coast’s own track that first brought the Pheonix, Ariz., resident to Santa Maria in 1987. And according to Firestone, he’s since returned every chance that’s come up.
In August, the track was host to the 2010 ProKart Challenge, perhaps the largest karting tournament in the United States. As it has for years, the event brought karting enthusiasts of all ages from around the country.
“This is one of the oldest [karting] tracks in the country, and as far as racing it, it has a really great rhythm to it,” Firestone said. “And of course, the temperature in Santa Maria, compared with some other areas with tracks, you just can’t beat it.”
Unfortunately for Firestone and the locals who regularly come to the track to get their fix of low-to-the-ground yet high-intensity injections of adrenaline, the event was bittersweet.
Shortly after the Challenge, after years of impending doom, the track was finally shut down in September.
“It’s really a hard thing to deal with,” said Bruce Simioni, president of the Santa Maria Karting Association, which runs the racetrack and provides classes and day races for members. “It’s been there for so long and there are a lot of people here—and even from out of state—who love to come use it. And we’re talking all ages.”
Disappointing though the closure was, it came as no surprise to the association. The track sits next to the airfield at the Santa Maria Public Airport, as it has since 1958, two years after the first recognized go-kart was built. In April 2007, a Federal Aviation Administration field inspection team noticed it.
Because the track was never outlined on the airport district’s Airport Layout Plan, the track had flown under the FAA’s radar, so to speak, though it was no secret to the airport administration. According to Santa Maria Airport District General Manager Chris Hastert, the district was told the track represented a non-aeronautical activity shortly after the inspectors’ visit. It wasn’t a compatible land use for an operational airport.
Hastert said the association’s lease expired in 2008, but the track was allowed to remain temporarily while the association tried to secure a new location. The district worked with the association to mitigate problems with the FAA, and proposed building fence around the track and the possibility of creating a new commercial zone on district property that would allow for non-aeronautical uses to earn additional revenue for the airport.
However, according to a July 2008 letter from the FAA to the district, fencing alone wouldn’t be enough. Furthermore, the creation of the commercial zone never came to fruition.
After three years, and after a number of possible locations for a new track repeatedly fell through, the FAA pulled the plug.
“Once it looked like all options had disappeared, I think they thought there was no more momentum to move forward, and in September, they told us it had to close,” Hastert said.
Now the track is in limbo. Hastert said as far as the district is concerned, there are only minor issues to work out, such as fencing and rent.
“But nothing that would keep them from being here,” he said.
However, the district is beholden to the FAA and its federal funding, and must comply with regulations.
“Their hands are tied,” Simioni said of the district. “Our battle now is with the FAA.”
Simioni told the Sun the association is still trying to negotiate with the FAA, hoping there’s something they can do to keep the track operational year round, but getting anywhere with the federal agency has been “like pulling teeth.”
Economically speaking, Simioni said, it makes sense to keep the track where it is when airports around the country are looking for new ways to create revenue. In fact, the FAA sponsored a 2010 study that sought to outline the issues surrounding the development of non-aeronautical business on airport property and some of the techniques airports are using to enhance revenue streams, including alternative land uses and revenue-producing business activities.
According to the study, many airports now have recreational areas—including go-kart and motor sport tracks—on the premises. The study uses Centennial Airport in Colorado, which also has a go-kart track, as an example.
“These developments are excellent ways to diversify revenue, offer low-impact activity at airports, and bring non-airport users to the airport property,” the study found.
The recreational facilities also tend not to exhibit the same economic cycles as aviation, according to the study.
FAA Spokesman Ian Gregor told the Sun the FAA objected to the track because of its proximity to the runway and because they group wasn’t paying fair market commercial rent, as required by FAA regulations.
“The FAA objects to any renewal of the Association’s lease in its former location,” Gregor said. “However, the FAA would not object to relocating the track to another location on airport property that is farther away from the runway, provided the association paid fair market rent for the property.”
The association is still pursuing other options, too. Association Secretary Kirk Skaufel said talks are in progress with base commanders at Vandenberg Air Force Base about the possibility of opening a new track at a now-empty housing unit location, which is filled with empty residential streets.
“We could definitely make those streets work,” Simioni said.
The association is currently redrafting its proposal to base officials and the plan is only in initial stages, “but the idea is to get our foot in the door,” he said.
In the meantime, the track still sits near the Santa Maria airfield, and is available to rent for special events. According to SuperKarts USA’s website, the track is still scheduled to host this year’s ProKart Challenge.
But the association remains without a permanent home while it continues to pursue the few options available. Simioni said anybody interested in helping the cause could write to the Western-Pacific Region Airports Division of the FAA.
“I just feel it’s been a part of the Santa Maria Valley for the last 50 years, that it gives something for the local kids to do,” Simioni said. “When we have events, it brings people from out of town to the hotels, and it’s been proven that these types of things make money for the entire community. We’re hoping somebody will know someone high up who can help us out.”
“It would leave a huge hole to fill if that place were to be shut down for good,” Firestone said. “I hope it doesn’t.”
Staff Writer Matt Fountain always keeps one eye out for an approaching blue shell. Contact him at mfountain@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 9-16, 2010.