The concept of a multipurpose auto racing complex in Lompoc isn’t a new one, but for the next few months, supporters of the Lompoc Valley Motorsports Park will be driving their best laid plans into the final lap.
The park has become the pet project of Carl Creel, a lifelong racing fan who envisions it as a multiuse facility, with a dirt track for off-road vehicles, quads, and dirt bikes, as well as a one-eighth mile drag strip and a space for go-karts. The park could provide a new home for the Santa Maria Karting Association, he said, which was recently booted from its track at the Santa Maria Public Airport.
“We wanted to try to benefit as many people as possible,” Creel said. “Both sides are complementing each other; that way you’re getting people from all the different portions of the motorsport community.”
To assist with the efforts, Creel created a committee of eight locals with an interest in motorsports, including Ray Leslie, owner of Heavy Duty Cycles, and former Lompoc city councilman Will Schuyler. The group is meeting regularly and devoting much of its spare time to finalizing plans for the project.
“I started on my own, and I was kind of pushing things along trying to stimulate and motivate people, and as it progressed, it’s more like now I’m chasing it like a snowball rolling downhill,” Creel said. “It’s very encouraging.”
The committee is in the process of raising money for the complex, holding its first fundraising barbecue on Oct. 7 and drawing more attendees than organizers could handle. So far, they’ve received about $5,000, which will go toward fees for permits and environmental studies, Creel said. Local businesses have also lined up to offer cheap construction and materials, and the committee has gathered nearly 10,000 signatures for its petition for final approval of the project.
“I’m confident we’re going to have plenty of demand for the facility,” Creel said. “It’s just a matter of pushing through the details to make it happen.”
The committee received conceptual approval from the Lompoc City Council in February to work with city staff on the park, and has obtained preliminary sanctioning from the International Hot Rod Association. The group is working with a contractor on a business plan, which it will bring to the City Council likely within the next 30 days, Creel said.
“When the city reviews it and we get approval, we can move forward and actually start raising money to make it happen,” Creel said. “We’re right on the verge of breaking loose to start making the project a reality.”
The complex appears to have the support of the City Council and the full backing of Mayor John Linn, who proposed and drew support for a similar complex prior to his election. He said the tracks would provide a safer alternative to street racing for the city’s youth.
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“I owned a local towing company for 25 years, and I’d do a lot of accidents [that had resulted in] dead kids,” Linn said. “That was my motivation for many years for supporting it. Beyond that, the other motivation is we’d have an event location, so it’s an economic development event.
“It’s another good thing for Lompoc,” he added.
Linn said the council is in the review portion of the approval process, working to identify any potential flaws in the plans for the complex.
“I think we’re all waiting for the same thing,” he said. “We want to make sure that it can be economically viable and deliver what it’s designed to deliver.”
Creel said that, if approved, the park’s events would begin with motorcycles and quad racing, eventually holding drag racing twice weekly as it expands. Even in its infancy, the complex is drawing interest from people all over Southern California, he noted, as well as local racers who currently have to make the trip to Bakersfield or Los Angeles to race their dragsters.
“This will be a real boon for the locals,” Creel said. “You won’t have to drive so far just to be able to practice your sport.”
In addition to racing, the committee plans to market the facility to car shows, swap meets, and concert promoters. The park would be built on about 40 acres of city-owned property, currently sitting dormant on the north side of the Lompoc Airport. Depending on the donated materials and price breaks they get from contractors, Creel estimated the entire cost of the project between $2 million and $2.5 million and said he wants it all paid off without any money from the city.
“We want to build it all with community donations and have it self-supporting so that it’s not a burden to the city, but an asset,” he said. ”It will draw people in to use it, which will generate customers in restaurants, vehicles in service stations, and people in motels so it can be an economic boost to the community.”
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas likes restaurants, service stations, and motels. Contact him at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 3-9, 2011.