JamesHigdon

Most people don’t know I service (in a wholesale capacity) and build a mixture of the most specialized and/or neglected cars around for a living; I pay my bills by accomplishing things others would never take on or have given up on. Near is a relative term in that I’m working with this group on the basis that it’s the best chance I currently see in the pipeline. I don’t know that it’s quick and I know it isn’t certain but it’s a shot I think is worth taking. I’d prefer this doesn’t become a referendum on who does or doesn’t think whoever else is full of it as it makes my tasks more difficult (you’d be surprised who reads speedzone and will ask me about this exchange) but that isn’t up to me. In the interim remember I’m not asking for anyone to do anything but keep an open mind, offer enthusiasm and (roughly translated from Nick Holt) if you know of any wealthy racing enthusiasts with money they’d like to invest in a racetrack people know where to find me.

It is indeed a hard sell but how often are we given easy tasks in life? I’m going out to the next drift meet to work on the next steps and keep plugging away.

Last I talked to Danny (the head of the drift group) 2 weeks ago we are supposed to start working towards turning dirt on their end of the project before months end. The day that happens TRUST ME everyone will know; from there its up to me to bring the required sponsors to the table with serious commitments and last Danny talked to Essie that is a green light for us.

Nick; you know I have all due respect for you so I’m going to choose you specially to pick on. Your line of thinking applied across the powers that be is what’s causing this issue to linger like it has. Millenials aren’t aliens and they’re not some unknown species; they’re for the most part normal people just like you that work a 9-5 job and want to occasionally do something fun on the weekends. Thinking that millenials are the root of the problem obfuscates the real issue at hand. I’m 33; I grew up just like any other millennial with video games and the internet. I also grew up watching every NASCAR race (if we had something to do on Sundays we’d tape the race and watch it that evening) with my entire family as well as going to all manner of motorsports events with my family. I still go to all manner of motorsports events with my family; we go to the dirt-tracks, the dragstrip, the Autocross, drift events and CoTA but almost across the board none of us keep up with NASCAR much anymore. I watch the dirt truck race, Martinsville and Richmond (because they haven’t screwed those up with aero yet) but beyond that even Bristol is boring and while the product on the track has improved slightly it’s still spec cars, spec racers and spec tracks. Blue collar people want blue collar sports and that is what NASCAR was. Normal people in normal cars at tracks just like the one in your town. Until NASCAR is that again nothing else matters.

Rich kids in spec cars won’t work. NASCAR needs the equivalent of John Heil standing on the front stretch tossing a fire extinguisher or Joe Aramendia (I think it was him?) parking his modified on the front stretch and walking off. They need local guys in 30’ trailers to be able to tow in and qualify for a race. NASCAR needs motors people can relate to and cars they can buy from the dealership. NASCAR will either die or change, those are their only two choices. The only good news is that if NASCAR gets serious about racing “stock cars” again it’ll help the weekly tracks A TON and if they go away at least you won’t have to worry about Saturday cup races messing with local tracks schedules.

Awesome; if you can round up any of the other legacy guys and have them post up pics too or even a group shot works. Circle track racing is hard to explain to someone who hasn’t been around it; it doesn’t make a lot of sense that racers from all over the state would make regular trips to HMP or hopefully our track to race but I’m trying to show that’s the way it works, thank you.

Well; yesterday was the big show at Alamo City Motorplex and not a single circle track car showed up. I was setup to take out two but had a funeral and as hard as I tried I couldn’t keep my commitment to my family and make it to the track and back. The Asphalt Milling machines are out at the track NOW, they’re working on the pits and the strip to get it up to snuff for the NHRA requirement and to give the drifters a surface they can use. I’ve been saying for 6 months the cars are out there, now I need to show it. If anyone has an asphalt or double duty dirt car and would want to race at an asphalt track in SA post up a picture or send it to me; everything from Latemodels and Modifieds to Dwarfs and 4-cylinders, folks that would travel or are local. I’ve got sponsorship meetings, layout meetings and more this week; the track owner says he’s ready to go but I need to prove we are too. Show me if I’m right or wrong.

I’ve got a file on my computer listing tracks from Angola to Waterford Speedbowl with the positives and the negatives of each tracks layout. Longhorn has a layout very similar to a lot of the more successful 3/8s and 1/4 mile tracks so the resemblance is no coincidence.

I’m going to do everything in my power to set things up so that the walls are as far as possible from the groove to minimize downtime and cost for racers. It could end up looking like Anderson but my hopes are it ends up looking more like Irwindale in terms of width and space to “make a mistake”.

Cibolo has approved the project so that’s done and it took a while. I’d love to tell you we’ve got a date in mind but this requires a lot of time on the part of some busy people. I can tell you the owner wants it done ASAP and I’m pushing to make that a reality; I’d guess in the next 3-4 weeks we’ll be able to answer that question.

That’s a great question. What’s the over-under on 30 plus drag racers, drifters, asphalt circle track racers and dirt track racers showing up on a Saturday morning to spend 7 hours cleaning up a racetrack? Probably wouldn’t bet on it but it happened today and Alamo City Motorplex is as clean as it’s ever been. The family that owns the track is lead by a first generation American that built his name in the elevator business and bought a track hundreds of miles from his home because it was his dream to do so. The manager of the track is a 25 year old girl from Kansas that has worked her way up into that position from managing another successful track. The whole situation is built out of improbabilites but until the gates are chained shut people will still be trying to make it happen because right now it’s our only drag-strip, our only good drift facility and as far as I know our only current chance at an asphalt circle track.

Plans to be sponsored by a brake pad company with LOTS of contingency money

That doesn't have to be the final layout; we changed the sizing and dimensions more than a dozen times before things went to the city for the final time. The proportions of that draft of the track are roughly equal to Martinsville and where from an earlier draft; I'm working towards shorter straights, broad-turns and variable banking working up to 17-18*.

You should have been around when they said “dirt track” and I about swallowed my tongue... I’ve had some interesting conversations over the past few days clarifying that for people. Local media is a great tool but their knowledge of our niche sport leaves something to be desired!

I did misunderstand you and I appreciate clearing that up; I can’t imagine anyone having anything bad to say about Tavo. I’ve put one one-hundredth of what he did on the line and it’s still a lot; I have a lot of respect for him. I’d certainly love to speak with him; I have no doubt he has ideas and angles I’ve never considered in relation to making this work.

Budman; Tavo is a stand up guy that did more for racing and racers in this part of the world than nearly anyone else, he’s not involved with this project but anyone would be lucky to have him involved. The dirt track thing was a miscommunication with KABB, a rally cross and/or motor cross track has been mentioned in passing but nothing beyond that as far as dirt. Essie and Parsa (the owner and his son) haven't asked for or received any public money and as of now that hasn’t been on anyone’s radar as far as I know, it hadn’t even crossed my mind until now. Essie is a first generation American that got an engineering degree here and built a successful business around the elevator industry. Alamo City Motorplex is the culmination of a longtime dream for him and now his son; they’re dedicated to the idea of building ACM into a multi-use world class racing facility. He’s carving out his version of the American dream. I heard about Essie’s plans to make ACM a world-class multiuse facility in July and since then have worked with him and his son to make that a reality; plans have changed a dozen times as various government entities have had their say but as of my conversations with the family last weekend a circle track is still #1 on the list of big additions to the facility. After initial conversations with Essie and Parsa I made the choice to make a public inquiry as to interest in a circle track at ACM and due to overwhelming response we moved forward with the project. Essie actually ended up at HoT speedway on a Friday afternoon trip from Dallas to ACM and that further galvanized his resolve to build this track. Plans have changed again recently as Cibolo gave more free reign to what could be done on the property as long as commerical improvements where made. I’m currently working on layouts for a more exciting facility based upon new understandings with Cibolo and as those plans are firmed up they will be made public. Essie is an “all in” kind of guy, he wants the track on the ground ASAP and we’re working with him to make that possible. He has already spend a great few of time and money at ACM and as THE OWNER of the track (look it up if you wish) he is committed to its longterm success. He wants to make it a true 365 day a year facility with multiple racing disciplines, commercial interests and vacation facilities on site. Nick Holt has said for years racing in this area needed a guy with a large amount of money and a love for racing to be involved to make it work here; well he’s here. Nick has also fought tooth and nail to ensure we have a civil and positive forum for our discussions and that has come in handy here too. I was out at the facility this morning checking for fiber optic internet splices in the area and was excited to see even more money had been spent on the track. I again encourage anyone interested in seeing what’s going on to go out to ACM, see with your own eyes what’s going on and spend a few minutes enjoying a conversation with Essie or Parsa. I’d like to state once again I’m not on anyone’s payroll; I’m helping out of my own pocket on my own time to make this a reality because I think it’s worth my time and money. I’m happy to take any question, abuse or suggestions you can throw my way; we haven’t taken anyone up on it yet but many have offered their time and effort to help and we appreciate that as well.

The drift track group is on board with this project now; in order to maximize space and minimize cost we are working together.

Couldn't agree more with what Nick said above; as much as I love late-models and open-class modifieds no track is going to survive on them; you can't pay a big enough purse to make racing in those classes viable for anyone but the wealthy and there just aren't enough wealthy racers to keep a track open. Tommy Grimes, John Kelley, John Heil and many other big names from SAS' latemodel ranks are running I37 right now; hardcore racers are going to race no matter what the track is. What tracks have to figure out is how to make the stands affordable for middle-class familes and make the "stock car" classes pay enough to help support those racers. For anyone that would like to see a bigger track, more banking or even bigger latemodel counts we're looking for sponsorship!

After the rest of the family is asleep I spend more evenings then I should watching racing from all over the country and since this project has come together I’ve spent most of that time looking to see what makes a 1/4 mile track competitive and fun to watch. Bowman Grey vs say Anderson Speedway is a good comparison; Anderson is known for good, competitive racing and Bowman Grey is the WWF of the racing world. Moderate banking that is cost affordable but progressive so it allows for 2 and 3 wide racing, broad-long corners so cars to the outside can gain ground in the middle and coming out of the corner, shorter straights so you don’t end up with the “drag race” layout of tracks like Martinsville; all of this has been considered. The layout has been setup to accommodate drifting, SCCA style autocross, karts and in some iterations a road course incorporating the asphalt pad behind the current stands; we’ve managed to get the drifting group originally lobbying for their own track at ACM to throw their support and weight behind this project; everyone is being considered. I’ve spent countless hours on google-earth measuring and drawing out other tracks to get an idea of what they did or didn’t do that worked or didn’t. If a track had a corner entrance that allowed for two cars to enter side by side it was put into the “yes” spread sheet and if it didn’t then the opposite. CCS, THR/CTS, Pan American, Twin Cities, Altus, Rockford, Slinger, Anderson, Shady Lawn, The Wall and numerous others have all been looked at and incorporated into this layout. I originally lobbied for and worked toward a 3/8 mile track but when Essie said “this is the space we have” we made the best of it. Nick Holt has said for many years any asphalt circle track that will be successful must be more than just an asphalt circle track and that has been taken to heart. My intentions are to flat wear this asphalt out as quick as possible and keep people coming out for more!

I'll have a little more time to post up more info later but the facility was laid out how it was due to zoning issues with the city; no more impervious coverage could be added to the property than is already there so the track is laid out over existing asphalt. I will post up some of the detailed drawings when I get a chance but the layout allows for long-wide corners with moderate banking and smooth transitions to hopefully make for a fast track with a lot of room for passing.

I was originally thinking this is about a racing incident but it isn’t; what happened between the two drivers related to a third party and had nothing to do with on track events. A guy that’s 17 years 11 months old got in a fight and the guy who fought him is getting charged with child abuse and they both happen to be racers that where at a track.

My guess would be is it’s something benign like it getting used as a staging area for hurricane relief or the like.

I had talked to the owner in July and at the time nothing was going on. The buyer I was working with lost his home in a recent disaster so I know it's not him but the owners are open to buyers/lessors and have said (to me at-least) they wanted to keep it a racetrack so we will see. Let me add that there was mention in July of another potential buyer that was considering an offer to keep the track a racing facility; at the time I didn't give it much thought but that was the only mention of other interest in the property I got.

Yea; there's nothing almost gone, I was by the track a few weeks back and it's obvious improvements are being made. This may be the best thing that could ever have happened to CCS, I look forward to going to the revamped track!

I have read else-where that the track owners are using the bay bridge development money to improve and rebuild the track with intentions of reopening a revamped CCS. It is my understanding that intentions are 100% to bring CCS back.