I read in Thursday’s Times-Union about the new complaint filed to prevent motorized racing at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds.
I say “new” but I really mean “latest” because the complaining about races at that track goes back almost 30 years.
Since this is all part of a legal proceeding, I must establish a few facts about me so you know where I am coming from on this.
I was in college when the fighting over the track started in 1989. I am getting AARP stuff in the mail daily now.
I am not what you would describe as a racing fan, but I have friends who are and I understand their feelings.
I don’t live near the fairgrounds or know any of the plaintiffs in this case.
I don’t know that I have any friends on the fair board.
I don’t have any personal interests in the politics of motorized racing at the fairgrounds.
I do want all three parties (the fairgrounds, the lake home owners and local racing fans) to be happy in the end.
My thoughts today are not so much about who is right and who is wrong, but more about what a shame it is that everyone involved can’t work something out for the common good.
That said, let me start by saying it’s a real shame that we are still having an issue with this after all these years.
I have no doubt that it IS loud when those cars start throwing dirt. I understand how someone who spent a lot of money to live in the peace and quiet of lake life would want to defend that serenity with vigor.
I also know that racing means a lot to people around here. Even growing up in an adjacent county I knew that. I will admit that maybe I didn’t fully realize the extent of that passion until we lost Tony Elliott. Beside the pain so many people felt at his death, his untimely passing seemed to give short track racing fans an opening to speak that they either had not had or had been suppressed by years of only the memories of racing at the fairgrounds.
This whole thing comes back to the location. The noise is the problem, right? That’s what it was about in 1989, and seems to be what the major concern is now, too.
Again, I have not been on the inside of this thing, but I wonder if anyone associated with the fairgrounds or racing organizers over the years ever considered trying to construct earthen or noise-reducing barriers around the east and west ends of the track. It wouldn’t make the track sound-proof or completely eliminate the noise for the neighbors. But maybe it would help direct the sound away from the lake and toward the grandstand, and you have never heard a racing fan complain that the noise was too loud, right?
Maybe it could be set up to have a “Racing Week in Warsaw.” You have races three consecutive nights during one week of the summer, and the last race has to end by 10 p.m.
I wish I had the money to buy a farm adjacent to U.S. 30 and build a race track on it. I think there is money to be made in it, even with tracks in nearby Plymouth (dirt) and New Paris (asphalt). It would be extremely fan-friendly, and I would be a hero to the racing fans of northern Indiana. I’d build a track that would make people want to come race, with great sightlines for watching, and occasionally attract a big-name racer or two.
As for what to do with the fairgrounds track area, the truck pulls and demolition derbies can continue according to the agreement in place, and those are fine. But I also have some other ideas that maybe would appease the lake residents in that area.
What about BMX races? Bikes have chains, and those don’t make much noise. Huffing and puffing young people … well … I’m not sure if that’d be too much to ask. We’d take a sound meter out there to be sure.
How about golf cart races? Of course, they’d have to use the ones that run on batteries to keep the lawyers away from pit road, but at least it would be racing.
Or maybe you expand the track area east and west and have a horse racing track? Who can get upset about a pretty horsey, right? The track would be small, so you would have multiple-lap races.
Or, if all else fails, what about turning part of the track area at the bottom of the hill into a putt-putt golf course? The sound of a putter on a golf ball and the ball hitting the bottom of the cup can’t possibly offend anyone – even if a combination of 18 of them happen at the same time. If there is still a noise concern about putt-putt, maybe you could put sponges at the bottom of the cups to cut the noise by half. Alas, I forgot – what about when someone puts it through the clown’s mouth for a hole in one? They will surely let out a “WHOO!” We could enforce a no “WHOO” rule – problem solved.
Some of those ideas are in jest, of course, but you get my point.
Until someone does something to create a long-term solution, race fans will be resigned to peek through the fence at the fairgrounds and wonder what could be. In this racing battle, the fans are the losers.
Anybody have some farm land near U.S. 30 they’d consider parting with?
