Editorials
July 16, 2008
Vrrrooom
Qunicy NASCAR track

GENTLEMEN, start your engines. If Charleston councilman David Higgins, the Upper Kanawha Valley Mayors Association and other leaders of nonprofit Thunder in the Mountains succeed in bringing a NASCAR racetrack to Quincy, it will boost the Kanawha Valley.

Higgins has invited hometown football hero Randy Moss to join the effort - and we hope the superstar accepts.

Moss purchased half-interest in a NASCAR Truck Series racing team, renaming it Randy Moss Motorsports. The truck's number was changed to 81 to match his jersey. The team's first race is Saturday in Kentucky.

Higgins - who has been pushing the proposed Quincy track for years - urged Moss to participate in the plan, which would create a large speedway on a Wal-Mart site near Riverside High School. Such a facility would draw multitudes of race fans to this region, bringing a flood of tourist dollars.

Stock-car racing is a U.S. giant. NASCAR claims to be America's top spectator sport, although some authorities say it's second to professional football. NASCAR sanctions 1,500 annual races in several categories at more than 100 tracks in 39 states, Canada and Mexico. Its races are televised in 150 nations. NASCAR had $3 billion profit last year.

Luring this big-time operation to a Kanawha Valley track would stimulate the local economy and add excitement to community life. We hope Moss uses his national stature to help Thunder in the Mountains succeed.

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Posted By: Evildad (8:47am 07-17-2008)
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You guys are kidding. "Massive amounts of CO2?" From one race a week, MAYBE? I'm not a Nascar fan, I'd rather see other types of racing use the track (I keep mentioning an infield go kart track for REAL kart racing), but I bet there's more parking around their proposed location than there is around Power Park.

Posted By: Dave Higgins (12:53am 07-16-2008)
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On behalf of Thunder in the Mountains, we certainly appreciate the wonderful editorial. One point of clarification. The developer(s) with whom I have spoken do not intent to construct a track in Quincy. To my knowledge, the Wal Mart is still going in there. I am not at liberty to say where it might go, but I would be east of Charleston, west of Montgomery and "up in the hills." Again, thanks for all of the support. Dave Higgins

Posted By: SoTired (8:14am 07-16-2008)
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Gee, the Gazette doesn't seem too worried about the massive amounts of primary and secondary CO2 that would be emitted from this track. Or maybe they think the cars will run on wind power. Isn't global warming was the greatest existential threat ever faced by us prodigal humans?

Posted By: BeenthereBeenback (4:43am 07-16-2008)
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Just another Kanawha Valley dream that will go “bust” because no one is considering the traffic congestion and parking problems when thousands of fans show up driving their cars, vans, pickups and campers.

After all these years, no one in the Valley but the Mall Developers knows that …… “You have to build a big parking lot before they will come more than once or twice.”

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