Until that time, though, rather than just complain about the unfairness of it all, about how someone who doesn’t want noise shouldn’t move a mile away from a dragstrip, about how the next thing you know she’ll be complaining about airplane noise or trains passing through, instead of all that, drag racers need to work on being good neighbors.
And not just at Huntsville Dragway. Anyone who thinks their favorite strip is immune from similar complaints is just kidding themselves. I suspect that with very few exceptions, every racing facility is in danger of being hit with similar noise limitations, if not the threat of closure due to nearby development. No matter how good current community relations are, all it takes is one or two determined objectors to make life a lot more miserable for any track operator—and if those objectors have deep pockets and/or political influence, look out! The end is probably a foregone conclusion.
So track operators and racers need to adopt the idea and mandate or install mufflers as soon as and whenever possible—even if it’s not (yet) required by local authorities. And even if it does mean a slight loss in E.T. or speed (a point sure to be debated by most muffler experts), surely it’s worth the tuning challenge if a preemptive installation helps keep a dragstrip going. After all, if there’s nowhere to race, the engines will be silenced, regardless.
Being a good neighbor extends beyond the racing surface, too. Among the complaints of residents around Huntsville Dragway (Pavlik just spearheaded the effort; she was not
alone), was that some RV owners who attended races there would park alongside local roads and dump raw sewage from their holding tanks. Now, there’s no way to justify fouling public ditches like that and I know most racers and fans would never even dream of doing so, but for those who would, at Huntsville there’s not even an excuse since Howard provides a free dumping station at the track. More tracks need similar facilities, if only to counter similar complaints from their own neighbors.
Littering also was cited as a problem during Huntsville events, and though I don’t know how residents possibly could prove race goers were the culprits, if anecdotal evidence suggests big events bring bigger trash piles to the roadsides, it must be addressed. Theobvious answer is for everyone to be responsible for him or herself and simply put their garbage where it belongs, but the track must be proactive in dealing with the problem, too. Perhaps racer volunteers could “adopt” roadways around the track and make sure they’re cleared of trash after each event. Or maybe day laborers will have to be retained by the track for trash detail. No question, it’s another expense, but the alternative may be stiff fines that would’ve paid for many days or weeks of clean-up.
The parking problem is a thorny one, only because any racing facility has a finite amount of space for spectator cars and nothing warms a track operator’s heart more than seeing every last foot of it covered. However, spillover spectators shouldn’t be parking on private property (as alleged in the Huntsville case), so additional room will have to be secured.
If that means purchasing land across the street or making a deal with the farmer next door (assuming there still is a farmer next door and not 300-plus duplexes), then so be it. And illegally parking on the street is one area where the local constabulary certainly will get involved, and nothing is going to ruin a day like having a couple of hundred fuming fans trudging back to the track to complain about their cars being towed. Parking needs simply must be met and monitored by the track if it hopes to continue having big shows. Again, ignoring the problem invites fines, provides a graphic example of going against the agreement, and puts the track’s future in legal jeopardy.
It’s too bad the business and enjoyment of so many can be altered so drastically by the actions and attitudes of so few, but that’s the reality that more and more dragstrips will be facing in the future as our population grows and development spreads. Being a good neighbor is no guarantee you’ll get along, but it sure improves the odds.
Race safe,
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