[Jeff Lee]

I was in the area of Luke Air Force Base today and there's a SCCA track that I've heard about but have never seen so I decided to drive by it. It's Arizona Motorsports Park @ 152nd Avenue & Camelback in Litchfield Park. Damn impressive track! They are at the tail-end of LAFB (for those that don't know, worlds largest Air Force fighter training base) runway. Plans take off and fly directly over this SCCA track. It was shut down in litigation for two years due to noise complaints! There is a large subdivision (Palm Valley) across the street; also under the flight path of F-16's! From what I understand, the track has a strictly enforced WOT DB level of 94 that is enforced. I was told a Ferrari or Lamborghini with stock exhaust would not pass. Gates open at 8 and no racing allowed until 9:00 A.M and racing stops at 4:00 P.M. to appease the neighbors.
I'm going to have to give the track a whirl with my SVT Focus someday soon. I've never done this & sounds like a fun way to kill 4 tires and 8 brake pads!

Back to the architects looking at a track, there's definitely a lot of cars in the Valley and surrounding states. If you drive to California there's a little spit of a town called Dateland on I-8. I'm told there is a Marine reserve field in the area which is only used for emergency landings (Marines use Yuma, AZ for fighter training). Every time I drive by there I think it would be a great spot for a drag strip to serve both southern California and Arizona. Just a thought...