Banning Drag-City
Now roll out the plans for Drag City in Banning,
yes Banning, not quite a household word, but
a new drag strip nonetheless. Perhaps no other
project has evoked such polarized comments
from racers, drag fans, promoters, drag racing
media, and Glendora staffers.
When it was announced, the strip was to be
the first IHRA sanctioned stronghold on the
West Coast right in the face of the NHRA.
Dubbed as the first "real" drag strip in SoCal
in the last 30 years, this brainchild of the
Marocco family and some "silent investors"
had a ceremonial groundbreaking in August
2002 with all the appropriate trappings, drag
racing dignitaries, shiny racecars, and now
NHRA blessings. But Banning, off of Interstate
10, is about 3/4 of the way to Palm Springs
from Los Angeles and has numerous heavy pollution
days every year, way over the state's average.
Not to mention that daily summer temperatures
in the 100+ degree range are the rule rather
than the exception, but promoter Andy Morocco
brushed off a question at the 2003 Winternationals
press conference proclaiming the average temperature
to be in the low 80s.
In April and May, the
adjoining airport must shut down often with
winds approaching 90 mph. The other end of
the Banning pass, where the drag strip will
reside, is one of the largest wind generated
electricity centers on the Left Coast, but
the land is much cheaper than locations in
Los Angeles County.
It's an enormous undertaking to get a new
dragstrip going from scratch and, while a
promoter's enthusiasm is essential, Drag City's
veracity has repeatedly come into question
since much of the PR generated for public
consumption has been just that, PR. Earthmovers
reportedly began in mid-June, but persistent
rumors of lack of funds to complete the project
have been fortified by numerous construction
delays over the last four years. T-shirts,
stickers, racetrack signage, special promotions
and exclusive spectator and racer memberships
have been offered through the Drag City website
and from their mobile hospitality trailer.
Even MOPAR has stepped-up as title sponsor
in what was characterized by promoter Andy
Marocco as a "multi-year, multi-million dollar
deal."
Local opposition has also arisen from residents
who were precluded from their comments or
input under the previous Banning city government
administration.
Estimated by the promoter as bringing $35
million to the surrounding area, the positive
components that a project like Drag City would
bring to a small community like Banning brought
this reaction from Redevelopment Manager Vicky
Burt who said, "We've been working on this
project for a long time and certainly would
not have worked on it this hard if it weren't
a positive project for our community."
However, it is difficult to understand how
a 10,000 seat dragstrip that is this far out
of the Los Angeles Metro area could ever generate
anywhere near $35 million for the local community.
As promoter Andy Marocco put it, "I understand
skepticism on some people's part, but we would
not have spent this much money on this project
to see it fail."
We're glad to see things progressing at Drag
City. If things go as planned and if it happens,
you'll see the opening day covered here on
DRO sometime next year.
http://drag-city.com
