If NASCAR were smart they would buy this.

[Fisha695]

The property is located in an unicorporated area of Kern County, seven miles north of California City, and the main site (±3,797 acres) is improved with specialized test tracks, support facilities and infrastructure, designed to implement a broad range of automobile, motorcycle and ATV vehicle and product evaluations.

The recent closure of the facility and sale offering provides a rare chance to secure a superbly designed facility that would be cost prohibitive to duplicate today. The main site (±3,797 acres) has completed requirements for the Desert Tortoise Habitat plan, allowing a “fast-track” approach to potential development/solar farm uses, should an interested party desire to change the use of the property.

The main site is improved with the former Honda Proving Center, which was specifically designed as a vehicle testing facility. Located within two hours of Los Angeles International Airport, the site offers on-site paved test courses including a 7.5 mile oval track and 4.5 mile winding road, modeled after common North American public roads, dirt roads, gravel roads, MX/SX race tracks and natural desert terrain for a full range of test conditions. The main site has perimeter fencing and a private 1.5 mile asphalt driveway leading to a security office, gated access, and the office/warehouse buildings. Privacy is achieved with man made berms and selective plantings of non-native trees. Also included are the out-parcel land sites totaling ±457 acres.

CB Richard Ellis - Honda Test Track | Cantil, CA

7.5 Mile Oval
4.5 Mile Main Road Course
1.9 Mile Road Course layout
2.7 Mile Road Course Layout
2 SX/MX/Off-Road Racing tracks

Enough room to build test tracks for low-banked miles as well as the "cookie cutter" 1.5mi tracks. They could also get close to a 3 mile straight section in there for straight-line testing. Throw in some warehouse type building that teams could rent "bays" in to use as Temporary shops and fill all the "Left-over space" with Solar pannels or Wind Turbines to appease the hippies, help keep the electic bill down & sell "extra power" back into the main grid thus possibly making some money.

Sure it's on the other side of the country for the haulers (thus the rentable space needed for the teams to keep tools/eq/test-cars there), but there are two small airports within about 20 miles of the facility for the teams to fly their people in.

NASCAR could buy it and use it for NASCAR & Grand-Am testing and then rent track-time for the IRL, ALMS, Other Motorsport teams, NHRA could test on the 3 mile straight that I suggested above, SX/MX/Other Off-road racing teams, movies/tv shows, auto manufactures/tuners and even do things like Saftey research. Maybe 1 or 2 times a month open up the Road course for "Public Days" charging like $30 for 5 laps in your own car, and with the two other ovals I mentioned they could build they could have like the Petty Driving Experience or something & even use it to approve NASCAR drivers to race on bigger tracks then they may currently be approved to race on (other series could do the same).


^Click Thumbnail for bigger^

Call it "NASCAR R&D: West"

 

[tipptruck]

If I had the money I would buy and put a home on the land. I would have fun with the road courses and the top speed test track. If I could afford the insurance I would open the road course up on the public on the weekend.

 

[WinstonCup426]

7.5 MILES??????? If NASCAR ever does go there they better put some plates on those things...

 

[Jonathan Patten]

I wish they would have kept Riverside around....this would be close to it though!

 

[JRRacing64]

I think they should avoid it. 2 races in California are enough.

 

[Ten0r]

The idea of this track isn't for racing, it's for testing. Just think of the amount of R&D that NASCAR could do on this property. Allow teams to run testing at this specified track. Add a 7-post rig and rolling wind tunnel while charging teams for the use of the entire facility.

Full Facility Lease (1-day): $10000
One Part of Facility (1-day): $3500 (Short track, intermediate, 7.5mile, road course, 7post, wind tunnel, etc)

Do a 3 day test with a 4 car team over the full facility. You'd get a years worth of data in that 3 days.