Laguna Seca change of mgmt

[RonDent]

I saw a report on the news last night that the Super Bike for gone now too. I'm sorry for the bike fans, but that leaves an opening for another Pro Car race weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQMOpXKJcIo

[GH85Carrera]

All of that just makes me feel sad that such an "bucket list" track is in danger of fading away.



I got to run the track once, I would love to go back.

[ted]

Ron Dent first glad you are ok, saw your 996 was hit hard.
I wonder if all the Scramp volunteers will return, seems unlikely.
Hope it gets sorted in time for the SVRA Trans Am race this spring at Laguna.
https://svra.com/events/2020-trans-am-speedfest/

[smadsen]

They spent some un-Godly amount of money "modernizing" the track to IndyCar standards some 20 years ago. That was a lot of debt to service for one race a year. Same issues at Cal Speedway. You don't need a $400MM facility for a club race. You need asphalt, a fence, and bathrooms. Cal Club built Buttonwillow initially for $2.5MM. I believe Thunderhill was a similar deal. Willow Springs and old Riverside were built for next to nothing on virtually free dirt. You need only review the history of Ontario Motor Speedway to examine the financial short-comings of the sport.

The business model that works is the facility built around participation and events every weekend and modest, if not zero debt. Indianapolis is the only exception and we shall see about that if Roger chooses to lever up the balance sheet prior to the next sale.

[RonDent]

Originally Posted by ted

Ron Dent first glad you are ok, saw your 996 was hit hard.

Thanks. Did you get the Camaro back together? I see you broke a crank at long Beach.

https://svra.com/events/2020-trans-am-speedfest/

What a coincidence! I'll be working Start for that event!

[Cajundaddy]

On the face this management change looks like the worst possible outcome for Laguna Seca track enthusiasts. I expect this will embroil Monterey County in even more lawsuits.

[Noah930]

Well, I guess all the non-Californians who wanted the next Rennsport to be held nearer to their home tracks will be happy about this.

[RonDent]

Well, we'll just have to see what comes of all this madness.

[ted]

Originally Posted by RonDent

Thanks. Did you get the Camaro back together? I see you broke a crank at long Beach.

https://svra.com/events/2020-trans-am-speedfest/

What a coincidence! I'll be working Start for that event!

Cool if you could just raise your elbow again before the green flag.
About ready to get into the 10.
Been sourcing a replacement 358.

Spent the summer finishing the 5, it will be at Laguna this spring.
Look forward to seeing you there.

[RonDent]

There has been an update to the mess at Laguna Seca.
New FPPC complaint filed over Laguna Seca deal – Voices of Monterey Bay

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by rattlsnak

I wonder if the change in management had anything to do with that a$$hat who is/was suing the track because he crashed??

Considering that the a$$hat who is/was suing the track because he crashed is the same guy that was awarded the contract, despite being utterly unqualified, I am saying yes, the two things are directly related.

There will be a lot of lawyers making a sheet ton of dough out of this deal.

[ckissick]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Considering that the a$$hat who is/was suing the track because he crashed is the same guy that was awarded the contract, despite being utterly unqualified, I am saying yes, the two things are directly related.

There will be a lot of lawyers making a sheet ton of dough out of this deal.

I'm only aware of a lawsuit by a motorcyclist named Danial Kim who's suing because he crashed. Is Narigi suing due to a crash also?

[Eric at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by ckissick

I'm only aware of a lawsuit by a motorcyclist named Danial Kim who's suing because he crashed. Is Narigi suing due to a crash also?

Narigi sued and lost the lawsuit in 2007 when his son was involved in a fatal accident at South Boundary Rd. leaving Laguna Seca. I just saw this article on google from the Monterey Herald, it looks like there's a history of Narigi and "favors".

Narigi”s burglary, grand theft charges reduced

Nearly two years after his brother was killed in a roll-over accident outside Laguna Seca raceway, Dominick Narigi once again sought the mercy of the court.
And once again, he got it.
Over the strenuous objections of the prosecutor, Judge Russell Scott reduced felony burglary and grand theft charges against Narigi to misdemeanors. Narigi pleaded guilty, and Scott put off sentencing until August to allow him to complete treatment for what his attorney said is an addiction to OxyContin, a powerful painkiller.
It is the second time the 20-year-old has avoided serious felony charges since July 2007, when his brother, Anthony Narigi, was killed as Dominick Narigi drove away from the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix motorcycle races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Though suspected of drunken driving, he was allowed to plead to a misdemeanor in that case. Six months later, he was arrested in the burglary of his neighbors” home.
New details
Arguing that Narigi had already used his sympathy “pass” in the first case, prosecutor Steve Somers revealed previously unreleased details of the accident Friday.
A witness reported that he met up with Dominick Narigi after the California Rodeo in Salinas on July 21, 2007. Narigi had been drinking and the two partied until 6 or 8 a.m. the next day, when they went to breakfast, Somers said.
Narigi and his brother left to attend the races, where their father had VIP tickets. Two people in their group, including Anthony Narigi, were over 21 and able to purchase alcohol. Somers said witnesses reported Dominick Narigi, then 18, drank four to five cocktails of Red Bull and vodka during the day.
That afternoon, the Narigis and two others climbed into Dominick”s “giant, raised monster truck,” and left the event, Somers said. Witnesses told the California Highway Patrol the younger brother immediately began driving recklessly. All three occupants of the car asked him to pull over and let someone else drive.
Narigi refused, Somers said, and moments later lost control and rolled the GMC Yukon Denali several times. He and his brother were ejected from the vehicle. They were flown by helicopter to San Francisco Bay Area hospitals. Anthony Narigi died three days later.
As they struggled to save Dominick Narigi”s life, Somers said, emergency workers at the hospital failed to conduct a blood-alcohol test.
The prosecutor said he had impaneled a criminal grand jury and planned to pursue a felony charge of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated based on witness statements.
At that point, he said, Narigi and his attorney, Paul Meltzer of Santa Cruz, came forward and offered to plead to a misdemeanor charge. Out of sympathy for his loss, Somers said, the District Attorney”s Office agreed to the deal, and Narigi was sentenced to probation and community service in May 2008.
Addiction revealed
Six months later, Narigi was arrested for burglarizing his neighbors” home and stealing two saws worth $1,400. He told police the break-in was a spur of the moment crime and he hoped to get caught. Meltzer attributed the incident to his client”s grief and asked that he be allowed to seek treatment.
In court Friday, Meltzer revealed that the treatment is for addiction to OxyContin, a highly addictive painkiller sold on the street as “Oxycotton.” Meltzer said Narigi was prescribed strong pain relievers after his accident, but he did not know if his addiction grew out of a legal prescription.
In the meantime, he said, Narigi sought treatment in three programs and is in a Marin County residential treatment facility. The program describes itself as a drug-relapse treatment center.
Meltzer said anyone who worked as hard as Narigi to overcome grief and addiction would ask for and receive misdemeanor treatment in similar circumstances. He said the victims of the burglary wanted the reduction in charges.
Not a cry for help
Somers argued the victims only agreed to lesser charges because, after years of building their dream home, they didn”t want to live across from the Narigis after sending their son to prison.
He said the break-in was not the cry for help that Narigi claims it was, but one of a series of sophisticated, planned burglaries to get money for drugs.
Somers said the neighbors had removed a key hidden in their yard and installed security cameras because of “constant thefts” from their home, which was under construction.
At 4:25 a.m. Nov. 10, 2008, the cameras caught another break-in. Video shows a man in a ski mask entering the yard and walking to the spot where the key was hidden. The man returns to the house, kicks in a door and emerges with the two saws.
Somers said Narigi had disposed of the saws when he was stopped later, but admitted the break-in when told police had it on tape.
Crash circumstances
Meltzer said Somers” characterization of the fatal accident was incorrect. He said the vehicle was lifted when Narigi bought it and that a leather strap used in the modification snapped that day, causing the vehicle to roll.
He told Scott that the “black box” from the Denali proved his client was not speeding at the time of the accident and the person who performed CPR on him did not smell or taste alcohol.
The Narigi family has filed a civil lawsuit against the county alleging the accident was caused by design flaws on South Boundary Road. The suit, which names unidentified “Does” who modified the vehicle before it was purchased, is pending in Monterey County Superior Court.
In agreeing to the misdemeanor charges, Scott said he was taking into consideration Narigi”s condition and the wishes of the burglary victims. He set sentencing for Aug. 28 to allow Narigi time to complete his residential treatment program. Narigi will be placed on probation and could face up to one year in county jail.

[jyl]

The Monterey Historics organization should have something to say about this. That event brings a crap ton of money to the area.

[stealthn]

Man!, you really can’t make something like this up.