Winning formula Southlake couple investing $3.5 million to turn prairie land into a racecourse By SANDRA BAKER STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER A Southlake couple has purchased 441 acres near Decatur in rural Wise County where they are initially investing $3.5 million to build a Formula One-style auto road course that could be ready by September. David and Linda Cook said they expect the course, about an hour north of downtown Fort Worth, to be certified this year by the sport's toughest standards established by Formula One racing's governing body, Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, based in Paris. The track will also meet Sports Car Club of America and Grand-Am standards, making it suitable for road cars, motorbikes, super bikes, and vintage and legend series cars, the couple said. The track will be available to clubs, such as the Ferrari Club of America and Porsche Club of America, as well as offer private memberships, the couple said. If it receives the FIA certification, it would be one of only a few tracks in the United States to have the rating. The couple also hope to be far enough along in the track's development to host international races by 2008, as well as other major, sanctioned races for professionals and amateurs. The development is being called Eagles Canyon Motorsports Park. It is in eastern Wise County, near the Wise-Denton county line, off Farm Roads 51 and 455. The couple, who have an extensive background in auto racing, said they expect the development to draw car and racing enthusiasts from throughout North Texas and across the country. The speedway could spur commercial development nearby. "It's definitely going to impact the environment economically," said Linda Cook, who has been racing since 2001 and was the first woman to enter the Canada Grand Prix Ferrari Challenge in 2004. "This is a serious undertaking." David Cook, a native of England, came to the United States as a radar engineer with General Dynamics in the 1960s. An entrepreneur, he has owned Sonaca MNF, the largest producer of wing panels for regional and business jets. His family has been involved in the aviation industry since 1917. He has been involved in motor racing since the 1970s, once competing in rallies in England. Wise County officials expect the track to increase the number of people traveling to the area, particularly on weekends, County Judge Dick Chase said. That would increase sales tax revenue for many of the surrounding cities with hotel rooms to rent and restaurants to serve the visitors, he said. "It's a good addition. I don't see this as a detriment," Chase said. "It's something that could grow over the years." Bulldozers have been out scraping the path for a 2.5-mile racecourse. After additional engineering is completed, asphalt will be put down in the coming months, the Cooks said. The track will eventually have a clubhouse and tower, as well as spectator seating at various spots. The track is north of Texas Motor Speedway, which features NASCAR races, as well as road-course-style events. Formula One cars have one seat and an open cockpit and travel at speeds of about 200 mph. Drivers race on tracks that feature twists, right- and left-hand turns and switchback curves. NASCAR racers have traditional auto bodies, and drivers race on an oval track with only left-hand turns. It took the Cook's more than two years to find the right topography and enough hills and valleys to replicate a European countryside, where Formula One racing has been the motor sport of choice for decades. "There's a lot of flatland in Texas and in the northern part of the state," David Cook said. The land has elevations of 70 feet in some parts, which will allow spectators to see to the far side of the course. "The beauty of this is the piece of land," Linda Cook said. Norman Lindley, a Fort Worth real-estate broker, said the couple wanted to be near the area where Interstates 35W and 35E meet, making the track accessible from Fort Worth and Dallas. They bought the land from Gene and Mary Niblett in Denton. Steve Watkins, a real-estate broker with Scott Brown Commercial in Denton who races Porsches as a member of the area chapter of the Porsche Club of America, said the new track will be a good alternative for car enthusiasts and clubs that mainly drive locally at the MotorSport Ranch in Cresson. "North Texas is a huge market and we have only one place to do this right now," Watkins said. "It will be a huge draw. There are a lot of elevation changes, and every change makes the course more challenging and more exciting for the drivers." Rob Lay, a Southlake resident and amateur Ferrari racer for the past five years, said it will be good to have a professional-level track. He said other developers have planned tracks for the area in the past several years, but they've never able to complete their projects. "I really hope it's successful," Lay said. "I'm a huge Formula One fan." Eddie Gossage, president and general manager of Texas Motor Speedway, said that the more likely use for the course is for club-car enthusiasts. "You're talking about they guy down the street that has a sports car and likes to drive fast," Gossage said Thursday from Las Vegas, where he is attending a NASCAR race. "They are participant-driven races, rather than spectator-driven." Texas Motor Speedway has an infield road course that is used about 150 times a year for sports car-style racing. The course has four variations, with the longest being 2.3 miles. It incorporates the racing oval, but it also includes an area on the interior of the track. Formula One traces its roots to the European Grand Prix of the 1920s and 1930s, but the first Formula One race was held in 1950. One race on the 2006 world championship series is in July in Indianapolis. "Texas is a great place to do a track," David Cook said. "You've got good weather year-round. It's a good location. Texas has a lot of energy. People are progressive here."
Glad they didn't make me sound too negative about it. My hopes have been pumped up several times in the past years only for the tracks to fall through. Looks like this couple has the experience and money to make it happen. FYI, they are big Ferrari Club members, she was president of a Canadian chapter. I don't believe they have been active in our chapter yet. I talked to her once before Carfest and gave her directions, not sure if she came out or not. This got me thinking all the tracks around DFW that have been planned and fell through, here are the ones I can remember Gunter Ring (Frisco) - Land bought and track actually bulldozed before converted to housing. Defunct. Boundless Motorplex (South of DFW) - Land bought and track designed. Investors turned to circle tracks and drag strips. Defunct. Mineral Wells - Still planned and city approval. Status? Brownsville - Proposed to city, organizer had several car clubs write letters to city saying they would use track if built. Status? New Green Valley (North of DFW) - Land bought, track designed, and companies and individuals committed to lots. This track owned by a Norwood customer. Status?
$3.5M is just the cost of the land. Even with resources, the business plan seems flawed. There isn't enough demand for another track. After 7 years MSR only has 600 members or so, and most won't join a second track. Car Clubs won't expand their schedules, note that the PCA has struggled to fill their DE schedule for both the February and April events. FCA hasn't had a track event in years. BMW club has to share their club race with the PCA because they can't fill a schedule. The wil be directly competing with MSR-Cresson, which has a big first mover advantage. Where is the demand going to come from. This screams of over capacity. Of course I am biased and hope it never gets built. A successful track will hurt my property value at MSR.
I think the only thing that could dent into MSR would be a track within 40 minutes of North Dallas. The new Green Valley could have done that.
I am inclined to agree with Rob scepticism. Long after MSR opened, neighbors tried to close it down and I cannot see things being easier for a neophyte. As for F1 aspirations, that's a pipe dream given US indifference to that event and the enormous resources permanently installed at Indy. just visit the pits and see the etched glass panels on the suites of the "owners" in the names of the F1 teams. I am finding the idea of an MSR villa more and more interesting !
Isn't MSR booked every day for like a year out? Seems like to me there is plenty of demand for track time. Plenty of tracks survive without car country club memberships too, so I don't think that is a detriment either.
It would be nice to see this thing built, but I have to agree with Dave 3.5 million seems "scant" compared to the millions that will be needed just to sanction the track for FIA. Then Bernie will come in and extract/demand millions more to be spent. Remember Tony George already had a facility and the infrastructure in place and he still had to dole out 20+ million for the sanctioning rights and then an additional 40 million for upgrades to the facility-a very pricey situation!
In fairness, I don't see anything in the article about wanting to make it F1-ready, just FIA certified. There's a bit of a difference in the level of infrastructure there. Hopefully the market will support both. If it were in the northeast corner of the Metromess it would draw from a larger audience. Still, there's what? 10 million people or so in the area? That should be enough for both tracks. I look forward to any new racing circuit in the area. I'm pretty sure the first Strade Di Autunno went through that area in 04, good terrain
Yes it is, because Jack has limited the available dates. That is changing with the opening of the second track at MSR. The PCA dates use to sell out very quickly, but with the additional enrollment that the 3.1 mile track can hold and the addition of a new date in April, the 2 most recent PCA events have not done as well. You have to realize that DFW just opened a 'new' track with the MSR expansion. This would add capacaity on top of that. This new track has been on record as saying their plan includes membership. Its not a leap to assume this is an integral part of their business plan. I bet they are counting on it to survive, not as an added bonus. Tell me, where is the revenue stream going to come from?
I knew nothing about this track before being interviewed. I talked to this couple last Fall and they mentioned planning a track, my response was "I've heard that before". Now it appears their use of the term "F1" is just to describe the type of track distinct from stock car racing. You can tell from my quotes when interviewed I was thinking they wanted to build a FIA track to attract F1. All I would have needed to know is their budget and it would have been clear. Boundless had a budget of $50+ M and I think they seriously wanted to attract professional races. This track appears to be no more than a MSR where part revenue is membership and other track rental. You can buy land and build a track to support membership for less than $3.5 M, but just barely.
I had Racer's ranch in Terrell and Wolters Glen in Mineral Wells come in the office and try to get us to invest and raise capital for them. Neither looked like a deal that I wanted to be involved in mostly based on the limited chance of success for a race track in the area. The $3.5m for this new one must be land only. Wolters Glen is/was to be an F1 certified track and it was a $61m project without lodging.
Well, their PR machine is working... my Dad, not a race fan, just called me to see if I'd heard about the new Formula 1 track being built in Wise County.
It seems to me those serious enough about racing and track days have already joined MSR with a trickle of members still coming in. A new track will dilute DFW demand for either = no bueno.
I don't know about that. For the people on the North side that track might be a viable alternative. I know if I decide to go to the MSR, it is about 90 minutes there and about the same back depending on traffic. This facility might be closer and not take any activity away from the MSR.
Some distance comparisons from Yahoo maps... Dallas to Eagles Canyon (64 miles) - to MSR (61 miles) Plano to Eagles Canyon (62 miles) - to MSR (73 miles) Ft. Worth to Eagles Canyon (56 miles) - to MSR (28 miles) Southlake to Eagles Canyon (49 miles) - to MSR (47 miles) Wow, the demand may overcome it, but they could have made things much easier on themselves to go N or NE of Dallas. Many MSR members are from Dallas & North Dallas, but there's no distance advantage to the new track.
Stop thinking in terms of "all or nothing". Get F1 or MotoGP out of your heads....Think in terms of some of the smaller races....AMA, SCCA etc.... What would it take to draw these events? How easily do you think they would fill an AMA Superbike event here? It's a progression. Also, my understanding is that their plans are to have a REAL track, with straightaways and everything. As much as I like MSR Cresson, it is nothing more than a newer version of Oak Hill.
Long straights aren't for street cars and the members MSR is trying to attract. MSR's target market is the average driver that will do little racing. Kinda like a golf country club doesn't target scratch pro golfers. The members wouldn't enjoy pro distances or rough. The average driver shouldn't be taking their street car 170 mph on the track. Big bend onto the straight still gets some decent speed going, anything more would be excessive for the type of cars and skill level of the average MSR member.
Not a 170 mph straight, but something a litte more than a 100 mph straight. With the 3.1 mile configuration, they have successfully turned it into a Kart track. I race with CMRA, maybe it's different with bikes.
Bikes might be different, but I get over 100 on the straight at MSR in any car. 100 HP RX7 and 328 to of course the RX8 and 355 race cars. I agree, speed is fun, I enjoy the 160+ mph in the Challenge at TWS and last weekend we even got 135 mph in the RX8 at TMS.
What about putting in a kink that can be straightened out for when the truly deranged come to town? Dale
Well said. On the 3.1 track I get very close to or over 100mph in three places - before the braking zone for Ricochet, before the braking zone for Lil Bend, and before the braking zone for Rattlesnake. I think I am over 110 on the last one but I have not data logged myself to know for sure. Whatever speeds I am hitting, Rob is even faster.
I like that idea, but if Jack runs MSR cw for members, I'm sure he would take the kink out for members too.
