DragonsRidge track status?

[SharkD]

Anyone know what's going on with DragonsRidge raceway in SE Virginia?

The latest I can find is news from June 2004 that the local residents of Kent County were trying to kill the project because the cars might be noisy (and presumably because the track also includes right turns).



http://www.na-motorsports.com/Tracks...gonsRidge.html

Bigger Track Map (on last page):
http://www.baskervill.com/pdf/motorsports2.pdf

Update:
This site states:

This 615-acre motorsports facility is scheduled to open in late spring of 2006. It will feature a 2.97-mile road course and a 1-mile cart track. 25 acres will be available for motorsports related businesses.

Anyone know if that's still true?

[AlfaEric]

http://dragva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56117

That's about all I could find. Their website hasn't been updated in a while.

http://www.dragonsridge.com/

---Eric

[odortiz]

can't wait. hope they put all that gravel they show in the layout.
wonder how much a house there costs.

[M-technik-3]

It would be cool to have another track...

[Pinecone]

BAH, gravel.

Please put some grass in between the track and the gravel to avoid having cars stuck right where other cars want to go off also.

[Pinecone]

I talked to someone yesterday at the FATT who stated that there IS constuction going on at the track site.

[woodym3]

I talked to someone yesterday at the FATT who stated that there IS constuction going on at the track site.

Saturday night I talked to a Tidewater chapter member who lives 5 miles from Dragon Ridge. He said the developers have all the county approvals but no work has started because they don't have the $$$ they had hoped to gather from pre-opening membership sales. He was not optimistic.

[Pinecone]

Hmm, differing stories. I like that.

The guy I talked to lived down that way and was adament that dirt moving had started. Oh well, at least they have the permits.

Maybe if they updated their website with info on memberships, they might actually sell some and raise the money.

[getfast]

Here's some information... I have driven by the DragonsRidge property in the last 30 days and there's still exactly nothing to see there.

I have heard rumors from very credible sources that they are unofficially now planning to officially break ground in spring '06, and that the track design diagram posted above is not a final draft.

Hope it helps-

Jon

[getfast]

I stopped by the DragonsRidge site earlier today (1/12/06.) Here's what I can report:

1) The entry to the property, as its exact location was explained to me by someone who is close to the project and has been there before with actual staff members, is still a tiny dirt road and it is still chained-off. Although I chose not to trespass, it appears that no ground has been broken - at least not visibly through the winter woods in broad daylight.

2) It appears that there's no suitable nearby access road to get tree-clearing, landscaping, or paving equipment onto the property... but looking at the proposed site map ( http://www.get-fast.net/images/dragonsridge.jpg ) I see three possible entry roads from 632 and I'm honestly not sure which one I stopped at. There are more than a few driveways (not to mention mailboxes) on 632 nearby so I can't say for sure... but I have no proof that there is any 600-acre redevelopment going on behind those woods off that particular road as of today.

3) The main road in from 33 (632 aka Stage Road) is currently packed dirt/gravel and is barely wide enough for two cars to pass at 25mph.

4) There is a whole bunch of heavy earth moving equipment in the vicinity because, and this may be good news, it appears that at least the first mile of 632 is being significantly widened (and presumably paved) from the 33 end to the left intersection with 634 (Polish Town Rd.)

A friend who knows about these things... has seen the public documents on record in the New Kent County courhouse and says that he believes the widening/paving of 632 is the first step of the DragonsRidge development process, and that they are in some way contributing to the project. Whether or not this definitely means the track is a go is beyond me... but I'll try to find out.

(He also reports this document requires a 50db sound limit at the property line, but that's another story entirely.)

5) On a semi-related "car guy" note... about 5 miles down the road, in the showroom of Medlin Ford/Mercury outside West Point, sits a 2006 Ford GT "Heritage Livery" (aka the old John Wyer/Gulf blue and orange colors.) It's beautiful.

I'll see what I can dig up and report back if/when I've got news. I'm trying to provide fact, not speculation, but it's difficult.

Hope it helps-

Jon

[woodym3]

I stopped by the DragonsRidge site earlier today (1/12/06.) Here's what I can report:

Keep these updates coming Jon. Whenever I head north on I-81 in PA I stop by the Rausch Creek Motorsports Track site hoping to find work in progress.
The last time was over a year ago and nothing had happened since my previous visit. But they had done all the tree clearing, surveyed, and graded the track layout. It would be a super layout if ever completed.

[getfast]

We did more research today and can officially confirm that there's exactly nothing going on at the DragonsRidge site itself as of 1/13/06. Here's what the main gate looks like:



The road beyond it is neither wide enough to haul heavy equipment in, nor well-traveled in recent months. There are no other access roads onto the property that we could find.

Luckily, there may be some good news. Scroll toward the bottom of page 4 of the Oct '05 New Kent Planning Commission meeting minutes at this link:

http://www.co.new-kent.va.us/planningcomm/...72005%20_2_.pdf

"Mr. Hubbard asked for an update on the Dragonsridge Motorsports Park. Staff responded that we have received an update on the Dragonsridge Motorsports Park and we are expecting to receive preliminary plans within the month."

Combine this information with the fact that SR 632 (Stage Road) in from Rte 33 toward the DragonsRidge property entrance has a lot of VDOT heavy equipment on hand and is currently being widened/paved...

...and we can hope that something good is starting to take place.

Interesting stuff,

Jon