I just answered a question on another board about marketing a drag racing track that is for sale. I just couldn't help but hit a flight of fancy over it. I started to think of some of the unique, but also fairly popular concepts that I have run across over the years.

There are several road racing communities around the country. The basic concept is to take a private track, with nice views, and instead of trying to make money holding races all of the time, turn it into a private club with residences sprinkled throughout. Throw in a paddock, a nice clubhouse and a few other amenities, and <poof> it's a country club for race folks. There are plenty of amatuer racers that have a lot of money to play with... it isn't a cheap hobby. For those that are really into their own racers, factoring in track rentals and transportation costs just for test and tune days, and having access to a track in the neighborhood starts to look great.

Now, people that like to turn the wheel aren't the only ones that would enjoy having a local facility to play. There are at least as many folks that enjoy powering something down the track against the clock. One would need to look into the requirements for private events, but there might be some restrictions that would limit the track to 1/8 mile sprints rather than the traditional 1/4 mile bursts. However, a 1/4 mile track could be set up with lights and timing equipment to run both distances. Just think, Saturday morning and one could pull the dragster out of the garage at home, not even load it up on a trailer, but drive it over to the line... and make a few runs.

The final option would be the most original one. A residential rock crawling club... Rock crawling is one of the fastest growing motor sports in the country. Private off-road parks are popping up all over the country. Unlike drag racing and road course racing, rock crawling happens at VERY slow speeds. While one could argue that there is plenty of carnage in rock crawling, or even its faster cousin rock racing, injuries are pretty rare and pretty mild. So, it might be the safest of the three to host in a private facility without safety crews and emergency transportation. Also, because of the nature of the desirable terrain, it could be hosted in a smaller space, or scaled to larger spaces. It could be done with rolling topography or a fairly flat area with arranged obstacles.

Depending on the desires of each of the communities, events or public days could be hosted to offset some of the costs of the facilities. While the amenities would likely be more expensive than all but the most luxurious traditional clubs (golf, tennis and swimming), the extra income flow, as well as the rarity of the facilities/communities would create good value for the home owner's association.

It sure does make for an interesting group of concepts... and looking at the possible demographics, I think that the right developer could create some VERY popular and unique communities. Free press and publicity would be a breeze, too...

Drop in to my new (as in still under development) website. Take a look. Give me a call.

So, without getting real wordy about how I came across this (it all has to do with the new website), let me tell you about a cool open source photo-editor I just came across.

It is called