Tooele racing community braces for disappointment over future of track
Tooele, Utah — (KUTV) The racing community in Tooele County is faced with an uncertain future, after a district court judge overruled the sale of Miller Motorsports Park to a Chinese company on Thursday.
"We're squarely in the middle," says Les Long, who owns and operates Air Power Racing, a Porsche garage at the park. "We want to have a place to base our businesses that is enhanced by having a track to practice on."
Long came to the park with Larry H. Miller in 2005 and has been there ever since. He admits the future was uncertain after Miller's death, but says he was hopeful when a deal was reached with Chinese investment company, MiTime.
"They presented a pretty coherent picture of how everyone was going to benefit, both the track, the Chinese people," he said.
Racing businesses and garage tenants at the park had been talking with the new ownership group and were preparing to make the transition at the beginning of the year, when they were hit with Thursday's news.
RELATED: Tooele Co. judge sets aside sale of Miller Motorsports Park to Chinese company
The alternative is to sell the park to a Nevada-based management company that wants to develop the property.
"I just don't know what sort of future and long range plans he has for the track. The track is the most important thing to me right now, obviously," says Long. "We're all going to have to change what we do here or go somewhere else."
Tooele County commissioners have told businesses at Miller Motorsports Park that they're trying to keep the track open for racing during a transition phase to new ownership.
