For far too long, drag racers in Southern California area have had the short end of the stick when it comes to places to race. Even for those that do have a strip within driving distance, the amount of opportunities given to race is often limited. This is a rather sad, given this region was virtually the birthplace of drag racing and quarter miles of pavement were once about as commonplace as a McDonald’s is today. Over the years, several groups with lofty goals of bringing a facility to the area have come and gone, but the pesky homeowners and politicians always seem to win out. But a new group in the Tulare area is attempting to change that with plans for a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose facility that could well turn to reality.

The proposed Tulare Motorsports Complex would include a 1-mile, D-shaped oval with a road course, shopping, restaurant, and entertainment venues, auto retail and motorsports technology, track-side condos, a luxury RV park, and most importantly (for us, anyway) a four lane, quarter mile drag strip destined for national event use. The strip would have tiered seating for 20,000 with possible expansion, luxury seating, press center, full-service concessions, and surface parking for 5,000 vehicles.

The group recently received funding – estimated at around $400 million – for the 685-acre facility that should be in place by mid-November and according to James Bancroft, Senior Vice President of the complex, signs of construction will soon be visible on the site. While the proposal, which been in the works for some four years, has reportedly passed some of the usual political and community obstacles, other city council votes and such that could doom the the project are still forthcoming.

The facility would create more than 1,000 immediate construction jobs and over 17,000 permanent jobs, some indirectly. Sounds like a win-win in this economy to us. The plan for construction calls for a 10-month, fast-track schedule that would have the facility up and running before seasons end of 2011.