Laguna Seca Lawsuit Is Settled, Racing Set to Continue as Planned
Earlier this year we weighed in on the news of a lawsuit hoping to end racing at Monterey’s historic WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca. We poked fun at the absurdity of the lawsuit and also did some real journalism to bring the facts to light. Now we can pass on the news that Laguna Seca plans to operate its 2024 season as planned, as a settlement has been reached.
Those who brought the suit secured a commitment that a sound impact assessment will be conducted (though such an assessment had already been in the works), and that the track will make improvements to sound mitigation where feasible. Now that the suit has been settled, the County of Monterey may move forward with its agreement, authorized in July 2023, with the non-profit organization Friends of Laguna Seca for management of the facility.
In February, we spoke to Bruce Canepa, long-time vintage motorsports enthusiast, racer, restorer, and Vice President of Friends of Laguna Seca, the organization responsible for overseeing operations at the county-owned facility. At that time, he was confident that the law and the will of the public would both be in favor of continued racing at the storied track. After the settlement, Canepa was quoted in a story published on the track’s website:
“I grew up watching races at Laguna Seca and have raced there since the late 1970s, I have a lifetime passion for this facility and want to see it be preserved for future generations. With Friends of Laguna Seca, we’ve built a team of individuals who share the same passion, paired with business acumen, to make Laguna Seca the place we’ve always hoped it could be.”
This certainly seems like a win for the county as well as enthusiasts. We hope that this settlement brings stability to the venue, and that Friends of Laguna Seca can keep the beautiful and challenging track updated to remain a Monterey Car Week highlight as well as a bucket list destination for racers of all kinds.
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Save the race tracks!
This is good news. Hopefully the peace can be maintained for those picky neighbors.
Thanks for the update, Brandan. Great news indeed (but why do I feel like there might be another shoe to be dropped?). I notice you just reported this “straight up” so as to avoid the firestorm – and I’m on both sides of the fence on that. One, I appreciated the humor and sarcasm in the original report, but – Two, the responses from those who didn’t “get it” tended to detract from the topic for sure.
Anyway, race on, dudes and dudettes – Laguna Seca Lives!
I used to live near Road Atlanta and I loved the sounds. It wasn’t all night and the were ZERO crime in the area.
People who buy homes near race tracks, chicken farms, pig farms, dairies, or other industrial sites and then file lawsuits are worthy of social and political scorn.
Amen. And copious amounts of ridicule.
This is far from over. This is about valuable property in California that developers want. They will be back with other complains and issues. They will try to wear the track down legally.
This is one of the few well attended tracks in the state yet they still will try to take the land.
Indeed….
Once the wealthy, connected, self-righteous elite set their sights on imposing some rule, destroying something, getting control of something or blocking something, they are like The Terminator: You can’t bargain with them, you can’t reason with them, and they will not stop until they get what they want.
I can think of a half dozen other lines of attack they are probably considering now.
But the noise issue may be good enough to “win”, as the noise abatement will never be enough and will cost ruinous amounts of money to achieve.
The economic impact to the state of Wisconsin is over $400 million from Road America. Considering the difficult financial situation of California, I suspect the businesses in that area have a very different opinion than the home owners that built along that road up to Laguna Seca.
I was with my husband who raced at Laguna, and it is a wonderful track for all kind of racing. Those people who built homes near the track knew what was there, so the should either shut up or move.
Exactly – and the same goes for airports, landfills, etc. Buy land that is cheap for a reason and then sue to get rid of the reason. Instant profit.
I work at nights and sleep during the day, I’m looking to buy a house in a quiet neighborhood, Maybe I should buy a beautiful home next to a Race Track, I could always sue to get rid of it in the future for keeping me up during the day.
Thank you Bruce Canepa. For those who do not know the name, he is an enthusiast who has taken both the hobby and sport of collecting and racing classic cars to a much higher level. Along the way he has also continued to give back to the automotive community. Spearheading the defense of Laguna Seca is no easy task and I can’t imagine another person I would trust more in that endeavor.
Who purchases a home, business, or property near a racetrack and then files suit against the track for too much noise? Entitled pricks. I hope anyone who does this loses the lawsuit and is forced to pay attorney’s fees for the defense. Heck, I would pay more to live near one. I can imagine sitting on the back porch, sun setting, bourbon in hand, and listening to the music of internal combustion, transmissions, and tires against the asphalt.
Plus the smell of Castrol in the morning.
Get the County/State to declare it a historical site. That should solve the problem.