In another piece of proposed legislation, West Virginia S.B. 602 looks to limit “nuisance lawsuits” against racetracks (such as Beckley Motorsports Park pictured here) and other sports venues. These lawsuits stem from a variety of reasons, including noise, dust, traffic, and hours of operation.
“S.B. 602 protects established sports exposition venues from nuisance lawsuits even after a transfer of ownership occurs, which is very important for oval tracks, which change hands often,” said American All-Star Series director and West Virginia Motorsports Committee member Joseph Rush. “Any venue in operation for one year or more will receive status as established and be protected.”
Rush cited Beckley Motorsports Park, a 3/8-mile dirt oval, as an example of a facility that had legal battles with nearby residents.
“Beckley Motorsports Park has been in operation for more than 60 years,” Rush said. “People moved into the area, and then petitioned the local county commission to put curfews on the track. They were not successful because the grandfather clauses were upheld. S.B. 602 further protects tracks from these types of challenges to their operation.”
The bill also prevents growing cities and towns from annexing land where a speedway or sports facility is located, and then trying to make it conform to its ordinances.
“This part of the bill is important,” said Rush. “When land is annexed, ordinances of that municipality will not apply to the racetrack.”
In addition, S.B. 602 puts more teeth into the waivers signed by participants at sporting events.
“The person involved in the sport has to take some responsibility for the danger they face by participating,” said Laura Bowman, of Summit Point Motorsports Park, which hosts road racing events. “This applies not only to driving and working on race cars, but to all sports — including horseback riding, bridge jumping, and watersports.”
West Virginia S.B. 602 is one of two motorsports-related bills proposed in the Mountain State. The other, West Virginia S.B. 467 provides tax relief for racetracks looking to improve their facilities. (For more on S.B. 467, read “West Virginia S.B. 467: Tax Breaks for Tracks Proposed”.) State senator Mark Maynard, a drag racer himself, sponsored both pieces of legislation.
“Good things for motorsports are going on in West Virginia,” Rush said. “The state could serve as a model for other states across the country.”
To show your support for the bill, click this link, courtesy of the SEMA Action Network (SAN).
Outside Groove Note of Transparency: Corrected when the legal battles between Beckley Motorsports Park and its neighbors occurred (2022-02-22).
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
