A neighbor to Central Arizona Raceway recently took his year-long fight against the Casa Grande dirt track to the local media. Ray Edwards, who lives in a trailer park near the racetrack, told the Casa Grande Dispatch that noise from the speedway interferes with his sleep and prevents him from enjoying quiet evenings.
According to the article, Edwards invited Pinal County officials to hear the noise. He even went as far as speaking for area animals, whom he believes that the noise also bothers.
Central Arizona Raceway, located at the Pinal County Fairgrounds, has put on automobile races since 1969.
“The county has done its due diligence in monitoring us,” said Central Arizona Raceway promoter Brad Whitfield. “The guidelines have been laid out by Pinal County. We have gone above and beyond to keep noise levels well below what are required by the county.”
Edwards told the Casa Grande Dispatch that the noise is intolerable. He has bombarded the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office with complaints on race nights.
“All of our divisions are required to have mufflers,” Whitfield said. “We tech the cars to make sure they are using the IMCA muffler, which is a 92 dB muffler. All of our decibel readings on the straightaways are 81 dB at the wall. We are 11 dB higher than the highway running right behind Mr. Edwards’ home, but we are a quarter to a half mile away from his home.”
Misti Todd, executive director of the Pinal County Fairgrounds & Event Center, defended the racetrack to the Casa Grande Dispatch
“The racetrack has been a fixture at Eleven Mile Corner [neighborhood] for decades,” said Todd. “Its importance to the community cannot be overstated.”
Todd and Stephen Q. Miller, Pinal County Supervisor – District 3, visited Edwards to hear the noise firsthand, according to the article.
“We were able to sit on the back porch of his home and discuss his concerns,” Todd said. “The only complaints about the noise that I have received in almost three years have come from Mr. Edwards.”
Todd said the noise from the speedway was on par with vehicles traveling on the highway at 50 mph. Edwards lives in a subdivision with 70 double-wide mobile homes, all of whom house seniors.
“We need help,” said Edwards, “to let others know what kind of disturbance this racetrack is causing the seniors over here and the rest of the community.”
Central Arizona Raceway’s next scheduled event comes on June 3.
“We strive to be the best neighbor we can to those in the nearby community,” Whitfield said. “We have one person complaining.”
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.
