Staten Island still hopes for NASCAR dream to come alive
November 3rd, 2006
To some Staten Island locals, the issue of having a NASCAR track built on one of their least urbanized areas on Staten Island is too farfetched. It seems though there is no end to all this mess. Irregardless of what International Speedway Corporation (the company planning to build the NASCAR track on an old oil field that has been left unused for ages), they'll find loads of obstacles because of the political furor it has created. Most of the residents are against and strongly opposing the Staten Island NASCAR track because they do not think that the island needs the extra traffic. They imagine that NASCAR fans will all flock into the island and create havoc…as if Staten Island needs help in making their traffic problems worse.
Now, with that said, there are hard core fans that are in full support of the NASCAR track. It is these people who will do everything within their power to bring NASCAR to Staten Island . Ordinary folks who hold ordinary jobs and being paid ordinary salary on Staten Island but are NASCAR fans voiced their opinions about realizing their dream of ever having a NASCAR track right here, right where their homes are in.
Jamie Knows, an engineer by profession and a hard core NASCAR fan after work admits that this is his dream – having a NASCAR track in Staten Island . He never thought that this dream (fantasy, he calls it) would actually come true. And now that it's almost coming true, everything's all messed up up there with the permits and all that. He doesn't understand what the problem is, although he admits that he laughed out loud when he heard that International Speedway Corporation intended to bring NASCAR to Staten Island . “It's really quite hard to imagine and it took me some time to believe it”, laughs Knows.
Larry Richardson is part of a pro-track community called Staten Island Nascar Hopefuls (SINCH) and according to him, NASCAR plays a big role in his life. For instance, when his son contracted leukemia, Kyle Petty dropped by. This is how significant NASCAR is to the fans of the sport.
On whether on not this dream will become a reality for these NASCAR track hopefuls on Staten Island , it remains to be seen. But one thing's for sure, recently ISC revealed that they are continuing with the fight. As dim as the hope is for the NASCAR fans on Staten Island , it is still there. And the fight is not over until ISC finally says “We give up”.