glFusion Site

Open Test Day May 24th

shell — Sun, 12 May 2013 20:30:07 -0800

Testing Fee: $250.00 per car and driver.

This test day is open to race prepared cars only.

Full race gear is required. No passengers allowed.

Call 530-934-5588 ext. 100 for information.

Open Testing Dates Are Subject To Change. Please Make Sure You Always Call Ahead To Verify An Open Testing Day.

Track management reserves the right to pull anyone off the track at anytime if they are posing a threat to the safety of others.

See you at the track! ...

The History Of Thunderhill According To David. Part Three

stuart seitz — Sat, 11 May 2013 13:15:39 -0800

When last we met, Thunderhill Park was about to open its doors, participating in the birth of a race track and joining the harsh reality in motorsports venue operations. Like most new parents of a neonate, we weren’t exactly sure what we were doing. The track was done as far as we could go. We had a trailer for timing and scoring and another trailer which was basically a place for the stewards and for Pauline Laskin and her race central crew at the grand opening. The track had no curbs and remarkably few walls. The chosen weekend was Halloween and the San Francisco Region of the SCCA was ready. Since 1988 the Club had, in varying degrees, anticipated this event. The buzz within the road racing world and the local community was at an all-time high.

We rented tents for Linda Rogaski and her crew to sign people in. Bill Dwyer and his T&S crew did all that needed to be done to hook up the timing systems. Bob Stegal handled the announcing set up and my crew and I went about promoting the event in the North Bay and getting ready as best we could. We made a deal with a host of local service clubs to come out and sell food and drinks. We printed an event tee shirt to honor the occasion. We found an ancient pull broom and arranged to have a tractor at the event with a spinning brush on the front. We hoped for good weather and told everyone that Craig T. Nelson, “The Coach”, would be racing. I never told anyone that Paul Newman and/or Tom Cruise would be here. In the SCCA ranks National Club President Nick Craw was entered to race in his 240 ITS “Z” car and there was more. We used radios that were donated to us by the Northern California Kart Club [NCK] even though the SCCA had their own radios. There was no com line but we had these really neat, soon to be destroyed, wooden corner stations with tops. The tops may have been the fatal mistake.

As that famous day approached I set up all the staff and crossed my fingers. That day was actually a three-day SCCA weekend. On Friday we held opening ceremonies with our District 3 Supervisor, Dick Mudd welcoming the SCCA to Glenn County. Most of the Glenn County Supervisors were present including good friend and many-time Chairman of the Glenn County Board of Supervisors, Mike Murray. Craig T. Nelson spoke at the ceremony as did Gary Meeker, SCCA President Nick Craw and the man responsible for it all, Tom McCarthy. You will remember that it was Tom McCarthy who came up with the idea of building a club-owned track as a solution to the faltering status of the SFR/SCCA at the two premier tracks in the area. Lee Mosele was still at Laguna Seca and Sears Point was being managed by Glenn Long who reported to track owner and developer Skip Berg. Tom never doubted that the club could build a track in California and it was his dogged persistence that kept us going when the outlook was bleak.

On Friday there was a symbolic cutting of a ribbon for the grand opening and then attention switched to racing. The event was titled, “The Budweiser Thunderhill Grand Opener”, thanks to Bob Carter owner of the local Budweiser distributorship. Roger Eandi was the Chief Steward in charge with his gang of officials including Al Brizard, Dick Grundy, John Graham, Bud Gorham, Dick Templeton, Glen Wilhelm, Carl Molfield, and Bob Corbitt. Linda Rogaski and the Dwyers rounded out the team.

There were nine race groups at the time with IT being huge from ITS to ITD. The Club added a 10th group which turned out to be good for me. It was made up of various vintage cars. My Grand Opening entry, a PT Mitsubishi I had been running all season, ended up in this race group over a disagreement with tech. This is a long story that defies gravity. Suffice it to say that the renewal of a log book on a car formerly owned by a steward is not a guarantee. Roll bar thickness was the alleged issue, so no new log book and no race class victory for me in the grand-opening event at Thunderhill ! Damn! Thanks to Roger Eandi, the Mitsubishi was allowed to run in group ten. I got on track but it was a hollow victory. I did not win as I wasn’t really in the class. I recovered.

At the grand opening, Burrows Oil provided the fuel rig and the fuel for the racers. It was a farm trailer that Bob Burrows rigged up so that we would have fuel. We had two types, 110 and 100 octane but no 91.

Winners that day included: Tom Fogarty in FV; Eric Christiansen in the 440 class; Chuck Billington in CSR; Chuck West in FM; Lee Lucas in S2; Darrell Benner in FC; Al Gambetti in FA; Steven Bresoe in SS2; Frank Emmett in SP; Jon Norman in GT3; Jack Skibo in GT2; Jay Norris in AS; Don Inferrera in GT1; David Fraser in DSR; Rich Bontempi in EP; Noel Hayward in GP; Don McCoy in FP; Jon Becker in GT5; Ray Hiett in HP; Norris Rancourt in PE; John Beckwith in PB; James Sheppard in SGT; Clint deWitt in SSB; Chuck Meyer in PT [My class]; Tom McCarthy in SSC; Wayne Richter in ITD; Mike Tygeson in PC; Mike Benzon in SR - [Spec Racer]; Ed Demayo in CS; Bob Cartwright in SF – [Spec Ford]; Brian Forester in FE; Tom Lepper in RS – [Radial Sedan]; Sean McKenna in ITC; [An Oka car]; Phillip Hawkins in ITA; Ceasar Villalba in ITS; Robert Gordon in ITR; John Collins in CP and Reynauld Watt in the Group 10 vintage class. Do you think we had enough classes? Of the winners Hiett was from Reno Nevada and Gordon and Collins were from Portland, Oregon. There were a great many entrants from out of state including Nick Craw who worked in Denver but called the east coast home [I think Connecticut]. Lee Lucas earned the best lap time among the winners in his S2 at 1:10.078 with Chuck Billington second fast in his CSR at 1:10.144. These are both in the 89 miles per hour range. ]

Among the other highlights that weekend was the pee-gravel on the side of the track as a result of construction. Reportedly Tom Foster’s CSR car got a rock under a drive belt and lost an engine. As if to out-do the gravel, officials’ added tires on the outside of the turns. Nick Craw was a victim at the start of the ITS race as he was pushed or drove off of turn one and collected a tire under the Z-car air dam. The delay was enough to end any chances of his owning a trophy from this historic day.

Another highlight included a pumpkin carving contest. There is no record of the winner. We also had a Halloween costume contest that certainly Bob Corbitt must have won based on the photos. The pumpkin contest made a huge mess but we cleaned it up.
As Sunday wound down Craig T. Nelson left the track for the nearby Willows airport for his trip home. The next time we saw him, in a manner of speaking, was when his Lear Jet buzzed the front straightaway at a level that resulted in the now famous picture taken from the hill where the water tank rests by local Steven French. It shows the top of the plane flying past the timing and scoring trailer heading south. It was awesome but some anal retentive types wanted to turn him into the FAA to which I responded, “Nelson was not flying the plane” and that was the end of that.

The weekend event drew a huge turnout of spectators, $15,000 worth in fact with each one paying $10 to get in to see what this SCCA road racing was all about. My wife to be, Terry Taylor was there with her two boys, Dan and Brian and some family friends. She remembers fondly the $30 tab to get in. This was and remains to this day the largest spectator gate ever received at Thunderhill Park.

Those spectators and many of the racers purchased tee shirts and a limited supply of Thunderhill merchandise adding another $10k to the weekend till. The balance of the income from that weekend was and remains the constant of rent and some service fees. It should be known that Thunderhill does not benefit from the number of entries or spectators in most cases and, in fact, relies on relatively fixed income streams from track rent and services.

Today, food, fuel, tires, merchandise, garages, and the skid pad are vital to the success of the facility. If we had to rely on track rent, the rent would be higher and the track would be smaller in many ways. This is a good time to say a BIG THANK YOU to anyone who has ever rented the track, put on an event, purchased gas and food, bought a tee shirt or Go Pro camera, used the skid pad and rented a garage. Without you Thunderhill would not be what it is today. Thank you! Please keep doing all these things as we move forward past our 20th anniversary year in 2013.

When the Grand Opening ended it turned out to be a great event. The people of Willows and Glenn County knew they had a road race track in the town. In Glenn County, most people think of circle tracks when they hear the name “race track” since there was a circle track in Willows long ago before the I-5 freeway went right through the infield.
The next phase of Thunderhill Park focused on building the business base and a host of loyal, supportive and regular customers. We have been blessed over the years with a long list of men and women who have made Thunderhill their track and who come back time-after-time to put on events and attend other people’s events.

Among the stories on the horizon is how we turned the SCCA street car school into a major source of revenue that eventually became Hooked-on-Driving and how we were able to add motorcycles to the schedule despite initial local objections which resulted in a lasting partnership with the good people at the American Federation of Motorcyclists [AFM]. We’ll also explore the addition of the final mile and the incredible utility we were able to achieve with our Roger Eandi Club house despite some pretty strange inputs and resistance. Vern Vierra built the Club house and once again it was Richard Siri and his team of Art Siri and Steven Crawford who made the final mile a reality.

Stay tuned.

Part one can be found HERE

Part two can be found HERE ...

Toyo Tires Enduro Contingency program announced for 2013

stuart seitz — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:18:06 -0800

Toyo Tires will offer a new open tire contingency program to all Enduro classes during the 2013 regional racing season. The new contingency program will be available immediately and like all Toyo contingencies, it will be available to Enduro entrants competing on the Proxes® line of Toyo tires.

This new offering to the expansive Toyo contingency program in 2013 increases the available contingency from Toyo Tires to a whopping $10,000,000 in contingency value to NASA racers. One very important note about this new program is its availability to current Toyo contingency participants in other classes. Product awards are available to competitors in addition to any regional Toyo contingency they may have qualified for during the same day. This program is separate in nature and eligible for contingency awards even if a competitor may have already qualified for “Toyo bucks” during the same day. Simply put, if you usually run in a regional sprint racing class on a Toyo tire and collect contingency, you are now eligible to join the ranks of the Enduro competitors and vie for contingency in those classes as well!

Click here to find out more. ...

A Message From Thunderhill...

shell — Tue, 07 May 2013 01:24:13 -0800

If you need to leave a trailer or vehicle at Thunderhill Raceway Park, the fee will be $50 per week or $100 per month.Thunderhill encourages you to use this service, however prior to doing so you must contact someone from Thunderhill Management to pay the appropriate fee, and leave your contact information.

If Thunderhill finds any trailer or vehicle left onsite that has not complied with these rules, the following will occur.

1. There will be a barriers placed in front of and behind your trailer or vehicle so it cannot be moved.

2. When you pick up your illegally parked trailer or vehicle you will have to pay a $250 access fee.

3. Violators will lose the ability to store anything onsite for a period of 1 year.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Thunderhill Management ...

The History Of Thunderhill According To David. Part Two

stuart seitz — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:08:49 -0800

If you have been reading the story of Thunderhill you know we are up to the part where we start construction. We had just gotten permission to build the track and the period of notification to the local area had passed with nary a single complaint. The next step before construction was to announce the successful status of the track effort. We did this through a video and a site visit plus Wheel press. The video was made using a helicopter to fly over a track carved into the landscape that sort of replicated the design created by Steve Crawford. We shot the video by hanging off the runner of the helicopter as it followed the path of the track plowed into the earth by our new neighbor Thor Oden. We still have that video. We showed the video at the SCCA banquet in 1992 and we issued press in the Wheel. I think Club members were pleased with what they saw and heard but there were still those folks who thought that Willows was too far away and that this would be the death knell of the project. The original parameter for location was one hour from the intersection of 580 and 680 in Pleasanton. It had to do with travel time.

We also had a weekend visit at the site. All who attended gathered on top of the hill where the water tank now sits. We had a few ATV’s and a picnic lunch. It was awesome! I think it was Gary Meeker who stuck his ATV in the mud on what would become the paddock. Back then it was not level but a ravine of sorts. A lot of dirt was put in place to make our paddock as it is today. With the word out all over the place and the county saying yes we turned to Art Siri, Richard Siri, Steve Crawford and a few others to do the engineering. Landon Engineering in Willows was the resident engineering firm. Crawford worked for CH2MHill at the time so he was back-up and Art Siri built Sears Point so he had some real good ideas and expertise that would really make a difference. Richard Siri owned Siri Grading and Paving, the firm that built the 101 freeway north of San Francisco. This was Art’s business when he raced GT1 cars with the Club. We were off and running. Art designed the all-important cross section of our track as well as the asphalt mix. Jackson Baker was selected as the paving company and other contractors came on board for various special efforts. As an example our water tank was built by a Club member named Loren Turk. Bill Dwyer helped with communications. There were many who helped.

We started construction just after the first of the year 1993 and we finished the 1.9 mile course in September of that same year. Richard Siri remained on site for the entire project. As you may know the original asphalt surface lasted until 2008, 15 years! It could have lasted even longer but we were ready to repave. The asphalt we used was AR8000, not highway asphalt, and it had special oil percentages as well as specific rock fracture standards and other components that only Art Siri could have known we needed. We changed the oil percentages in the late stages based on the recommendation of Frank Shoemakers crew chief Ron Reese who just happened to work for Cal Trans. This was the best asphalt and the best paving job to date at Thunderhill.

Part of the development of the track involved getting portable buildings for T&S and administration. We did this through Mobile Modular. To create a building for timing and scoring we added a full side of windows to one 10’ by 60’ trailer. Because of the height of the trailer and the design of the front chute wall we put the trailer past the starters stand so scorers could see the cars as they passed. We calculated that it would have taken at least a three-story building to see the race cars if T&S were behind the front chute wall. We considered going to the other side but rightfully abandoned that idea. Today one of the many unique features of Thunderhill is that the finish line does not line up with the starters stand. Different. We also procured various vehicles during this period from Sears Point that the Club had gotten for free and was using on occasion there. We still have Art Perry’s paddock wagon in use. It pulls the broom and has for many years!

During the development of the track we realized that we did not have enough money to build a 1.9 mile track. The first step was to design a 1.3 mile track that we could afford. This also involved an unpaved entry road and no pavement in the paddock. Not good. Not acceptable. So I went shopping for more money. Please keep in mind that when I use the singular pronoun “I”, in most cases this involved other people, many other people. In the case of the $300,000 we borrowed from SCCA-National, Roger Eandi played a critical role. He went to Nick Craw and the deal was struck that we would borrow $300,000 with interest. For this the SCCA National office wanted collateral which was fine. We had a loan document and they had the deed to the land. Win/Win. But that wasn’t enough. Next I went to some members who had the means and, I felt, the passion to help. This group of very friendly club members loaned us another $300,000 with no interest and no collateral, just a simple IOU. Kevin Jenkins topped the list with a $100,000 loan which he said he really did not expect to get back. Others put in $25,000. This very special list of track supporters included: Kevin Jenkins; Ken Epsman; Mark and Linda Mountanos; John B. Fullerton; Vic Rice; Brent Dickens; Bruce H. O’Neil; Richard Frank; Rudy Revak; and Bruce and Sue Thompson. I seem to recall that Marc Fong was among this group and I fear that I may have left someone out. I apologize profusely if I did. As you can imagine, we will never forget the willingness of these friends to help make the mission of Thunderhill a reality and better than it would have been without their help and generosity.

Prior to this time the Shelby Club donated $50,000 out of the goodness of their hearts and because they believed in Tom McCarthy and they believed in the project. We have never let them forget how much we appreciate their donation and statement of trust.

With the added funding we were able to build turns 6, 7, 8, 8A and 9 making Thunderhill 1.9 miles long with nine turns. Even more importantly we got a paved entry road as well as a 50’ wide strip of asphalt we called the paddock. Today the entire paddock is paved but those who were here before that time can tell stories about the north wind and the dust that came their way when the paddock was dirt. Oddly enough, when we opened up in 1993 there were still segments of the paddock at Sears Point that were not paved. We were not that far behind Sears Point before Bruton Smith came along.

Another challenge of Thunderhill Park in those early days was that we did not have electricity. Zero. For timing and scoring I got a used Isuzu-powered generator taken out of a winery. We mounted it next to T&S and turned on the power. On at least two occasions this motor stopped due to overheating and a complete loss of water. Each time when the engine stopped glowing it restarted. It continued to served us until we paid for all those new poles you see in place starting at the canal on highway 162. Take a look next time you cross the canal about a mile east of our entry gate. We had PG&E! the Isuzu motor still runs!

Speaking of the entry road, the rocks that make up what is an exceptional landscape appearance all came from under the track. Richard Siri needed a place to dispose of the big rocks and so he lined our entry road on the east side resulting in what we have today. Another funny story concerns the trees along the entry road. The County wanted a quality landscape plan as part of the development of Thunderhill. Since we had no idea what the inside of the paddock might ultimately look like and wanted to keep our options open, we made the entire landscape plan along the entry road. The somewhat dwarfed Fruitless Mulberry trees that are there now were all planted on a Club work day by a host of great members and there they remain. We have had some challenges, water being one of them, which is why they are much smaller than they should be. Our entry road, with the rocks, the trees and the fabulous gate that Bruce Silver built and delivered to the track, makes up the first impression for new comers to Thunderhill. Lucky or brilliant planning, the first impression of Thunderhill has proven to be very good for folks who see us for the first time as the drive past VooDoo Hill and contemplate their right turn onto the property. VooDoo Hill is the name that was given to the elevated area that abuts highway 162 and rises to where our water tank is now located. It apparently has some local history.

At this same Club work day a large group of volunteers built about five all-wood, 8’ x 8’ flagging stations. They looked great and had complete roofs and were far superior to what the Club workers were experiencing at other tracks. They no longer exist, replaced by 2x2 square tubing steel structures that are pinned to the ground. Why? Every single one of the wooden stations were destroyed by wind starting with the tops and including just about every other part. Lesson learned. You can see them in grand opening photos if you like.

Another work project that day was the installation of over a thousand feet of snow fence. It went from turn 9 all the way to the access road over-looking turn one. That was a lot of plastic fence. The team sunk the stakes and attached the fence using plastic tie straps. The ties eventually became victims of the sun but this fence got us through our grand opening as well as the first year. This work day was one of the highlights of the development of Thunderhill Park.

During 1993 I was operating the SCCA region office in Livermore along with Don Wixcel. This meant many trips up the I-5 freeway to Willows to see what was going on and to interface with a multitude of contacts both governmental as well as Richard Siri and Company. Looking back it seems almost impossible but we did it and the track took shape. The race surface was done in September and more than one friendly soul drove out onto the track to get their bearings. Nothing fast however. With everything falling into place plans for the grand opening began. As you can imagine there was quite a buzz about the Club’s new track and all the fanfare that would go along with the first race. This was true in the SCCA world as well as in all of Glenn County. Everyone wanted to see this track that the SFR/SCCA had built.

It should be noted that the Shelby Club was actually the first group to appear at the track in mass. The event was more of a come and see and drive but no high-speed stuff. The SFR/SCCA “Grand Opening” was set for Halloween weekend, about a month later.

Among the many little inconveniences that cropped up as the grand opening approached was the absence of curbs, anything to sweep the track and the absence of any form of food service. We also had perimeter gravel on the edges of the track which would prove to be a bit of a challenge especially if your name was Chuck Billington. Some of the solutions we came up with were better than others but we were ready for that historic weekend. The next edition of this story will be about the grand opening, the appearance of SCCA National President Nicholas Craw and acting celebrity Craig T. Nelson and the well disseminated rumor that Paul Newman and Tom Cruise would be present. Perhaps this was why, to this day, the crowd at the grand opening of Thunderhill Park was the biggest ever.

Part one of this story can be read here. ...

The Skid Pad At Thunderhill Is Available For Rent.

shell — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:55:29 -0800

Interested in renting our skid pad? If you have 1 car or multiple cars we've got your skid pad needs covered.To find out more information, call Shannon Ell today at 530-934 5588 Ext 103 or e-mail Shannon@thunderhill.com ...

Sound Limits At Thunderhilll - Please Read!

shell — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 01:00:31 -0800

Be advised Thunderhil Raceway has a 103 sound limit and mufflers are required. We wanted to remind you of these requirements and let you know they will be strictly enforced. This means anyone attending events at Thunderhill should be fully prepared to follow these requirements. If you are over the 103 limit, you will be blacked flagged. Thunderhill will then give you an opportunity to correct the problem. Once you are back out on track, if you are still over the 103 limit you will be asked to trailer the car or motorcycle for the rest of the day.

We wanted to give you this friendly reminder so you can come prepared and are not caught off guard by sound issues. As always we want you to have a great experience whenever you attend events at Thunderhill Raceway!

Thank you,

Thunderhill Management

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Catch NASA "Survive the 25" On NBC Sports Network

shell — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:00:40 -0800

Dear NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill Competitor,

Many of you are likely already planning for the 2013 25 hours of Thunderhill, but we wanted to take a moment and inform you of your chance to relive all the action during "Survive the 25" Airing on NBC Sports Network March 15 at 12:00 a.m. ET/9:00pm PT. The documentary brought to you in part by Mazda and Hankook Tires follows 4 teams as the attempt to complete the longest and most punishing endurance road race in North America. I'm certain you will spot many folks you know and maybe even see yourself or team during thetelecast. We hope you enjoy the production!

As a courtesy to our continued efforts of bring your stories to as many people as we can reach, would each of you be so kind as to post the link below on your Facebook walls to not only let all of your friends know how challenging this race truly is, but to also help spread the word on just how much fun endurance racing truly can be!

http://www.nasaproracing.com/2013/03/survive-the-25-to-air-on-the-n-1.html

We would also ask that each of you like us on Facebook for any additional details regarding this great event.

www.facebook.com/nasaproracing

www.facebook.com/NASA25HrsofThunderhill.

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The History Of Thunderhill According To David. Part One

stuart seitz — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:58:51 -0800

For those of you who remember the “Fractured Fairy Tales” segment of the Bullwinkle Show I now offer a similar version of the conception, birth and growth of Thunderhill Park, [the Hill] our now adult road race track just about to celebrate its 20th year. Wow, time flies when you are having fun!

One of the best parts of the story of the Hill is that it came about as a solution to a problem confronting the then board of directors of the San Francisco Region of the Sports Car Club of American [Incorporated April 15th, 1953] that included Tom McCarthy, Roger Eandi, Gary Meeker, Lynn Hunting, Jon Norman, Tom Piantanida and Clint DeWitt. What they decided to do as a result of feeling poorly treated by the management of the tracks serving the area, specifically Laguna Seca and Sears Point, was to build their own road course. Why not?

They practically built Laguna Seca and Sears Point singlehandedly. They were responsible for Vacaville except for its failure. How do I know? They told me. Distressed by not being given their proper respect and the dates they wanted on the calendar they formed a committee and set out to build their own track. Wow, what a solution. There had not been a race track built in California since Ontario Motor Speedway and it was already closed. Riverside Raceway, the core track for the next largest region in the SCCA, Cal Club, was closing and in its last death-rattle. Laguna Seca had been given over to the county of Monterey by the Federal Government and a guy named Skip Berg, a developer,] was the new owner of Sears Point. Jack Williams, the prior owner, had been aced out of his ownership role over various financial dealings that ended up with him looking at the track from outside the gate.

So why was building their own track regarded among the best moments in the development of the Hill? Because it was impossible to build a race track in California. The California Environmental Quality Act [CEQA] could be used in any number of ways to prove, without a doubt, that a race track for racing cars and motorcycles was injurious to the environment. Period. The good news is this same act could be used to approve a race track but the people doing the approving had to want the race track in their back yards. That was the second problem. Not many people did.

Absent the knowledge that it was impossible to build a race track in California in the late 80’s the Club trudged on. At first there were many club members involved. Committees were formed. Prospecting for land was a weekend adventure for committee members and others who just did so. Site number one came in Stanislaus County near the farming community of La Grange. It was a good site a bit south-east of Stockton in pure agricultural land. Enter Steve Crawford. Steve worked for CH2M-Hill as an engineer and planner. He was a formula car racer and volunteered to design the track based on input from the committee and the natural terrain. He designed a track that was pretty sexy for the LaGrange property. The process began and the committee held a town-hall meeting in La Grange while other members drew up a business plan for the project and issued a press release to the local Stockton paper. As per usual, the folks who came to the town hall meeting were those who felt that they would be adversely impacted by the race track. They asked lots of questions. Committee members present went on the defensive and tried to mitigate the concerns of the sometimes excited audience. They said the track would be relatively small, hold only small club events and not be a nuisance. They may have even used the term non-spectator. The problems was that the business plan and the story that it generated for the Stockton paper were 180 degrees off. Someone was not telling the truth. Even though the effort continued through preliminary planning review the project was doomed. Resistance met Supervisor and the key moment came when the supervisors were asked individually if they had to vote on the approval of the race track for the SCCA today what would they vote. You’ve heard the word unanimous. It was unanimous but not in favor of the project. The folks in charge correctly withdrew from that site and the process of finding another site began. At the same time Geoff Provo mentioned the idea of getting some expertise to help with the project to avoid what happened in La Grange. He mentioned one fellow who was General Manager of Baylands Raceway Park in Fremont. Roger Eandi and Jon Norman interviewed the demure sprint car racer and liked what they saw and heard. Enter David Vodden. [To be continued] ...

Major Solar Installation At Thunderhill

stuart seitz — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:11:13 -0800

Willows, Ca. February 14, 2013….. Alternative Energy Systems [AES] a Chico based solar company is ensconced at the local Thunderhill Raceway Park in the process of installing 314 solar panels to the already diverse energy program at the Willows road race track. The $336,824 project began just a week ago and is schedule to bring the facility to a point nearing grid-neutral status when combined with the track’s three wind generators and the pending solar field to be located on 133 acres of property north of the raceway. “We are very excited about this project and what it means to the image and energy use of Thunderhill Park,” noted track energy expert Stuart Seitz. Seitz is a 2010 graduate of Chico State and three-year employee of the raceway located at 5250 Hwy 162 in Willows.

Thunderhill Park will have three separate systems connected to PG&E services producing a kilowatt rating of 94,200 watts. The 314 monocrystalline solar panels, all manufactured in the USA, will produce 136,983 kilowatt hours annually using eleven 7000 watt DC to AC power inverters. The annual savings projected for the raceway is $24,000. The 25 year planning model for the installation shows a projected energy savings of $901,672. The annual greenhouse gas reduction from the system’s use would cancel out the consumption of 11,000 gallons of gasoline, energy used by 14.5 homes over a year, as well as “carbon” sequestered by 2,478 tree seedlings grown for ten years or 79.2 acres of US forests.

Thunderhill Park is regarded as a leader in many areas of alternate energy applications not only from its own efforts but as a result of partnering with track users such as Tesla, Brammo and other developers of electric vehicles. “We are committed to the future,” Seitz said, “and we are constantly on the lookout for ways to utilize Thunderhill Park for the advancement of technology and environmental causes.”

Thunderhill Park opened in 1993 and is celebrating its 20th anniversary throughout 2013. Many special events are planned on race weekends in 2013 including a major event for the community where everyone will be encouraged to attend and see the facility after twenty years of development.

The track also hopes to invest close to four million dollars into the property in 2013 to insure its future in the industry and its position as a major contributor to the broader Glenn County economy for many years to come.

Information about Thunderhill Park can be obtained by accessing www.thunderhill.com or by calling David Vodden at [530] 934-5588 e-101.
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