Racetrack reopening hits noise law snag

MEAD — Plans to reopen the long-dormant Continental Divide Racetrack won’t get the green flag until organizers sort out differences with town officials over the noise the project would generate.

A year ago, the Boulder-based Shelby American Collection, a vintage-racing-car museum, purchased the racetrack at Interstate 25 and Weld County Road 34 in Mead. The group’s plans would more than double the track size and build a new museum on the grounds.

“We’re having problems with the (town) of Mead because of noise restrictions,´ said Steve Volk, president of Boulder-based DataPlay Inc. and co-founder of the nonprofit Shelby American Collection.

“There were no noise restrictions on the track at the time we purchased it, but they’re putting the restrictions on it now for our motorsports park.”

That is not quite the case, according to Mead Town Clerk Judy Hegwood.

“There were certain noise restrictions in place,” she said, “but we added more.”

An ordinance passed by the town board in late November restricts track noise to 103 decibels as measured at a spot two feet from the edge of the track.

That’s nearly equivalent to the sound a snow blower makes, according to the New York City-based League for the Hard of Hearing, a watchdog group that measures noise levels and posts them on a Web site at www.lhh.org.

Long-term exposure to noise louder than 85 decibels may cause hearing loss, according to the group.

All but one of five trustees voted for the new ordinance, Hegwood said. “Neighbors around (the track) have voiced their opposition to it,” she said, “and a sound engineer looked it over and judged what the noise level would be.”

The ordinance stated that up to three special permits would be granted per year that would allow the sound to go up to 113 decibels. Violators of the ordinance could be fined up to $1,000.

The new track would be a “worldwide landmark,” according to Volk.

He said the group would delay a decision on proceeding with the project until the noise issue was settled.

“We haven’t made a decision yet,” he said. “We need to collect more information and re-evaluate our position. It’s very unfortunate.”

The racing center would provide track time to the public, space for auto-enthusiast groups to meet, and a new 30,000-square-foot museum building, all of which will cost “millions,” Volk said. “We have sponsorship and are ready to grow.”

The current site of the Shelby American Collection’s Boulder museum, at 10,000 square feet, is one-third the size of the proposed building.

The Shelby American Collection is “the center of the universe for Shelby race cars,” Volk said. “It’s one of a kind.”

In the 1960s, no American racecars could compete with their European counterparts until Carroll Shelby, a Le Mans-winning driver himself, paired an aluminum chassis with a Ford V-8.

The resulting car was both powerful and lightweight, unlike any previous American-made car. In 1965, Shelby’s team won the World Manufacturer’s Championship.

“He ushered in the era of the muscle car,” Volk raved. “We’re fortunate to have collectors in Colorado who have teamed together to form this museum.”

The cars represented in the museum are only a portion of what is available for display.

“We have additional cars at Bill Murray’s shop,” Volk said, “so you’re not seeing all the cars we’ve got.”

Murray Racing of Longmont has been restoring only Shelbys for decades. Owner Bill Murray is the exclusive restorer for the Shelby American Collection.

At the group’s Sixth Annual Holiday Party, a fund-raiser held Dec. 1, former Shelby American Team driver Bob Bondurant said, “I’ve been to a lot of different museums, and there’s nothing like this in the world. They’re real race cars.”

Along with racing greats Dan Gerber, Tom Payne, Phil Hill and Carroll Shelby himself, Bondurant welcomed nearly 500 fans to the event, which garners the museum about $80,000 in an evening through ticket sales, donations and a silent auction of Shelby Racing Team memorabilia.

The difference between the fund-raiser proceeds and the museum’s budget is filled in by private donations from the founders, according to Volk.

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