"Jimmie Johnson? Why he's like the Michael Jordan of car
racing," my stepson Bill said ecstatically after I told him
I had been invited to meet Nascar's 2007 champion at the '21'
Club. Because my stepson is a big fan, I asked him for
background.
I had suggested in a recent column that Nascar coming to Staten
Island was a good thing, but the deal was subsequently quashed by
local politicians and residents who feared traffic congestion.
The more I learn about the Nascar community, the more I've come
to believe that New York missed a great opportunity.
Some 150,000 enthusiasts lined Manhattan streets Wednesday for
the fourth annual Nascar Victory Lap, and when I arrived at 21,
fans of all ages were outside the restaurant hoping to snare Mr.
Johnson's autograph. I'm not sure what I expected from the icons
of auto racing, but I might just as well been at a Fortune 500
get-together. I had to have Mr. Johnson pointed out to me,
because in his dark blue suit he looked like a young Wall Street
trader. It turns out that Mr. Johnson and his wife, Chandra, have
rented in Manhattan for the past four years and are reportedly
purchasing an apartment in Chelsea.
I spoke to several Nascar officials who confirmed that
International Speedway Corp. had finalized its deal with a
trucking distribution warehouse company, Pro-Logis, to take over
the Bloomfield site in Staten Island that was to be the home of
the proposed Nascar track. At the luncheon, I sat at the table of
team owner Rick Hendrick, who shared anecdotes about other
communities that had nixed Nascar racetracks, only to find
themselves with less desirable replacements.
I learned the next day that in fact the deal with ProLogis had
fallen through and the Bloomfield site was once again vacant. I
wondered whether Nascar would now be welcomed.
All three Staten Island City Council members had objected to the
racetrack. Council Member Vincent Ignizio, who replaced Andrew
Lanza upon the latter's election to the state senate, reiterated
the objection to Nascar. A spokesman for Michael McMahon
confirmed that the council member favored other options for the
site and would not support a Nascar revival offer. The minority
leader, James Oddo, told me: "Unlike Lazarus, Nascar will
not be rising again."
I respect the need of these politicians to heed the demands of
their constituents. The politicians are followers and lack a
vision for our community. The overriding complaint about having
Nascar races on Staten Island was the traffic issue, even though
the events would only occur a few times a year. I had the
misfortune to take an express bus home from Manhattan and there
was nothing express about that trip. Traffic was stalled for
miles approaching the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
Whatever is being done right now to alleviate the congestion is
obviously not working. We have three new huge ferries that are
equipped to take cars and buses, but since the attacks of
September 11, 2001, vehicles have been banned even though it
would be a simple matter to have them checked for explosive
devices before boarding. Efforts to revive the West Side rail
link to New Jersey have gone nowhere. Isn't it at least
conceivable that having a huge endeavor like Nascar would spur a
traffic solution?
The Bloomfield site is zoned for industrial development. That's
not going to change. Residents who've opposed the racetrack are
living in some kind of dream world if they think whatever
replaces ProLogis will have a benign impact on the island. Funny
how the traffic issue never arose when we were vying for the
Olympics. In the meantime, we're all sweating an increase in the
subway fare or property taxes. The mammoth revenue the races
would bring to the city would definitely dispel that anxiety.
When the Nascar proposal was first offered, I had no interest in
it. But when I did some homework and learned how big this sport
is, my views began to change. Auto racing in toto is the largest
spectator sport in the nation, even though it ranks low in
television ratings. Try getting a hotel room in the Poconos when
there's an event. Families plan their year around the Nascar
schedule. I never could understand the excitement of a former
bowling league partner, Marie, when she rhapsodized about the
trek she and her husband planned to Daytona, Fla. Now I do.
I hear Governor Spitzer is a fan, and if that's so, maybe it will
be through Nascar that he reconnects with the New Yorkers he lost
during his recent controversies. I hope so.