North Carolina, the spiritual home of Stock Car racing, has passed a law that will prevent mixed-use development projects like housing and businesses from encroaching upon racing facilities and then filing noise ordinance complaints.
This comes in the form of House Bill 926 that includes a provision to ‘protect the right to race.’ The technical name of Article 10 of the bill is the ‘Racing Facility and Racetrack Nuisance Immunity.’
That bill, which was passed by Governor Josh Stein without signature, reads as follows:
“A racing facility shall not be subject to any action brought by a surrounding property owner under any nuisance or taking cause of action if the developer of the racing facility obtained all permits required for construction of the racing facility and established a vested right in the development of the property or contiguous group of properties where the racing facility is located before the surrounding property owner either purchased the real property or constructed any building in the area of the racing facility.”
The bill was introduced by State Representative Allen Chesser, who also chairs the House Standing Committee on Regulatory Reform, in alliance with the Specialty Equipment Market Association and its Performance Racing Industry arm, who praised its passing in a Wednesday statement.
“Race tracks deserve strong champions to advocate on their behalf. Too many across the country face direct challenges that threaten their survival. These facilities are more than just tracks. They sustain jobs, generate local economic activity and embody a vital piece of our motorsports heritage, not just in North Carolina, but nationwide. When a track closes, communities lose real jobs, real livelihoods and beloved traditions.”
Iowa recently passed a similar law as did the community of South Boston, Virginia in response to efforts to build mixed-use facilities around the iconic short track that shares the name of the town. South Boston Speedway is also owned by the Mattioli family that operates NASCAR-hosting Pocono Raceway.
In addition to NASCAR venues like Charlotte Motor Speedway, North Wilkesboro Speedway and Rockingham Raceway, North Carolina also hosts every team across the Cup and Xfinity Series and all but two Truck Series teams.
There are 40 overall motorsports venues in the state and now this bill prevent them from being besieged by what SEMA and PRI calls ‘NIMBYs.’
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