It has been four years since Hawaii Raceway Park in Kalaeloa was shut down. This facility was the only one on Oahu where car enthusiasts could legally race. Since the park's closing, there have been efforts to build a new race track on Oahu, but unfortunately, they have been met by some road blocks.
Michael Kitchens helped to organize this year's "Build the Track" motorsports show at Aloha Tower Marketplace held on Saturday.
"If you were to just walk around today and look at all the race cars, especially the ones behind me, you know, their sole mission is to you know, race on a track. And they don't have one to do that, but they're still here," he said.
Kitchens helped organize this Build the Track motorsports show at Aloha Tower Marketplace.
This event is dedicated to raising awareness for the support of a motorsports facility on Oahu.
"The racetrack should be built to keep the kids off the streets," said Steven Kehm.
Over the past four years, the former site of Hawaii Raceway Park changed hands several times.
This past March, a company called AG/CW Raceway Owner bought the 66-acre parcel for nearly $14 million. The company is affiliated with the investment firm Angelo Gordon and Company.
"I believe they're out of New York, but they purchased the property, the track, for the purposes of selling it and making it profit off the industrial space," said Kitchens.
Currently the group Save Oahu's Race Tracks and the Oahu Motorsports Advisory Council are trying to develop a multi-purpose motorsports facility known as Kalaeloa Raceway Park on a parcel of land that's about half the size of the former Hawaii Raceway Park site.
"Politics, there are the only things that really kind of hampered everything, but we're working our way through it," said Kitchens.
"Just like to say the sooner the lawmakers open up their eyes and realize how many people want a track, the sooner we'll actually get one," said Kehm.
The neighbor islands have places where car enthusiasts can legally race.
Kauai and Maui both have raceway parks, and the Big Island has the Hilo dragstrip.
