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OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Former NASCAR star Darrell Waltrip thinks
Washington state is so pretty, he might be willing to build a
racetrack here by himself. "Who would not want to come to Washington state and not see all
the beautiful things you have here?" Waltrip said at the Capitol
on Thursday. "You folks have got a little bit of heaven out here and we
would really like to come out here and enjoy some of it with you." He went so far as to suggest that if lawmakers don't back a
proposal to bring a $368 million racetrack to Washington state,
that "I think I'll just build it myself. Me, Greg (Biffle) and
Richard (Petty) will just go in together and we'll build it and
we'll have a race out here for you." He later backed off the comments, saying it would be better for
the state to be involved, but it raised an interesting question. If International Speedway Corp. thought the Seattle metro market
was so valuable, why wouldn't it offer to pay for the entire cost
of a new track? When asked, Waltrip backed off his first statement. "It's math. My two and your two makes five. My two and his two
is only going to make four," he said while pointing to the other
drivers. "With your help and with our help, everybody works together,
this is a win-win. It's a win-win at a much faster pace. It's a
win-win with everybody involved." NASCAR stars Waltrip, Petty and Biffle -- a Washington native --
were in town Thursday trying to sway lawmakers into supporting
measures that would bring the racetrack to the state. A proposal by ISC calls for taxpayers to pay for about half of
the facility, with ISC contributing $180 million. The company says
it would pay for any cost overruns on the project. The state share
would be paid through bonds. The race track group contends the cost
of the bonds would be more than covered by the sales taxes paid by
out-of-state race fans. "This is the only part of the United States that's not really
covered by a racetrack," Petty said. "It's a win-win situation for us, it's a win-win situation for
the people in Washington state. There are millions and millions of
race car fans out there that have never heard tell of Washington." There are pending bills, supported by Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, that
would finance the 83,500-seat track. The proposals have left many lawmakers unimpressed, and powerful
House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, said Wednesday he wasn't awed
by the star power. When asked about Petty coming to town, Chopp said, "He's not a
member of the House last time I checked." Biffle said fans ask him all the time about when a racetrack
will be built in Washington. He finished in 25th place at the
Daytona 500 in Florida last weekend. "I'm very excited about the opportunity to come and race at
home," Biffle said, adding that he still has a house in the state
and his parents and brother live here. "It's a great opportunity for NASCAR and it's a great
opportunity for the Northwest to have a venue like this," he said. One of the biggest issues for many lawmakers is the proposed
location near the Bremerton National Airport in Kitsap County. Gov. Chris Gregoire has suggested that the project be moved to
Lewis County near Interstate 5, about 90 miles south of Seattle.
That county lost about 600 jobs last year after TransAlta Corp.
shut down a coal mine in Centralia.
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