The state of North Carolina has ratified House Bill 926 into law, which includes a provision to “protect the right to race.” The idea is, basically, you can’t move next to a race track and complain about the noise to get it shut down.
Specifically, Article 10 of the NC state legislature’s House Bill 926 is about “Racing Facility and Racetrack Nuisance Immunity.” After defining what a race track is and specifying that this rule applies to “within a three-mile radius of the perimeter of the property or contiguous group of properties where a racing facility is located,” it states the following:
“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.”
SEMA sent out an email blast this morning crediting Rep. Allen Chesser for “shepherding” the provision and Governor Josh Stein for signing off.
It makes sense that North Carolina would be pro-racing. NASCAR has a huge presence there, both with major corporate offices and R&D shops. The state is home to plenty of tracks, too. In addition to big-league motorsports venues like Charlotte Motor Speedway, North Carolina has about 40 active tracks that host public events (per a 2021 state budget document) and 28 short track venues that run racing “on a near weekly basis,” according to the North Carolina Motorsports Association.
The National Speedway Directory shows how the state’s tracks are geographically distributed—kind of all over the place. SEMA says North Carolina’s economic output in relation to motorsports is $3.82 billion annually, creating “nearly 20,000 jobs, paying over $1.35 billion in wages, and contributing more than $477 million in taxes.”
I happen to live just over three miles from a dirt track myself (in a different state). So under NC’s law, I’d still be able to complain about it, though I wouldn’t. You can hear motors from my place when the wind is right on a Friday night (sounds like a line in a country song), but they only run a few hours a week during a relatively short season.
I do understand people not wanting to hear racing sounds from their home. But with just 40-odd tracks spread across the 53,819 square-mile state of North Carolina, I feel like those folks should be able to find houses outside earshot of a racing venue.
Run or work at a small track? Have any legislation like this in the works in your state? Drop me a line at andrew.collins@thedrive.com, I’d be curious to hear about it.
Automotive journalist since 2013, Andrew primarily coordinates features, sponsored content, and multi-departmental initiatives at The Drive.
