R.I.P. Nelson's Ledges

There's an announcement on their webpage that states : "ALL EVENTS/ACTIVITY AT NELSON HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY.
IF/WHEN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE THERE WILL BE AN ANNOUNCEMENT." We were there a few weekends ago and the track surface was truly horrible. We made the best of it and raced as safely as we could, but the track was coming apart and there were many patches that were spray painted to keep people out of them. The back straight was covered in rocks after every race. The track fired the current management and hired new but with this new announcement it looks like the long rumored end could finally be near. Love it or hate it, the saying that "if you are fast at Nelson's you will be fast anywhere" still holds true. I hold out hope that this is not the end, I raced my first motorcycle race there in 1989 and have many good memories of this track. I will be very sad if this track indeed closes...

 

All they have to do is go out and mow the surface and they should be good to go

 

Not surprising at all...

 

Sean, if it stays that way until July can we make the first PIRC race a DH?

Funny I thought that was the saying for Grattan. While Nelson is bumpy, Grattan is pretty technical with blind corners and a ton of elevation change

I feel like if Nelson was smooth it would be a lot like Roebling

 

I completely agree...
Imagine my disappointment last year when I drove 10 plus hours to discover Roeblingblingbling was actually Nelson Ledges southern edition.

Eveything reminded me of being at Nelson from the track being in a "residential" area ... to having a house on the property ... to zero elevation change(for the most part)...

Sad to see Nelson close tho


Ride safe,
AAron

 

It's not closed. Track management runs the site and well....track management has been fired lol So they botched the site. NL is still open. The owner has contractors coming in for repairs. For more info contact Todd with Moto Series racing in Parma Ohio.

 

Sad to see any track going away.

I went to Blackhawk today to pick up some tires and visit with my CCS friends.
The place keeps getting a little better each season.
I will probably never like the BHF layout, but the current owner has kept making the facilities better and better. ( more paddock area paved, new buildings/ tech shed and so on)
An owner like that could do a lot for a track like Nelson.

I know it is all about the $ or lack of them.

 

I may be in the minority, but I have always loved Blackhawk (except for lack of runoff in turn two)...

 

I like BHF too. It was a fun spot to take the family for camping and some racing. I never went off, although someone in front of me went into the swamp outside of the last turn. It was hard to concentrate after seeing that.

 

Well technically the site didn't say the track was closed, it said they were suspending all activities until further notice. Not sure how the track management was at fault for this situation, unless the ownership is saying they had no idea the facility had gotten that bad

 

Every region in the country must have "that track", as they say the same thing out here about Willow Springs.

 

My first time at Nelson's, you had to dodge the potholes by getting out of the line. Everyone was weaving going down the front straight. Several sections had asphalt coming up so the bike in front of you would randomly throw chunks of it at you.

They repaired it once and it was a pretty fun layout. It's just the whole "experience" that makes it undesirable. Especially when you race at other tracks like Road Atlanta and Barber in the same season.

 

Thank god, Nelson's was a shit hole, how about replacing with a BHF?

 

Nelson's surface was dubious when I first raced there in 1976.

It might not have had a total repave since then.

 

Nelson Ledges is great, hope to see the existing WERA round remain on the schedule. I was showing pics of the races from last season to some friends and they were blown away by all the grass growing ON the track.

 

hopefully that stays closed until it its resurfaced at least

 

Putnam to replace Nelson on the schedule? Brings everyone over from the Chicago area over as well?

Sounds good to me.

:up:

 

I don't mind or even notice the grass, except when you walk the course, but the chunks of flying debris and potholes is a problem.

I think all we can hope for is patching the bad parts

As far a complete resurface, everyone I've heard talk about this seems to think it would make the track too dangerous. Lack of runoffs in key areas. They have the land to fix that, but swamp and tires makes it more difficult/expensive. I've heard the term millions used to describe the cost to just remove tires, but with the "boom" in recycling, I'm wondering if the track couldn't find a company that specifically recycles tires to make it's product and come to an agreement with them to be a sole supplier for a while, until they take all that needs to be removed.

 

Yeah but isn't there some beef between WERA and Putnam?

 

Some of them tires are no longer tires.. They are petrified rocks now..