Update on the Racetrack

Dorothy Heinrichs just spoke with the Canaan Town Manager, Mike Samson, who filled her in on the news from the racetrack. Here’s her report on what he told her: 

The former Canaan Speedway will open in July as a private club track. While it will be be closed to the public during normal operation, we’re all invited to see the unfinished facility as part of Canaan’s July 4 celebrations. The four kinds of vehicles that will be raced there will be on display: sports cars (mostly old-model, apparently), carts, motorcycles, and green energy vehicles. 

As part of the celebrations, the facility will host a model-airplane demonstration, and a race. A drone will provide coverage, which you can watch on the Town of Canaan website. There will be a race this Saturday; Mike said you can watch this on the Canaan site as well.

What about noise? Mike says that if you haven’t heard any cars recently, you shouldn’t worry because four races have already been run. Formerly the decibel limit at the track was 140 decibels; the new limit is 90. 

The facility comprises four tracks, three of which are ready for use:

• A dirt track for “high performance” racing.  According to Mike, the highest speed recorded in the most recent race was 40 mph. He rode in one of the cars himself, and says they’re not noisy.
• A paved 7/8-mile track (more than twice as long as the old oval track) for side-by-side racing. It’s similar to the track at Watkins Glen.
• A paved track for motorcycle and high-performance cars; it overlaps with a section of the side-by-side track.
• A fourth track, to be built in the future on undeveloped land, will add another half-mile to the side-by-side track.

In addition, a garage for some 20 cars will let owners keep their cars at the track and practice racing. Although liability issues will keep the public away from the unfenced track, the facility plans to clear part of the hill along Orange Road for parking and picnicking so people can watch from a safe distance.

The owner, Tillman Gerngross, has been working with the Town of Canaan to make this a going concern as a business and as an economic engine for the town. Mike says the facility hopes to host two or three music events a year as well as car shows, and other events. Canaan has been working to bring B&B’s to town, and Mike hopes that Canaan will eventually boast boutiques and a high end restaurant.

We’ll post more information about the track when we get it. Meanwhile, if you have any tips about this or other Orange news, please email Jay through this site or directly at o.speech@gmail.com.

Update on Saturday, June 27, 2015 at 3:29PM by OrangeNH

We erroneously reported that today's race on the Canaan racetrack could be seen online at the Canaan town website. The event is a RallyCross, a timed event on dirt. (We're hearing the noise right now, and it's not bad.) You can see a video on RallyCross here.