Utah track grabs world attention

The fact that Miller Motorsports Park made the "short list" in voting for International Motorsports Facility of the Year was, in itself, unexpected.

The fact it won was a "fun surprise," Larry Miller remembered.

The Utah track was one of four finalists announced at the Professional Motorsport World Expo in Calogne, Germany. The other three candidates were the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Cranfield University in England and Paul Ricard HTTT track in France.

"It came as a complete surprise to us," said Miller, "with this being our inaugural season. In fact, Alan (Wilson, track designer and manager) told me, just in passing, we were on the list, and while he didn't think we'd win, he thought we should be represented."

Voting was done by some of the greatest names in auto racing, including Michael Andretti of Andretti Green Racing, Trevor Carlin of Carlin Motorsport and noted motor racing writer David Tremayne.

"A highlight for me was what they had to say about the track. They talked about how our track exploded onto the racing scene and how well it was received, especially by the drivers. They were so taken by how challenging it was, with the off-camber turns and hairpin turns, and yet how safe they felt driving the track. They talked about how safe they felt and how, if they made a mistake, they knew they weren't going to slam into a wall," said Miller.

"Safety. That's one of the first things we put at the top of the list when we started out on this project."

This first year, too, was a real learning experience for Miller. First and foremost, he said, that while the track caught the attention of the world, it has been slow in grabbing the attention of the local fans.

"For this next season, we need to do a better job educating the fans. That is, not only telling fans about the races, but just who these drivers are and what they are all about. We had some of the best drivers in the world and some of the fastest cars, and I don't think we got that message out very well," Miller said.

"We had five nationally sanctioned racing organizations last season, and all of them are coming back, plus three or four new ones. That says a lot for the level of racing. A lot of it has been word of mouth. That is, drivers telling other drivers just how good the track is."

He added that it's been a challenge trying to fit in some of the events because of the busy schedule. Every weekend, from March through October, will feature some type of racing event.

This would include the addition of NASCAR's Grand National Western Series.