Eagles Canyon Raceway is a new, 2.5-mile, 15-turn dedicated road course being constructed on 441 rolling acres 35 minutes north of Fort Worth, Texas.
Owners David and Linda Cook, both car racers, broke ground in April 2006 and paving began in November 2006. After the initial layer of pavement cures all winter, the final layer of asphalt, curbs and the final touches will be added to the $3.5 million project in time to open in the spring of 2007.
Although the track is owned by car people and designed by car people (Formula One driving coach Rob Wilson) to FIA (Federation Internationale de Automobile, the international sanctioning body for automobile racing) standards, Eagle Canyon Raceway’s ownership has sought design input from the motorcycle road racing community. In fact, professional racer Ty Howard, from nearby Weatherford, Texas, was asked to turn some laps of the track after its initial layer of asphalt was paved.
“They just wanted us to come out and check it out,” Howard told Roadracingworld.com December 29, “look at curbs, see if they had the same idea as we had about curbs, because they’re more car guys. So we pointed some things out to them about that.
“We helped them with their pit lane. They were a little confused how they were going to do pit lane, but I told them the way they had it laid out would be perfect. The way they have it now is pretty much the same way as [Motorsport Ranch] Cresson backwards [clockwise], so it’s really easy to get to. It’s gonna work out good.
“As far as the layout goes, it’s unbelievable. It’s really cool. It’s got three or four double-apex corners, and the elevation is a lot like Sears Point and Laguna Seca mixed together. You’re going up and down all the time. There’s spots where you’re in a fast, third-gear sweeper and the track just drops off.”
Howard also said the track has several medium-length straightaways followed by hard braking areas, producing several passing zones.
Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association (CMRA), which is based in Fort Worth, helped the track get in touch with Howard and provided design input but will not race at Eagles Canyon Raceway until 2008, according to CMRA’s Bill Syfan.
Eagles Canyon Raceway’s contact with the motorcycle road racing community has also resulted in a visit by AMA Pro Racing Road Race Series Director Keith Kizer.
“I actually went out there on my way back from the [AMA Pro Racing] awards banquet in Las Vegas and met with Bill Syfan and kind of toured the track,” Kizer told Roadracingworld.com December 29. “They had just started pouring pavement, but it’s way too early in construction for us to say whether we could hold any type of National event there or not. It certainly has potential, but it’s not anything we would schedule a Superbike event at, at this time.
“When they started building the racetrack [hosting an AMA Superbike race] was never their intention. It was built as a club race car track. Then as it was under construction, or the concept of it was, different motorcycle people started getting involved, saying, ‘Hey, this would be a great place for an AMA Superbike race.’ But they’re a long ways from that.
“The nice thing is they, at Eagles Canyon Raceway, are very enthusiastic about what they’re doing and they’re willing to change and adapt to what our needs might be in the future. So there’s always that possibility.”
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