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Associated Press and Sam Penrod Reporting Utah Jazz and Miller Motorsports Park owner Larry Miller met with 200 mostly friendly neighbors of the raceway and traded angry comments with those upset about noise, traffic, dust, lights and property tax increases.
"What do you think I should do about that?" Miller said in one exchange. "Okay, that's fine. That's what I just got through saying, so why are you throwing it back in my face?"
Some neighbors who live near the track are complaining about the noise it makes. So Miller called his own town meeting Tuesday night to hear those complaints.
The majority of people came to find out first hand what's going on. But there were some who gave their opinions, even at times getting angry at Miller, who stood his ground.
Over a catered free meal, Larry Miller sat down with more than 200 people who he invited to hear their concerns over his Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele County.
Larry Miller: "I am extremely interested in solving real problems. But it's difficult for me, perhaps impossible, to manage imagined or preconceived problems that aren't real. So when some of you get hysterical about it and start going on, I can't solve that for you."
The biggest complaint is the noise.
"Come to my house on Saturday morning when the wind is blowing from the south and tell me the sound is bearable," said Boyd Thomas, who lives about a mile from the new raceway, which is between Tooele and Grantsville.
Miller responded, "Why don't you get that chip off your shoulder?"
DeAnna Lowder said, "I'm partially deaf and the sound is driving me crazy."
In a later interview, she said, "On Friday morning at 8 a.m. there was this loudspeaker: 'Start your engines.' I shot straight up out of bed."
Some residents of Grantsville and Gunderson Acres said their horses are spooked and their dogs won't go outside when vehicles are racing.
However, Grace Lewis of Gunderson Acres said people really have to listen hard to hear the noise.
Some other residents said golf-course loudspeakers calling tee times at 7 a.m. is more annoying.
Miller says testing last weekend during the Honda Summit of Speed found the sound level was 74 decibels at the arena's boundaries. Legally the boundaries can be up to 90 decibels.
But any noise seems too much for some neighbors.
"We moved out here to the country to get away from it," Boyd Thomas explained. "If I wanted to live by Bonneville Raceway I'd move in by Bonneville Raceway. I moved out here to get away from that stuff. The next thing I know it's in my backyard."
"I don't hate Mr. Miller. I don't like his racetrack. I hate it. It's in the wrong place. It doesn't belong out here in our community," DeAnna Lowder said.
The arena no doubt is a huge change to an area that's always been agricultural.
"This county started growing at a huge pace years ago. It had nothing to do with Larry Miller," one resident said.
"I live out here and it doesn't bother me. Maybe it's because I'm a race fan," Grace Lewis added.
Miller said he would build 12-foot earthen berms and plant a line of trees to muffle race noise in nearby neighborhoods.
Miller also offered free tickets out here to people at the meeting so they can see for themselves what is going on.
Miller said there will be many more big events to come and he also would like to bring the NASCAR series to his new track. Racing enthusiasts across the country and throughout Europe are showing interest in the speedway, Miller said.
All that will change the character of the community, said Paul Fender, who lives in nearby Erda.
"This is a rural community. That's why we moved here. This brings a whole new demographic," he said.
Fender said that during last weekend's motorcycle races, he and various acquaintances were treated rudely by people who said they were on the motorcycle circuit. He said his neighbors fear the racing circuit also will bring crime.
County officials see the raceway as a big boon for tourism and a needed boost to the area's economy.
It's also helping to propel property taxes, said Jack Tomlin, who owns commercial property near the track.
"They have more than doubled my property taxes since you arrived," he told Miller. "You're changing the complexion of this community."
The area around Grantsville and Erda has been a hot spot for speculators, Miller said. That speculation doesn't stop with land. Miller said water shares have jumped from $2,000 to $4,000.
A number of people in the crowd thanked Miller for hosting the meeting at the raceway clubhouse and listening to their concerns. Some said they welcomed the facility and what it brings to the area.
After the meeting, Miller said citizens now know he has heard their concerns and there was good input from supporters and critics about potential solutions.
Miller also said a rumor that he plans to build a Six Flags amusement park across the street on property he recently purchased is absolutely false.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story)
