Utah Grand Prix Underway in Tooele

By DOUG ALDEN AP Sports Writer

TOOELE, Utah (AP) -- The scenic mountain valley ambiance at Miller Motorsports Park is strictly for spectators.

Drivers don't have much of a chance to take in the mountain views to the east and west, or the blue-green water of the Great Salt Lake to the north, while navigating 4.5 miles of asphalt.

"One thing about this track, there's a lot of variety," said Alan Wilson, its designer and general manager.

Wilson's track, which opened in the spring with 24 turns and 12 straightaways, is about 30 miles west of Salt Lake City. The project began as a place for auto buff Larry H. Miller, the owner of the Utah Jazz, to drive his vintage machines, then turned into something much more grand.

The $80 million project tickles Miller as much as the Delta Center, home of the Jazz and one of the first in a wave of arenas built in the 1990s. The track hosted an AMA Superbikes race last month and will do the same for this weekend's Utah Grand Prix on the American Le Mans Series circuit.

"Larry asked me what kind of track I wanted to build. I said I wanted a 'majestic' track," Wilson said. "One of the universal comments I get is this is a track they can race on as opposed to just drive on." The setting is impressive.

Construction began in the mud in spring 2005 and the asphalt was down and ready for traffic less than a year later. The Oquirrh Mountains are just to the east and the Stansbury Mountains are slightly farther to the west.

"I didn't understand the value of the mountains to the atmosphere. I was so focused on the piece of land," Wilson said. "I didn't recognize the aura that the mountains would lend until about October.

"I can't claim any credit for that."

The finishing touches will still take a while. The fledgling vegetation inside the track has been baked brown by the sun, but still manages to cut down on the dust from the recent construction. Wilson hopes to plant grass this fall when the scorching temperatures drop.

The track can be routed in two short courses, which can be used simultaneously, or one long route that twists, turns, dips and rises before culminating in a giant banked turn into the final straightaway.

Although construction will continue for a while -- outside fencing was still going up this week -- the track, grandstands and dozens of garages have been ready for months.

"The scenery's fantastic," said Jon Woodward, a crew chief.

Woodward, or "Woody" as he's known in the garage, and his crew had just offloaded the two green Aston Martin GP1 class cars (including No. 007 -- after another famous Aston Martin driver) they were running this weekend.

"Most of the places we go don't even have garages. We have to put awnings on the trucks," he said.

The track is also scheduled to host a vintage-sports car race next month and a Grand Am Series endurance race Aug. 31-Sept. 2. Miller has said open-wheel Indy cars or possibly even a NASCAR event are possible for future seasons, but that will depend on how well the first summer goes.

The motorcycle races last month revealed some early logistical hitches, including traffic backups coming to and going from the track, and noise. The park has doubled its shuttle service around the 500 acres and opened a new entrance since the motorcycle event.

Miller said last month he would build 12-foot earthen berms and plant a line of trees to muffle race noise, which he noted was still within county ordinance levels.

Early reviews from some drivers have been good.

"Just seeing the facilities and getting to go around the track really opened my eyes," said Gunnar Jeannette, a driver for Multimatic Motorsports Team Panoz. "It's the most world-class place that we race at." ------ On the Net: www.millermotorsportspark.com www.americanlemans.com

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-07-12-06 1327MDT

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