Pretty much every car enthusiast on earth has at one point or another fantasized about owning their own racetrack, a place to go hell-for-leather without the restrictions of speed limits, traffic and all the other things that restrict our fun on the road.
There’s currently an opportunity for that fantasy to come true for one particularly wealthy car fan, as Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, a club-level road course in the Californian desert a few hours east of Los Angeles, is up for sale at $26 million. Oh yeah, and you’ll get an airport thrown in if you buy it, too.
What’s Included?
Opened in 2010, Chuckwalla Valley Raceway sits in the sparsely-populated area of Desert Center, California, around 70 miles east of Palm Springs. At its core is a 2.68-mile, 17 turn road course.
The circuit’s never been used to host top-flight racing, and lacks the facilities to do so, so the track’s mainly used for track days, club level racing and driver training. That, together with its remote location that means noise complaints aren’t a worry, means Chuckwalla has been a firm favorite of the California enthusiast scene since its inception, and despite the sale, the calendar on the circuit’s website is firmly booked up with events right into the spring.
As well as the main circuit, the facility also features a circuit laid out in the paddock and suitable for karts and minibikes, a small dirt track, plenty of garage space and an on-site fuel station.
Our Kind of Package Deal
chuckwallaracewayforsale.com
Also included in the asking price is the small matter of Desert Center Airport, complete with a 5,300-foot runway capable of accommodating the sort of private jets that someone with $26 million to splash on a racetrack uses for daily transport.
The airport’s been there for a lot longer than the track, having been built as an Army Air Field in the early 1940s, but it sits on the same parcel of land – in fact, the eastern end of the runway comes within just a few feet of the circuit.
And yes, we know what most car enthusiasts will immediately think when faced with the prospect of a 5,300-foot stretch of perfectly smooth, flat asphalt. Chuckwalla is way ahead of you – the runway is already used for drag racing, with a dedicated staging and starting area at the western end.
What Could You Do With It?
chuckwallaracewayforsale.com
As much as it’s fun to dream about having a racetrack all to yourself, it’s more likely – and better for SoCal’s enthusiast community – that the new owners will keep operating Chuckwalla as a for-hire venue.
The dedicated website handling the sale does make a few suggestions for upgrades to turn into something more akin to a high-end club facility, similar to the under-renovation Willow Springs Raceway and the nearby Thermal Club venue. Interestingly, that includes the possible development of a second road course to complement the original.
Whoever ends up buying it, hopefully they’ll keep this brilliant little track as accessible for enthusiasts as it is at the moment – but we can’t say we’d blame them for sneaking onto the runway for a private top speed run every now and then.
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