Originally, the event permits being requested were for April 19th and 20th  but staff later noted that particular event was canceled as they were still working on compliance with numerous terms that were going to be proposed as part of granting permission for events. The dates still on the table for special events included May 31, June 15, July 13, August 10, October 31, and November 1 of this year. There was also a proposal to host flea and farmer’s markets on the first Saturday of each month, starting this month.

In the case of those against the track getting permission to run the events, they laid out that their concerns were due to past experiences with events causing severe backups on Longfield Road, which restricted access to other properties for EMS vehicles. There were also concerns that events might continue beyond the permitted hours, including camping overnight.

The track started in 1963 well before zoning regulations were adopted in 1971, and the drag strip’s use is grandfathered  along with the sale of food, beverages, and merchandise. But there are a number of activities that have become much more common at other tracks, such as burnout/slide/drift exhibitions that are not part of the grandfathered uses and need extra permitting. Using the property to host flea markets and farmer’s markets are not considered grandfathered uses either.

The track owners anticipated the traffic concerns and came prepared with a multi-point plan that showed how they learned from the mistakes of previous years and events, including a traffic plan to make sure traffic on Longfield Road and Route 205 did not get slowed to a sloth-like crawl similar to an infamous night back in March 2021, which saw parking lots from the Shell station to Hall’s Supermarket packed to the gills. Primary entry is now through the 205 entrance, while the entry through Longfield Road is now only for VIPs, cops, and EMS. When the event is done for the day, it also becomes an exit. Additional security personnel are also set to be hired to keep spectators out of the drift pits and other prohibited areas.

A key problem in the past was event tickets could still be purchased at the gate. Now, all tickets are sold online, and attendees without an event ticket are not allowed in. The max capacity is set to 5,000. Once that is reached, the event is declared sold out. Parking staff will also be on hand to help direct cars to designated parking areas, particularly on event days.

Those who spoke in favor of the drag strip pointed out that one of the goals, particularly with the drift pit, was to give both watchers and participants a much safer place to enjoy these activities, especially when compared to what can happen when it’s being held inside a parking lot.

“It seems that every time we do something at the racetrack, there’s a problem,” said Thompson. “People say we’re playing music past 10 o’clock but I have no record of it happening. Ask any number of the people that come to my track, and they will tell you that I am adamant about cutting the music off at 10.

“Now we’re working on the matter of EMTs because nobody in the county seems to want to work with me,” Thompson continued. “So we’re trying to get a private company to come down here. It’s like barriers are being put up to prevent us from having events. That’s why we cancel a lot of them. My goal is to figure out how we can work together to get everything working.

“The neighbors that have these sound complaints are over 290 feet away. On the other side of Longfield Road from me is an autobody shop. The nearest residence is more than halfway down the track. I’d love to know which neighbors are complaining about the sound. No matter what I do, someone has a problem with it, and it feels like someone’s trying to run me off during the seven years I’ve owned the track.

“I’ve tried to do stuff to help the County and help the kids do stuff here. There’s not a whole lot else to do around the County. We’ve had a handful of problems in seven years of operation. We have a lot of people here in support of the track, and if we had brought the matter up sooner, a lot more would still be here too. We can talk about the racetrack, but we have to work together.”

“You’re right that we’ve had problems, Mr. Thompson, so let’s talk about them, one by one,” Woody Hynson, the supervisor of the district the track falls under, chimed. “I know you’ve been asked by the County to come talk with us on a few occasions. I haven’t heard or seen you come talk, so I don’t know about that.

“I’m probably one of the hardest fighters for individual rights there is. I think that when somebody owns something, they should be able to do what they want with it as long as they don’t infringe upon the rights of their neighbors and those around them.

“I used to live on Mattox Creek, and after a race, I’ve heard cars drag racing down the track as late as 2 in the morning, and motorcycles too, which are louder than bees in your ear.

“I was here back when we had a public hearing on whether we’d have a track or not. I know the history of the track and the people who live there have to tolerate it. You and the people that live there have to come up with something you can live with. I’ve driven through there on both opening and closing. I would worry about security, police, rescue squads, and the costs to the County.

“A supervisor’s primary job is spending the county taxpayers’ money wisely, and our second is to protect the safety and welfare of the people in the county. I have to know that you’re working with that as hard as we are, and I have not seen that in the past. I want to know what you are doing to make it run better, run right, and fit. You have to convince me how it’s going to be good and cost-effective for the county. Right now, it’s costing us money. Here’s your opportunity to sell it to us.”

Thompson explained he had two goals in mind for the track and its events: getting kids out of doing burnout exhibitions and drag races on the streets and giving something back to the community. The latter goal is where the idea for using the track as a venue for a flea and farmer’s market came in.

“The reason for having these events is to raise money for the kids,” Thompson stated. “I give kids scholarships, buy uniforms for the youth football league, and in the case of the flea market, I figured that I could provide the citizens of the surrounding area a place to sell their stuff. I’m always donating.”

Among the supervisors ready and willing to work with Thompson was Jeff McCormack, who brought along a to-do list for the track to be able to host its events. If the report submitted to the Board of Supervisors is any indication, the racetrack was already well on its way to fulfilling those terms.

“I want to try as best I can to help mitigate all of this,” McCormack explained. “I decided to do a little risk assessment. Most of the things that were already said tonight are things you already support.”

The terms given by Supervisor McCormack, which were part of the motion to grant the event permit to Custom T’s Motorsports Park, passed in a 3-2 split, with Chairman Fisher resolving the tie after Supervisors Ingram and McCormack voted in favor of the permit and Vice Chairman Trivett and Supervisor Hynson voted against it. 

Later that month, during the Board’s work session, the requirements were revised and passed on a 4-1 split vote with Hynson in the nay column. As of April 28, the drift/burnout pit must be at least 120 by 120 feet with a concrete, asphalt, or hard-top pad and surrounded by a guardrail. This is surrounded in turn by concrete jersey barriers and chain-link fencing, except for at the entrance, which can be no wider than 12 feet.

The barriers and fencing must be at least 12 feet from the guardrails, which are to keep people out of the pit, except for the driver. The driver, meanwhile, needs to have their seatbelt on and be wearing a DOT-approved helmet.

Drifting and racing are not permitted when conditions are wet. Only the driver is authorized to be in the drift pit, drivers are not permitted to do any of this while under the influence. 

All events must have at least one contracted state-certified EMS unit per 2,500 people as well as a licensed security contractor with at least one guard per 250 people. The owner must provide the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office with ticket sale numbers at least five business days before the event. Furthermore, the owner also has to reimburse any expenses to the WCSO or EMS for debts incurred due to the events, including regular & overtime pay, fuel costs, and so on. 

Land use documents for the event permits must be submitted prior to the event being authorized. There is also to be no camping, illicit drugs or their usage, or firearms.

While drag-racing, the cars’ starting point is the point closest to the tower. No alcohol, illicit drugs, or people under the influence of either are allowed in all pit areas. Only one safety per lane and a safety at the starting area are authorized. Additionally, there is to be no music or racing past 10 p.m. and the lights have to be out by 11. Trash must be cleaned up within 24 hours of an event, and no cars are authorized to be on any private property that surrounds the track.

The rules must be posted at the entrance, restroom areas, concession stands, and all burnout areas in clearly visible font, and Westmoreland County officials are authorized to have full access at any time. This includes the county administrator, assistant county administrator, supervisors, planning commission, land use officials, the WCSO, and EMS.  WCSO can terminate any event at any time for any violation of the rules above.

When the time came for public comment, there were plenty for and against, but those speaking in support of the track nearly packed the place solid. 

Among those that were against the permits was Steven Smallwood, who stated, “It’s a racetrack, not an event park. Residents along Longfield Road have expressed their concerns to y’all in writing. No resident on Longfield Road condones these, and I think it’d be wrong for the Board to approve them without considering the people on Longfield.”

Carey Geddes, another Longfield resident, decided to clarify the intentions of those that were against the permits, adding, “The citizens on Longfield Road don’t want to shut the racetrack down, we just want it to be a racetrack. They don’t want it to have all these events staying on until 1 or 2 in the morning with burnout pits, the music, the tires squealing. Run it like a racetrack. We don’t need these extra events there.”

For those on the pro side, one of the more notable ones to speak was Larry Butler, a Maryland native that handles the marketing for the racetrack and does a regular podcast on track safety.

“There’s a public parking garage over in Maryland near a government building. It holds 3,000 people. They’re already drifting on the third floor,” Butler commented, “This is in Capitol Heights. When you try to stop this guy for things like that, it really feels like he’s being singled out.

“We give away close to a hundred-seventy-five bikes to kids a year via the Ferguson family that cuts trees across the Commonwealth. We give free bikes away to kids of all ages, and if they don’t get a bike, the kid gets a gift card instead. Nobody talks about the good Larry is doing. This needs to be approved because we need to save the track.”

James Packett, a county resident, commented “I feel safe on this track when I don’t feel safe on others. Please give Larry a chance. He’s a good person, and you should work with him. This track means a lot to us. It gets people off the streets, and it’s helped a lot of us.”

Viktor Troy, the branding and events manager for the track, had quite a bit to say as well.

“I’m the one who created the burnout pit there,” he stated, “And when I did, none of us had any idea how big it was going to be. I’m grateful that it did, because we were able to save a lot of kids, but we couldn’t save everyone.”

Troy then relayed the story of John Phipps, a drifting enthusiast known as “Panda” among the car community. He was one of the biggest and earliest supporters of the drift pit at the track. After the track was closed down last year, Phipps, who had drifted exclusively at the track since 2021, started going to parking lot meets. He wound up being killed by a stray bullet at that meet.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that if we were allowed to operate without interference from the County, John may still be here,” Troy continued. “I only say this to show the seriousness and importance of what we do at Custom T’s. It attracts fans and supporters from up and down the East Coast, bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy seasonally and our supporters are loyal and passionate. I hope that you take that into consideration when rendering your decision.”

He added, “As for the people complaining about camping, it’s just as much a part of racing as racing itself. Most racing events are multi-day events. You’re not going to show up in an RV that costs $300,000, race for a day, and then go to a hotel. Nobody does that, not NASCAR, not the National Hot Rod Association, not anywhere. It’s part of racing culture, not something we came up with. The previous owners all did it without issue. It’s been happening since RVs were a thing, and we never heard a peep.

“When Larry bought the track, it came with a liquor license. He cancelled it because he didn’t want the liability associated with it. He limited the consumption of alcohol, not increased it. When Curtis and Richard owned the track, you could buy alcohol at the track, but you can’t now. I think that speaks volumes.”

Troy also noted that there was at least one person on Longfield Road that the previous speakers against the tracks permits do not speak for: Virginia Stumph, who operates the Bee Stained Glass shop right across from the track’s Longfield Road entrance. Stumph could not be there to deliver her comment, as she had to get up early, and it was already incredibly late into the night.

Troy called attention to the key difference between Custom T’s and the race tracks found in other localities.

“The municipalities those tracks are in work with those tracks,” Troy explained. “They have their local police and EMS on those properties. If you would support and help us, we wouldn’t have a lot of these problems. When we call the Sheriff’s Office and local EMTs, they say they can’t help.

“Larry has done more to stop what’s going wrong there than anyone before him but had the least amount of support. I want to know what can we do to get in harmony with the County so that we can do what we’re trying to, which is create something for the community and bring in revenue. This is a hub that brings in thousands of people to your county. We’re talking hundreds of thousands in revenue, from sponsors, gas, food, there’s endless opportunities. This should be a no-brainer.”

Although the original vote on April 14 was a contentious 3-2 split, the revised version of the motion had only one supervisor, Hynson, in the no column, granting the drag strip the approval needed for at least one of the event permits.