How did Pala Raceway start?

4DAIVIPAI2K5
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4DAIVIPAI2K5
Edited Date/Time 6/23/2021 5:37am
With it being on res. Land how did the track get its start?

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TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 5/31/2021 8:09pm
5/31/2021 8:09pm
Some dude talked them into letting him build a race track on the rez. He's not the current dude...anymore. The Pala Band of Mission Indians is The Dude, now.
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1911
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1911 5/31/2021 8:45pm
5/31/2021 8:45pm
TeamGreen wrote:
Some dude talked them into letting him build a race track on the rez. He's not the current dude...anymore. The Pala Band of Mission Indians is...
Some dude talked them into letting him build a race track on the rez. He's not the current dude...anymore. The Pala Band of Mission Indians is The Dude, now.
Dude!
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TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 5/31/2021 8:47pm
5/31/2021 8:47pm
TeamGreen wrote:
Some dude talked them into letting him build a race track on the rez. He's not the current dude...anymore. The Pala Band of Mission Indians is...
Some dude talked them into letting him build a race track on the rez. He's not the current dude...anymore. The Pala Band of Mission Indians is The Dude, now.
1911 wrote:
Dude!
Yup

The dude that started it all...?
Don't think he's allowed on The Rez No'Mo.

Grinning

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xrmark
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xrmark 5/31/2021 9:35pm
5/31/2021 9:35pm
Idk but first owner had the best main track ever
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J-Mill
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J-Mill 5/31/2021 9:50pm
5/31/2021 9:50pm
I heard that dude was the DUDE! Dude was hella controversial though so the other dudes booted him off the rez....
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sumdood
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sumdood 5/31/2021 10:01pm
5/31/2021 10:01pm
Was that dude the same dude that ran Rainbow 1 & 2 ? or a different dude ?

wasn't me I swear
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109 5/31/2021 10:38pm
5/31/2021 10:38pm
First guy was Ryan Oulette and track was at its best when Kirk Chandler ran it.
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quadzrulebro 6/1/2021 4:37am
6/1/2021 4:37am
inthebadboycorner wrote:
Do all these reservations have casinos?
Any of them with money do. I did a loan for a kid 20 years ago who was a Morongo Indian as I recall. The day he turned 18 he started receiving a monthly check from the casino proceeds. As I recall, it was about $6k a month, and increases as you get older. His grandma co-signed for him, and I think she was pulling down about $20k a month.
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B Lenny
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B Lenny 6/1/2021 10:52am
6/1/2021 10:52am
TeamGreen wrote:
Some dude talked them into letting him build a race track on the rez. He's not the current dude...anymore. The Pala Band of Mission Indians is...
Some dude talked them into letting him build a race track on the rez. He's not the current dude...anymore. The Pala Band of Mission Indians is The Dude, now.
1911 wrote:
Dude!
TeamGreen wrote:
Yup

The dude that started it all...?
Don't think he's allowed on The Rez No'Mo.

Grinning




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moto67e
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moto67e 6/1/2021 11:02am
6/1/2021 11:02am Edited Date/Time 6/1/2021 11:07am
https://www.vitalmx.com/news/press-release/Pala-Raceway,2653


From the article "Pala Raceway will feature 12 separate professionally designed and prepped tracks, including: Main Motocross, Vet Motocross, Grand Prix Motocross, Amateur Supercross, 80cc-150cc Motocross, 50cc-65cc Mini, Adult Mini, Stadium Side x Side/UTV, Quad, Mini Quad, Professional Supercross and Super Moto tracks. In addition, the raceway will include more than 300 campsites, a clubhouse, a restaurant, a three-acre fishing pond, a BMX race track, and a bike wash for all park visitors.

Pala Raceway will be open for practice seven days a week and will offer night riding on the Amateur Supercross track and Stadium SidexSide tracks. A racing program is in development and an events schedule will be announced."

Man it would have been cool if they could have finished all these projects.
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Falcon
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Falcon 6/1/2021 11:17am
6/1/2021 11:17am
moto67e wrote:
https://www.vitalmx.com/news/press-release/Pala-Raceway,2653 From the article "Pala Raceway will feature 12 separate professionally designed and prepped tracks, including: Main Motocross, Vet Motocross, Grand Prix Motocross, Amateur Supercross, 80cc-150cc...
https://www.vitalmx.com/news/press-release/Pala-Raceway,2653


From the article "Pala Raceway will feature 12 separate professionally designed and prepped tracks, including: Main Motocross, Vet Motocross, Grand Prix Motocross, Amateur Supercross, 80cc-150cc Motocross, 50cc-65cc Mini, Adult Mini, Stadium Side x Side/UTV, Quad, Mini Quad, Professional Supercross and Super Moto tracks. In addition, the raceway will include more than 300 campsites, a clubhouse, a restaurant, a three-acre fishing pond, a BMX race track, and a bike wash for all park visitors.

Pala Raceway will be open for practice seven days a week and will offer night riding on the Amateur Supercross track and Stadium SidexSide tracks. A racing program is in development and an events schedule will be announced."

Man it would have been cool if they could have finished all these projects.
They did dream big, that's for sure.
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hubbardmx50
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hubbardmx50 6/1/2021 3:37pm
6/1/2021 3:37pm
TeamGreen wrote:
Some dude talked them into letting him build a race track on the rez. He's not the current dude...anymore. The Pala Band of Mission Indians is...
Some dude talked them into letting him build a race track on the rez. He's not the current dude...anymore. The Pala Band of Mission Indians is The Dude, now.
1911 wrote:
Dude!
Where’s my car?
3
TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 6/1/2021 4:09pm
6/1/2021 4:09pm
1911 wrote:
Dude!
TeamGreen wrote:
Yup

The dude that started it all...?
Don't think he's allowed on The Rez No'Mo.

Grinning

B Lenny wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2021/06/01/496029/s1200_the_big_lebowski.jpg[/img]



Ya know, The Lendude and me may not always see eye-to-eye..but...ya know, man...

It's just like we get it, ya know, man?
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Tarz483
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Tarz483 6/1/2021 4:11pm
6/1/2021 4:11pm
J-Mill wrote:
I heard that dude was the DUDE! Dude was hella controversial though so the other dudes booted him off the rez....
He was a very smart dude, A visionary! or at least a very smooth talker!
bigk218
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bigk218 6/1/2021 6:28pm
6/1/2021 6:28pm
The real question is how is this track a national? I get that they have to have a race in commiefornia but this and GH are stopwatch nationals not real nationals
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eric513anderson 6/1/2021 6:45pm
6/1/2021 6:45pm
bigk218 wrote:
The real question is how is this track a national? I get that they have to have a race in commiefornia but this and GH are...
The real question is how is this track a national? I get that they have to have a race in commiefornia but this and GH are stopwatch nationals not real nationals
Unpopular opinion but this is one track on the series I don’t care for. I’m not into all the unnatural man made jumps and everything being dirt. I just picture a National track with grass on the edges of jumps and everywhere.
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Myke
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Myke 6/1/2021 6:47pm
6/1/2021 6:47pm
clydesdalecameron wrote:
Nobody wants to talk about it being a rock quarry before it was a track?
Wow didn't know that.

Mine on Pala Reservation to close after 45 years
Friday, June 3, 2005

A 45-year-old rock and sand mine on the Pala Reservation in California will close in September, The North County Times reports.
Vulcan Materials Co. has already begun the process of shutting down the mine. Site foreman Jim Goodpasture, a tribal member, said there were no more resources to extract, dispelling rumors that the tribe didn't renew the company's lease.
The 300-acre site will be reclaimed and returned to the tribe by September 24.

https://www.gemsofpala.com/about
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bigk218
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bigk218 6/1/2021 6:48pm
6/1/2021 6:48pm
bigk218 wrote:
The real question is how is this track a national? I get that they have to have a race in commiefornia but this and GH are...
The real question is how is this track a national? I get that they have to have a race in commiefornia but this and GH are stopwatch nationals not real nationals
eric513anderson wrote:
Unpopular opinion but this is one track on the series I don’t care for. I’m not into all the unnatural man made jumps and everything being...
Unpopular opinion but this is one track on the series I don’t care for. I’m not into all the unnatural man made jumps and everything being dirt. I just picture a National track with grass on the edges of jumps and everywhere.
Couldn’t agree more. These are our sports elite riders racing on practice tracks
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CG118
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CG118 6/1/2021 7:09pm
6/1/2021 7:09pm
bigk218 wrote:
The real question is how is this track a national? I get that they have to have a race in commiefornia but this and GH are...
The real question is how is this track a national? I get that they have to have a race in commiefornia but this and GH are stopwatch nationals not real nationals
Dude. I love love love watching Glen Helen. Pala is OK; looked rough AF in moto 2. It seems deceptively evil. No complaints here.
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CG118
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CG118 6/1/2021 7:10pm
6/1/2021 7:10pm
I miss GH. Hope it ends up a mainstay on the schedule one day again.
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BAMX
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BAMX 6/1/2021 7:38pm
6/1/2021 7:38pm
One of the guys who either was the dude or close enough to know posts on here so, hopefully, he can chime in.
Dirty Points 6/1/2021 8:51pm
6/1/2021 8:51pm Edited Date/Time 6/1/2021 8:52pm
bigk218 wrote:
The real question is how is this track a national? I get that they have to have a race in commiefornia but this and GH are...
The real question is how is this track a national? I get that they have to have a race in commiefornia but this and GH are stopwatch nationals not real nationals
eric513anderson wrote:
Unpopular opinion but this is one track on the series I don’t care for. I’m not into all the unnatural man made jumps and everything being...
Unpopular opinion but this is one track on the series I don’t care for. I’m not into all the unnatural man made jumps and everything being dirt. I just picture a National track with grass on the edges of jumps and everywhere.
In Socal even a completely natural terrain track isn't gonna be grassy
6
KirkChandler
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KirkChandler 6/1/2021 9:17pm
6/1/2021 9:17pm
4DAIVIPAI2K5 wrote:
With it being on res. Land how did the track get its start?

There's a lot of back story, but basically, like mentioned above, Ryan Ouellette approached the tribe in the early 2000s about building a track on the land to the South of where the casino is now. This was before the casino, he kept working with the tribal council until the tribe and Ryan initially came to a property lease/permit deal in 2006 for the quarry property. I was brought in during 2006 to help get the plans figured out and through the regulatory EPA/US Fish and Wild Life hurdles that were in place with the closing of the rock quarry and construction of the raceway.

It took over 3 years to do that, and we went from a booming motorcycle business in 2006 to a major recession in 2009, so the plans changed mid course as well as the financial viability of the track, so things had to be scaled back.

The track eventually opened in April of 2009. We got a national prematurely in 2010, had a major traffic jam, that people are still pissed about. I had a lot of fun days, and a lot of stressful days, lost more money than I can count. But we built a venue that is known world wide, and had a massive impact on riding participation in Southern California and I am proud of that.

From what I've been told the tribe operates the facility now on a day to day basis, but I don't know any details. I haven't been there since 2014, but wish them nothing but success at keeping motocross alive in San Diego county.
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ktmwoods
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ktmwoods 6/1/2021 9:26pm
6/1/2021 9:26pm
4DAIVIPAI2K5 wrote:
With it being on res. Land how did the track get its start?

KirkChandler wrote:
There's a lot of back story, but basically, like mentioned above, Ryan Ouellette approached the tribe in the early 2000s about building a track on the...
There's a lot of back story, but basically, like mentioned above, Ryan Ouellette approached the tribe in the early 2000s about building a track on the land to the South of where the casino is now. This was before the casino, he kept working with the tribal council until the tribe and Ryan initially came to a property lease/permit deal in 2006 for the quarry property. I was brought in during 2006 to help get the plans figured out and through the regulatory EPA/US Fish and Wild Life hurdles that were in place with the closing of the rock quarry and construction of the raceway.

It took over 3 years to do that, and we went from a booming motorcycle business in 2006 to a major recession in 2009, so the plans changed mid course as well as the financial viability of the track, so things had to be scaled back.

The track eventually opened in April of 2009. We got a national prematurely in 2010, had a major traffic jam, that people are still pissed about. I had a lot of fun days, and a lot of stressful days, lost more money than I can count. But we built a venue that is known world wide, and had a massive impact on riding participation in Southern California and I am proud of that.

From what I've been told the tribe operates the facility now on a day to day basis, but I don't know any details. I haven't been there since 2014, but wish them nothing but success at keeping motocross alive in San Diego county.
Thanks Kirk, you personally did a ton to make Pala happen - and MX in SD owes you a debt for all the sacrifices you made so that the dream could happen somehow. Shit ain’t easy!
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4DAIVIPAI2K5
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4DAIVIPAI2K5 6/2/2021 6:39am
6/2/2021 6:39am
4DAIVIPAI2K5 wrote:
With it being on res. Land how did the track get its start?

KirkChandler wrote:
There's a lot of back story, but basically, like mentioned above, Ryan Ouellette approached the tribe in the early 2000s about building a track on the...
There's a lot of back story, but basically, like mentioned above, Ryan Ouellette approached the tribe in the early 2000s about building a track on the land to the South of where the casino is now. This was before the casino, he kept working with the tribal council until the tribe and Ryan initially came to a property lease/permit deal in 2006 for the quarry property. I was brought in during 2006 to help get the plans figured out and through the regulatory EPA/US Fish and Wild Life hurdles that were in place with the closing of the rock quarry and construction of the raceway.

It took over 3 years to do that, and we went from a booming motorcycle business in 2006 to a major recession in 2009, so the plans changed mid course as well as the financial viability of the track, so things had to be scaled back.

The track eventually opened in April of 2009. We got a national prematurely in 2010, had a major traffic jam, that people are still pissed about. I had a lot of fun days, and a lot of stressful days, lost more money than I can count. But we built a venue that is known world wide, and had a massive impact on riding participation in Southern California and I am proud of that.

From what I've been told the tribe operates the facility now on a day to day basis, but I don't know any details. I haven't been there since 2014, but wish them nothing but success at keeping motocross alive in San Diego county.
Awesome info. Thanks.
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109
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109 6/2/2021 7:09am
6/2/2021 7:09am
4DAIVIPAI2K5 wrote:
With it being on res. Land how did the track get its start?

KirkChandler wrote:
There's a lot of back story, but basically, like mentioned above, Ryan Ouellette approached the tribe in the early 2000s about building a track on the...
There's a lot of back story, but basically, like mentioned above, Ryan Ouellette approached the tribe in the early 2000s about building a track on the land to the South of where the casino is now. This was before the casino, he kept working with the tribal council until the tribe and Ryan initially came to a property lease/permit deal in 2006 for the quarry property. I was brought in during 2006 to help get the plans figured out and through the regulatory EPA/US Fish and Wild Life hurdles that were in place with the closing of the rock quarry and construction of the raceway.

It took over 3 years to do that, and we went from a booming motorcycle business in 2006 to a major recession in 2009, so the plans changed mid course as well as the financial viability of the track, so things had to be scaled back.

The track eventually opened in April of 2009. We got a national prematurely in 2010, had a major traffic jam, that people are still pissed about. I had a lot of fun days, and a lot of stressful days, lost more money than I can count. But we built a venue that is known world wide, and had a massive impact on riding participation in Southern California and I am proud of that.

From what I've been told the tribe operates the facility now on a day to day basis, but I don't know any details. I haven't been there since 2014, but wish them nothing but success at keeping motocross alive in San Diego county.
You did an awesome job Kirk. That first year up until the first national was the best the track ever was.
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FWYT
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FWYT 6/2/2021 7:21am
6/2/2021 7:21am
Kirk, your hard work was much appreciated.
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crf250pilot
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crf250pilot 6/2/2021 2:42pm
6/2/2021 2:42pm
4DAIVIPAI2K5 wrote:
With it being on res. Land how did the track get its start?

KirkChandler wrote:
There's a lot of back story, but basically, like mentioned above, Ryan Ouellette approached the tribe in the early 2000s about building a track on the...
There's a lot of back story, but basically, like mentioned above, Ryan Ouellette approached the tribe in the early 2000s about building a track on the land to the South of where the casino is now. This was before the casino, he kept working with the tribal council until the tribe and Ryan initially came to a property lease/permit deal in 2006 for the quarry property. I was brought in during 2006 to help get the plans figured out and through the regulatory EPA/US Fish and Wild Life hurdles that were in place with the closing of the rock quarry and construction of the raceway.

It took over 3 years to do that, and we went from a booming motorcycle business in 2006 to a major recession in 2009, so the plans changed mid course as well as the financial viability of the track, so things had to be scaled back.

The track eventually opened in April of 2009. We got a national prematurely in 2010, had a major traffic jam, that people are still pissed about. I had a lot of fun days, and a lot of stressful days, lost more money than I can count. But we built a venue that is known world wide, and had a massive impact on riding participation in Southern California and I am proud of that.

From what I've been told the tribe operates the facility now on a day to day basis, but I don't know any details. I haven't been there since 2014, but wish them nothing but success at keeping motocross alive in San Diego county.
+1 for being still pissed about that traffic jamWink
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