702 RC Raceway reopening spurs Vegas turf war

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By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

Back when I reported on July 27 that original 702 RC Raceway owner Garrett Tokuno had closed the popular indoor racing facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, Tokuno mentioned in his post on the track's Facebook page that a reopening was pending a transfer to new ownership.

Around Noon yesterday, the 702 RC Raceway Facebook page published a post announcing a race scheduled for Friday night.

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According to an article posted today on RCNews, the new owners of 702 RC Raceway are the Battie family led by father, Dwayne. He told RC News, "We are very excited to work with everyone in the industry and look forward to meeting all of the racers!" and that improvements to the facility and program were being planned.

PHOTO: RCNews

However, the post was met with backlash as the plans to resume the track's original club race schedule clashed with a new program started at RC Tracks of Las Vegas.

"Congratulations on the reopening," said local racer Bobby Tungate in a Facebook comment, "but you might want to rethink your race schedule." Tungate was one of many who expressed interest in supporting both programs if they worked together, but insisted that he'd prefer racing at the outdoor track if torn between the new. "If I get off early enough I'll be racing RC Tracks Friday," Tungate added.

Other racers, like Jeff Reid, countered with their excitement. "Awesome news! Sunday racing is back on," Jeff said, "Working until 7 on Fridays meant I was never going to race [RC Tracks Las Vegas], but Sundays are wide open. Thanks 702. Can't wait to meet the new owners."

Just four days after 702's closure on 7/27, RC Tracks of Las Vegas owner Chris Tocco announced plans to host weekly "Sugar Sweet Friday Night" 1/10-scale racing. 

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Yesterday, Tocco announced plans to host a Nevada State Championship race, similar to what he did for the 1/8-scale community back in May, scheduled for August 29:

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And in response to 702 RC Raceway's reopening, Tocco announced the addition of a cash payout for Friday night races at RC Tracks of Las Vegas.

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In response to the concerns to their plans for reopening, the 702 RC Raceway Facebook page commented, "Thanks for the suggestions, but we are going to keep the racing schedule at 702 RC the same as it has always been throughout the years. The only change we're discussing at the moment, is adding Monday to our schedule. We appreciate what Chris Tocco and his Team have brought to Las Vegas because it gives you, the racer, options to have different types of racing on different nights. Thank you again for the suggestions and we look forward to any ideas you have to make the track and hobby community better at 702 RC!"

It will be interesting to see how well two tracks can thrive in the sometimes-volatile Las Vegas RC market. "Asking racers to pick "sides" if you will is never beneficial, especially in a smaller town like Vegas," said Chris Jarosz, who recently moved to Las Vegas from Reno, in a comment on 702 RC Raceway's post.

Unfortunately, the ensuing replies to his comment proved just how tough of a road it may to find a peaceful coexistence.