Relocation information for the SLC area: Off-topic discussion forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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Jan. 20, 2012 2:37 p.m. ReverendDexter SuperDork

There's a small chance I might be relocating to the Salt Lake City area due to the wife's work, specifically Sandy (or commuting distance to Sandy).

What can you guys tell me about it? Love it? Hate it? Somewhere in between?

How are emissions there? I see in-city has some sort of testing, annual testing for cars more than 6 years old... is it just a sniffer? OBD2 code scan? Visual? Is there a cut-off point where you no longer have to do the check?

Is Miller Motorsports Park the only roadcourse in the area?

Is there any non-SCCA autocross?

Is there decent beer, or is everything capped at 4 percent?

How's the food? Can you get organic produce without being steeped in patchouli-stench?

How are the roads? How are the cops? Is 5-over gonna get you a ticket, or can you do 10-over without thinking about it like we do here?

Anything else a poor northern Cali boy might want to know?

Thanks!
Jan. 23, 2012 10:19 a.m. ReverendDexter SuperDork

Wow, I don't know that I've ever seen a post go three days with no response whatsoever... did I finally find a question that stumps this crowd?
Jan. 23, 2012 10:23 a.m. fasted58 SuperDork

I flew over it once but didn't see nunnathat
Jan. 23, 2012 10:41 a.m. oldtin SuperDork

Just visited friends in St. George and know some folks around SLC. You mormon? They run the show in UT. FWIW, it's one of the better run states financially.

Diversity is not exactly its strong point, but it's pretty clean. There's some brew pubs around but there are some odd liquor laws. I went by a few cops at 7 over on I-15 and they didn't bat an eye.
Jan. 23, 2012 12:21 p.m. MMP_Media None

Miller Motorsports Park is the only major road racing facility in the area. There is the Utah Region of the SCCA who does autocross here onsite and at another location in the Salt Lake Valley (in Murray, I think). We also just announced that our local racing group, the Miller Park Racing Association, is being replaced by the Utah Region of NASA, so NASA will be handling all our local races, open track days, etc.

We do have a cool program called Wide Open Wednesday on the second Wednesday of each month, April-October, and that includes low-cost hot laps and a buck-a-run autocross course, as well as discounted karting.

Welcome (in advance) to Utah! It's a little different kind of a place, but you will find kindred souls who share your passion for cars and motorsport.

Feel free to contact me if I can be of additional service.
Jan. 23, 2012 3:54 p.m. ReverendDexter SuperDork

Cool, thanks John. Any pointers on day-to-day non-motorsports life?

Not really sure what's happening just yet, I just want to have decent info before I commit to moving out-of-state.
Jan. 23, 2012 4:04 p.m. Keith SuperDork

Something like 2/3 of Utah is public lands. Excellent place for off-roading, and there are some twisty roads out there. You can move across the state pretty fast. The scenery is like nothing else, it's a stupendous state to look at if nothing else. We live right next door to Utah.

If you're looking for road courses, the next closest ones are probably Pahrump/Vegas or High Plains Raceway outside Denver. Not a hotbed of tracks. But Bonneville is just down the road.

As oldtin pointed out, everything is run by Mormons. My wife does a lot of work with SLC companies as a consultant, and they look after their own. That's good if you're a Mormon, but you only get the leftovers otherwise.

I'd certainly consider it. Maybe spend a long weekend in the city and see what you think.
Jan. 23, 2012 4:13 p.m. BoxheadTim SuperDork

I haven't measured it but if you include Pahrump, then Reno/Fernley is probably even a little closer than Pahrump. Supposedly a very technical track, hopefully I should be able to report back on that in late April.

But other than that, Northern NV is a desert (not only when it comes to tracks) - you'd have to go to NorCal to the next bunch of tracks from here and that's a serious schlep from SLC. Heck, even Fernley is.
Jan. 24, 2012 9:30 a.m. ReverendDexter SuperDork

Yeah, NorCal is where I am presently, and I'm ~45 minutes to Infineon, about 3-3.5 hours to both Thunderhill and Laguna Seca, and have a pretty good local non-SCCA autcross scene (even if they are a bunch of sissies and cancel events if it's gonna rain ).

FWIW, it looks like this isn't happening anyway, the wife isn't getting the job she was looking at over there.

The info is certainly appreciated guys