WENDOVER — For a place known for its past, Jim Petersen is excited for what may be Wendover’s future.
“This would really be a really big deal. It is huge,” he said.
Petersen runs the historic Wendover Airfield, where the Enola Gay crew, which would drop the first atomic bomb on Japan, trained during World War II.
Funding to maintain the place, though, has always been tough.
“There are a number of buildings on the base and certainly some of them want work,” Petersen said.
Financing on the way
However, much more cash may be arriving soon.
“It is something that the county is willing to do, and it is something that the state is on board with, too,” said Petersen.
Wendover, Utah, is one of six cities that will be the new home of the National Air Racing Championship. It’s essentially the Super Bowl of sports.
“Of all the six sites that have proposed something, Wendover probably has the best facilities for actually building a racecourse,” said Petersen.
It’s a race track in the sky.
The short tour is about 3 miles long, while the long tour is about 8 miles.
“We have a lot here,” Wendover Airport Director Tanner Moore said.
He and Petersen were part of a welcoming committee last week to host the event organizers who are deciding on a new home for the race.
Reno Moving Event
The air races have been based in Reno since 1964 but must move after the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority canceled its contract due to rising insurance costs after some crashes and development near the airport.
“They’re pleased with the length of our airport and our airspace,” Moore said. “Reno is just getting too developed and there won’t be a lot of expansion here, so I think it’s basically the amenities that fear a Wendover location. “
Having enough hotel rooms is one of the considerations when choosing Wendover.
The National Championship Air Races is an annual week-long event that brings in about 100,000 people and millions of dollars.
“That means we’d be very busy. But we may do it,” Petersen said, in a map of the initial plans. “We would set aside a spot so that a lot of cars could park there. “
Funding will go through a path.
That extra money will not only help with restoration but also awareness of a site crucial to American history.
“Wendover is the only site of the six that is, in fact, that traditionally significant,” Petersen said.
The other five cities are Thermal, California; Buckeye, Arizona; Roswell, New Mexico; Pueblo, Colorado and Casper, Wyoming.
The committee making the decision is expected to have an answer in the next few months.
Racing would resume in 2025.