NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Jeff Gordon (Right) with step dad, John Bickford (Left) have been working on the project for five years. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

“About two years ago, some gentleman approached us from an organization called Emirates Consulting,” said Bickford. “And they are doing projects around the world. They had a real interest in the motorsports project for more than just motorsports, which is what I’ve been preaching for quite some time. So I met with them two or three times, and they were real. They had funding, they raised capital, they made a lot of business sense in what they were doing.”

The key to the project, according to Bickford, is that there are many different uses on the site, in addition to a race track. Paxton Waters Architecture is overseeing the design of the facility.

McMaster University will co-develop and manage a research and technology park on the site that will provide advanced studies and testing to support the global motor sport industry as well as Canada’s auto sector.

“When I say facility, most race guys think of the racetrack,” said Bickford. “My vision of a facility is more of a campus environment. You actually create infrastructure and businesses that surround your race track, so that your race track is a component of the overall revenue-generation device that supports the business model of the campus. There really isn’t anything else going on like that.”

From a race fan’s standpoint, the big question is, who will race there? And so far, no deals have been seriously discussed with any sanctioning bodies, but as the project gets closer to fruition, doubtless interest will increase.

“This facility and this business model does not require a major sanctioning body to support it,” said Bickford. “We’ve never factored in having any kind of NASCAR event at the facility. … Do we need a NASCAR (race)? At this point we don’t need a NASCAR race, but we hope that we build something they would want to be at.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of "Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED," and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to