Now For Car Lovers: A Country Club to Fulfill Their Passion

When he was 14, Dick Muller took his first stab at building a race track when he borrowed a tractor and dug an oval out of a field on his family’s 10-acre lot.

“Unfortunately, I found out the next day that this was a farmer who was renting the property from my dad to grow alfalfa,” he said. “We chopped up his alfalfa field and he almost blew a fuse.”

Muller, 51, is at it again. Only this time, he has permission, $21 million and 350 acres of land to build what he’s billing as the world’s first country club for car lovers.

Construction on Muller’s Formula Motorsports Park began in August, and when all is done by the spring of 1997, a hillside 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia will be home to a facility that hopes to cash in on America’s long-standing love affair with the automobile.

“It’s just putting into place for the motor sport enthusiast what’s already in place for the tennis enthusiast, the golf enthusiast, the swimmer,” said Bob Russo, Muller’s partner.

The club will offer something unique to the millions of people who belong to auto clubs, own high-performance street cars, or just love to drive, according to Mario Andretti, a charter member who also serves on its board as a consultant.

“It’s something that no one has done before,” Andretti said. “The concept, quite honestly, seemed at first to be too good to be true.”

At the heart of the park will be a 3.1-mile, state-of-the-art road course on which club members will be able to test themselves, and their vehicles, at police-defying speeds.

The 40-foot-wide asphalt course, which can also be divided into two, smaller tracks, is being built to international racing standards, with an added emphasis on safety.

There are deep gravel catch pits at the points where cars are most likely to leave the road, and observation posts where employees will keep a close watch on drivers. And there are no walls.

“This is done so the driver doesn’t focus on that wall,” Muller said. “The focus is on the 40-foot wide strip of asphalt and then grass off to the side.”

In the future, there may be professional racing on the track, but at the start, the concentration will be on recreational driving, Muller said.

“Our focus is on the amateur level of the sport, the pleasure and fun and thrills of driving without the competitive aspects of it,” he said.

Among the other components planned for the park:

--a 14-acre, paved autocross site that will be used for specialized driver instruction;

--a mini-Grand Prix course where the general public will be allowed to operate miniaturized race cars;

--a go-kart course;

--an open-air pavilion and specially-landscaped area for auto shows and auctions;

--garages for daily use and long-term storage;

--an outdoor recreation area with pool, sun deck, tennis, basketball and volleyball courts, a ball field and a jogging, fitness course; and

--a clubhouse with locker rooms, restaurants, a museum, library, pro shop, health club and movie theater.

Muller, a developer and retailer, said he got the idea for the club while indulging his passion for autos as a member of Porsche and Ferrari clubs.

His wife, who is not a driver, would accompany him on club outings but quickly became bored. The race tracks for these events are generally spartan.

Taking his cue from country clubs that feature golf courses, Muller thought about designing a country club around the auto culture.

“At a golf country club, you have things for the golfer to do, but you also have things for the family to do,” Russo said. “That’s really what was lacking because the race tracks were designed for the spectator to come and watch a race, and not much else.”

Muller said conversations with drivers and their families convinced him there was a niche market for his club, which is designed not just for those with fancy sports cars.

“They may own a Mustang, or a Camaro, or an older Firebird,” Muller said. “You don’t have to have a very expensive piece of equipment to become a member of our club.”

And you don’t have to be rich, Muller insists. There are different levels of individual and corporate membership and members may join for varying lengths of time.

A lifetime platinum membership costs $40,000, and those members get 20 hours of track time a year and a chance to buy more time at a 50% discount.

A basic annual membership costs $500, but those members must pay fees for using the facilities, starting with $65 an hour for track time.

If it sounds expensive, Muller adds some perspective.

“A lot of people spend a lot of money on their hobby, I don’t care whether it’s fishing, or boating, or golf,” he said. “What we are giving them is a new opportunity to express a passion.”

All members will have to go through a training and certification process before they are allowed on the course, a requirement that should eliminate the need for special insurance.

“Your insurance company will insure your participation because it’s considered a driver’s education event,” Muller said. “It’s not considered racing.”

Muller and Russo say membership sales so far have exceeded their projections, with close to 750 charter members.

One of the first to join was Peter Stish, who can’t wait for the day he’ll be able to drive his Cobra kit car on the track.

“I’m not the guy that’s looking at this for the other amenities. I’m not worried about the swimming and the tennis,” said Stish, operations manager at a Chevrolet dealership. “I’m in this thing for one thing, to get on that track.”

The project has the backing of some heavy hitters--including Andretti.

“I like to think this is a winner,” said Andretti, who lives in nearby Nazareth. “It’s driving for the pure, pure pleasure. “There’s no racing proposed. It’s strictly for people who want to test themselves and the ability of the equipment they proudly own.”

Venture capitalist Sam Katz, who arranged the financing for Miami’s Joe Robbie Stadium and for Philadelphia’s new hockey and basketball arena, is raising the money for the park.

“There were days when I thought I’d never convince enough of the right people to join my team,” Muller said. “Now, I know that I have the right team because I’m not the smartest guy in all the things that are going on.”