I do appreciate everyones concerns for the track and maybe that's why people ask me everyday, but hopefully this will avoid it being brought up so much! Thanks to today's video sponsor, go to buyraycon.com/cleetusmcfarland to get 15% off your Raycon purchase this holiday season! Brought to you by Raycon.

If people buy a house next to a race track, they have no right to complain.

Garrett I am a developer and we actually had the desoto track under contract prior to you purchasing it. After we did some research we decided it was best to not touch the track and do something next to the drag strip. We are big car guys and I am super glad you ended up purchasing it. If you ever need to chat about ways you can protect yourself against neighbors let me know. I don’t really have any other way to connect with you other than this comment. Glad you said you appreciate developers but also need boundaries set.. and as a developer completely agree with that statement.

Cleeter, I would also HIGHLY RECOMMEND you team up with the local Police department. Start having them come out to events, possibly host a fundraiser, for the sole purpose of reminding council, what happened to "take it to the track." Without the Freedom Factory, street racing in the area will no doubt increase. So the police have an incentive to keep the track open and active and protect the public.

Cleetus and I are now spirit animals of being surrounded! My 100 acres has been in the family since the 60s, in the dead middle of nowhere back then...today it's surrounded by dozens of houses and I'M the 'crazy neighbor with all the property making all the noise' in the neighborhood. And all their roads are named after me, so that's cool.

With 100% certainty, those county commissioners are being paid by these development companies.

You should schedule drag races on Sundays during open houses so buyers will know what they’re really getting into

You guys need to put signs up on every street corner in the area letting prospective home owners know about the racetrack and that they will now be able to stop it

On the brightside you'll probably be able to create a KZfaq playlist for all your new Cleetus vs. Karen's content with the new neighbors

You should get a dB reader or some sort of sort of measurement of sound, run the loudest top fuel car and stand where the closest house is going to be, then take that to the developer so they can add that to the agreement, so the buyer is 100% aware of how loud it actually is.

cleetus should just get a bunch of billboards all over town that say "your buying a house next to a race track, dont complain later"

This 99-44/100% about economics...racetracks were historically built on the outskirts of towns on cheap land not particularly suited for anything productive (particularly agriculture). If the land wasn't used for a race track, it got used as a drive-in movie theater. As cities and towns have grown and sprawled, the value of the land as a residential development outstrips the value of using the land for a racetrack (or drive-in). Even if the track survives the first subdivisions, the commercial development that follows--the supermarkets, big-box retailers--will see the land that the track is on as an opportunity. Sure, the first sign of trouble is when neighbors start complaining about the noise, and the greasers, and the stink. But the bigger issue is that the track owners will start getting offers for their land that involve life-changing sums of money. So a lot of the old tracks are pretty much doomed. Complain about the Karens if it makes you feel better, but it's the Benjamins (and Grants and Hamiltons) that call the shots in this world.

Cleet thought he had 10 years. At the rate they are developing, I give it 3 years. Just like when we all protested this, the developers had the deeper pockets and got the commission to approve it. Unfortunately for cleet no matter how much support he has, the developers will always find a way to get their way. The amount of money that they have on the line is insane

Keep an eye on show dates for the homes and schedule top fuel races on those days so they can clearly see what they’re getting themselves into.

I grew up in a very rural area. There was a gun range that was built in the 1930's that continuously operated without issue until the mid 1980's when two farms adjacent to the range started building. The smartest thing the range did was to erect 8X16" signs warning prospective purchasers, that if the objected to gunfire, don't buy here. They went as far as warning that the cost of all civil suits would be borne by those taking legal action. Over the years they were sued a few times, and the people bringing suit all lost. Get the signs up NOW.

The developer is crazy to build homes that close! Interesting content my man

Bloomington Speedway has been around a hundred years racing on Fridays. They just recently got a 10 o'clock curfew imposed on them. And there are people trying to close them and make life as difficult as possible. In the end houses and people are gonna make more money for a county than a racetrack. We just gotta stick together.

Investigations for payoffs to the county commissioners needs to happen.

As much as Im a proponent of keeping it on the track, I'm just going to say this now, if they end up closing down the tracks they'd better not be suprised when street racing starts to trend upward...

At some point in the near future council will likely implement a decibel limit at your track. Same thing happened with Nurburgring. "the static noise limit is officially stated as 95 db, usually the Nurburgring staff will be lenient up to 100 db if you are nice, polite and promise to behave yourself. The drive-by limit of 130db is usually stricter, with reports of people getting banned for only 1 or 2 db over this limit." While the Nurburgring is famous and historical, this is usually the 1st step towards the downfall of a smaller track.

I raced at Riverside. Eventually the few homes in the atea began to bitch. Then they capped the decibel level of the cars. We had just finished the car and set 7 restrictors on each exhaust. We brought 14 for each pipe. On the practice session we set up our meters so we could add more restrictors. We were over on the first pass. Sadly, the track marshal also took a reading and refused to let us race. We explained but he refused to let us add restrictors so we packed up and went back to Arizona. And the neighbors multiplied and bitched louder. Ultimately they sued. Ultimately the track folded and is replaced by a shopping center. When visiting family in Ca. I do not take highway 60 since it passes by the track site. What a loss but,,, Progress Happens.

Sam is a freaking national treasure intentionally buys a house close to the track and puts a firing range behind his house if only the younger generation were half the man he is.

Keeping those tracks loud at all times is important. Let them hear the bald eagles when they show up to meet a realtor at 10:00am on a Monday morning. Keep those tracks active.

As a local Bradenton/Sarasota construction worker who's into cars and what you do for the local car scene... I can't fathom buying a house KNOWING there was a track across the pond and then complaining about it. I hear you guys testing your builds frequently and for me it makes my day at work fun, hearing the passes is my music on the jobsite. I really do hope all works out in favor of you guys and the track because there's nearly no other avenue other than doing what we do at the freedom factory/Bradenton motorsports, but illegally. Just know there's guys behind that fence that supports you and the freedom factory.

That's like in Calif. , Laguna Seca , people bitching about the traffic and noise. That Track has been there from the late 50's. I use to Race Go Karts there, in the 80's , and at turn 6 you had to let up off the gas because there was a park ranger there with a decibel meter reading to the start finish line who was to loud, and get black flag to pull into the pits. Its was mostly the 250 shifter karts , and the dual Enduro karts that run on Alcohol that was to loud. It was a cheap way to go fast , that's for sure ! LOVE All your videos Cleetus.......................Git-R-Done !

I recommend hosting a two step test event every time they have an open house

What we need to do is leave this man alone when he’s out with his family.

I've lived about half a mile from a military training reserve for many years and I'm used to often hearing explosions and machine gun fire. But over the decades many new residents in the area complain that it's too loud and should be restricted. It's 16 square miles in area with warning signs everywhere and they're still thick-headed enough to believe it shouldn't emit any noise. Most people just buy without question and then get pissed off that it's not the tranquil suburb they expected.

This is what happened to the drag strip in Topeka Kansas at heartland park. People complained but they didn’t shut the track down. The county raised the taxes on it to EXTREME prices and the land owner couldn’t afford it anymore so he shut it down. He said it was costing him $4000 a month just in taxes.. They ALWAYS find a way to get their way unfortunately.

We lost our drag strip just like this. People moved in next to the track. Developments replaced farms. I wish you luck Cleetus. I hope your in deed agreement holds.

Sam being mad at losing his pistol range was the best part!

"I have altered the deal...pray I don't alter it further" -some county supervisor for real, it's good that these new homes have that clause, but we all know it won't hold up forever. that area was zoned to not be housing developments and look how that turned out. the hill behind the house I grew up in was zoned for open space and now there's hundreds of houses there. it's only a matter of time. I wish you the best of luck and I'll continue to enjoy your videos!

Big housing development corporations have a lot of legal tools at their disposal. Plus they will not hesitate to do illegal stuff in order to accomplish their goals, money and power which are the only goals of any big corporation. My advice is have a good legal team in your corner

You guys should keep tabs on when open houses happen, and plan events accordingly (so they get a sample lol).

Turn the strip into an airstrip and get airport protections. Primary airstrip, secondary drag strip.

Those homeowner contracts are going to protect you as much as the urban boundary line did. This isn't Granby Colorado, but you got some mechanics that could modify the hell out of a bulldozer for you.

In Calgary they took our local racetrack that was located well outside the city and widely loved and respected, and turned it into a compost facility. When the subdivisions started popping up so did the number of noise complaints and eventually killed what was once an icon into a dump. All I can say is good luck Brother!

Put up a billboard warning potential home purchasers of the loud tracks. The developers don't give a crap once they sell it. Hopefully everything works out. Thanks for your videos!

You should try to get the Freedom Factory and the drag strip classified as historical sites so they can’t close them down or give you any problems

You're only saving grace is that those housing developments sit empty for quite a while sometimes, so you have time to come up with what you're going to do when the track is shut down, because you better believe when people start moving in it will be shut down like so many before it.

Happens all the time. They built around the famous Jarama circuit at Madrid, Spain and closed down racing there on the basis of noise levels affecting the new householders. But the worst case was that the owners of an old steelworks in Bedfordshire, England sold the land to be developed into Britain's first banked racetrack since Brooklands. All went ahead. All built. Fantastic place. Even had its own railway station so people could trip from London on the train. Then the rest of the land got sold to housing developers. The result was that a fantastic, purpose-built race track got closed for racing so the people who bought the new houses were not disturbed by the noise. Same to a lesser extent at Thruxton and Brands Hatch UK circuits.

You should buy the closest home to the track for friends visiting and join the HOA that will inevitably crop up.

You should put up billboards everywhere. Potential homeowners should know what they’re getting into.

This is how all of Florida is now, especially the Tampa/St. Pete and surrounding areas. I'm just a couple years older than you, but I grew up in Odessa, when 54 was 2 lanes, we had a small airport, and held annual Rodeos on Starkey property. It's now 6 lanes and packed. Hundreds of thousands of new homes, apartments, condos. Literally that same intersection that held a rodeo, is now a Greenwise Publix and 50 other things, with another Publix about a half a mile down. The Odessa Flea Market, gone and about to be a Home Depot. Every time I'm in the area there's something new that has gone up and is going up. The traffic in the area is unbearable. It's worse than Orlando, where I live now. Honestly, all these places have been ruined by tearing everything up for more neighborhoods and apartment complexes. Wish you and your track the best bud.

Hopefully they put some auto parts stores and even a performance parts store to support and grow the racetracks in the commercial development area

Hope you get to keep the track! And REALLY hope Sam keeps his pistol range 🤟

Such a disappointment from the commissioners. Money is the root of all evil. It started with the swamp now they are taking out the farmland. Florida will not survive on tourism when all thats left is housing and shopping centers. Good luck Garrett, we are all rooting for you and victor to succeed

A potential solution: Put up billboards, within your perimeter fence, facing the developments, stating something like 'There's a racetrack here, and it's sometimes really loud, hope you like sweet race car action all the time!". This will scare buyers away. Which will drive down the price. Which will dis-incentivize the developer. While reducing (at least partially) the amount of revenue they take in. Which will dis-incentivize said developers taking future legal action against you. Which they most certainly will (regardless of what you do). Or, you go into the rental market, start buying up the houses closest to the track. Do all of the above, plus put some T&Cs in the rental agreements about "you know what this place is next to, right?". Belts+suspenders+light weight pants = Better than nothing.

What you’re running into with the developments is happening everywhere across the country. People don’t stop moving and staying in the same house for 30-40 years anymore. So, open ground is at a premium.

You should get weekly aerial photos of how rapidly the development takes place

WE CANNOT LET SAM LOSE HIS PISTOL RANGE.

Who builds a housing subdivision next to a race track? And who buys a house right next to a race track? Not to bright. You know people will complain about the noise. Glad you got that in their deeds, smart move. It's good that the buyers are not just buying a house not knowing theirs going to be loud noises. Don't feel to bad and loose sleep over it. Sounds like your doing you due diligence and trying to respect the public. Once thing you can do, though your probably not obligated to is plant trees along the borders. This should help filter some of the noise. You could contact other tracts and see what kind of things they did to help with noise suppression. But yes, raise tracks are loud and you can hear them, from miles away. Good to see your respectful to and have concern on how you will effect the local community. Not many people care about that stuff anymore.

Problem is its only a matter of time until the homeowners win. Look at Nashville. They knew they were buying outside a track. Now they can only run one night limited time and in danger of bring shuttered

Just goes to show.... It doesn't matter if you do everything right, the state will always try and restrict your liberty & freedoms eventually.

Fight it cleet, fight as long as you can. So many tracks are closing. You have the support and platform to voice your opinions and we have your back 100%..

The stipulation sounds good but the fine print of it, is Inheritance of those properties. It can be argued that a pass down home (for example) from a "Will" does not meet those conditions. Every local law regarding, is treated differently. Please double check with your attourney on those conditions. I pray that the people who move in are ALL enthusiasts of the Freedom Factory, Drag racing, Drifting, and car shows. What a way to create a car community and on the glass half full, families and life to this area. There's even an opportunity to invite the comming residents as "Golden Families" "Honored Guests" "Local Freedom Fams" for a weekend to see what the community and a track day is all about. Just like taking someone range shooting for the 1st time, they are scared of what they dont understand, once they get the hang of it, they can smile. Best Wishes Brother, and thank you for being an inspiration.

I love the fact that you are committed to keeping the racetrack in Bradenton. I used to work at the Hess gas station on SR64 about 20 or so years ago and I really looked forward to the weekend when all the race cars would come through the station . I feel as I'm sure many do that your track has been a big part of the fabric and culture of that area for decades and I want to thank you for fighting to keep that alive.

That's a tough break with the building developments rushing in like that. You're fighting the good fight to keep the Freedom Factory alive and that's what matters most. Keep those wheels spinning, dude! 🤘🚗💨

Just spoke to my neighbor, who is a land and development lawyer. He said if, and when a problem does arise, it doesn't matter if your people who go to bat for you are in the state, or out of state, in the neighborhood, or homeless. He said that with more numbers and sound reasoning on the business model and support of the entire community (which inculdes all of us too), if we all come together with a pre-draft "this is what you signed up for" letter to be signed and submitted via email, in person, and at town halls and other sorts of court room's... that the majority wins regardless of a vested interest in peaceful enjoyment to their homes they purchased with the agreement in their deeds stating that the race tracks are and have been a positive and active oart of the community as whell as an anchor to the community and without the track, their community wouldn't be thriving as it is now. So they are LEGALLY BOUND to their DEED AGREEMENTS, and the ones who don't think they are can be taken on in court, and we can stand on behalf of the freedom factory! Garrett , we got your back! Not just for you but for Madi, and Ripper! This is your lively hood and we take it seriously! 🖤🫡

The FAA works with some regional airports to determine which homes are impacted by airplane noise associated with the airports, then provides funding to those airports to run programs that pay for elligible homeowners install improved soundproofing and noise mitigation on their properties. One example is the Louisville Regional Airport Authority's "Quieter Home Program," which is completely funded by the FAA. I think most people here would agree that the track was there first, so the homeowners dont have much right to complain. But i think it would be great if organizations like the SCCA, ADRA, or even larger racing organizations like Arca, NASCAR, and Indycar would cooperate to eatablish funding to help both big and small tracks under threat in the US fund similar programs in their areas. Even if some of us dont think they should have to, helping people soundproof their homes around tracks could be a great good-faith/good-neighbor program to help drum up some support for the tracks, appease the most upset neighbors, and keep them from closed down. Showing some effort to help kitivate the problem could give them a better chance at survival than outright resistance

Thank you so much Cletus that was very informative answered some of my questions and also you're not going to have to worry too much about this most of those houses won't even sell!!!!! See you in March!!!!

I think all the Cleetus fans just need to be the people that move into that entire subdivision. Imagine the epicness.

“It’s gonna be like Yellowstone in here if they try and come for our land” Spoken like a true red white and blue patriot!

I grew up in a neighborhood directly across the street from Kirtland AFB and the Albuquerque Sunport. I can assure you that having fighter jets, helicopters, massive military cargo planes, and commercial airliners roaring several hundred feet overhead is comparable if not louder than living within a couple of miles of your tracks, plus it was an everyday occurrence. It gets old at times but you actually get used to it fairly quickly and oftentimes stop noticing. You'd be amazed at how easily the mind can adapt to things like that.

Thank you for posting this. We car people usually shy away from county commission meetings, and other local government, however it is so important we are engaged! Even better that you had the potential homeowner’s best interests at heart. Great job in getting those conditions added in.

As a surveyor myself, having the new homeowners include a covenant restricting their ability to take action against you on the deeds is a good move. Once those deeds are recorded, they carry a lot of weight that typically cannot be tampered with at a whim. Hopefully everything works out for you all ✌🏼

Mr Sam just gets cooler every time we learn more about him. He’s got his own pistol range?!?! Hell yeah 🤘🏼

Hopefully it works out well. Personally I wouldn't but a home in any development, I don't need a HOA to tell me what I can and cannot do with my property bought with my hard earned money. I can't wait to get down to your track and enjoy it👊

You mad a good point. Property value will go up A LOT. Once developed you'll get enough to build a much nicer place given you find a good location.

Just invite any potential buyers to a big event when both tracks are at capacity, make sure they know what they are signing up for.

Sam looks like a young man around you guys, idk how to explain it.. he just looks so full of life when he’s with y’all. Shout out to Sam the man 🥳

I live across from Pencam speedway in Pennsylvania and love hearing the engines.

We have road America in WI and there's a lot of well to do houses near by, but there's a culture of cars in the area and the relationship between the track and the homeowners seems pretty good.

You need to figure out a way to put a HUGE bill board just across the road from that close development that says, "If you purchase a home here, you will be hearing a loud race track." That deed stipulation will last until about 100 rich folks and their multi million dollar law firms get tired of the noise. Then it will be removed and your problems will get a LOT worse.

When they start doing showing and open house stuff on that development, I vote for day long two step checks…

You just mentioned the race car village and I was gonna say that when this video started is that you need to work with the developers to promote track centric housing, because you’re not going to fight the developers there’s just too much money involved. Their thing is this work with the developers and the county to discuss possible ways of creating sound buffers there are lots of high-tech ways, buffing the sound, more than likely eventually they’ll post restrictions on when you can excessive noise at the track like they do here in Oregon.

There is 3 ways that this can go. 1 We get the subscribers to be the owners of the new houses going in. 2 the value of the race track will have gone up so much due to the building you will have enough money to build one three times the size. or 3 make it a national Racetrack preserve quick.

Sad to see what Gene, Stanley and my grandpa built be threatened by housing. Bradenton has gotten to big for its own good. The commissioners are in Bendersons pocket and will always be.

I think you need to do what Walt Disney did and buy up all the land around the track then slowly open up different amusement parks. Burnout World, Ripcot, Turbo studio’s. Sky’s the limit!

These county officials in charge of rezoning are in business with the developers. They get the land cheap, have it rezoned by thier buddy, and then build and sell for huge profit. Follow the money.

When I was a kid, our small town wasn't very developed and there was an outdoor gun range that had been there for decades. The area around the range started getting developed with houses. The residents started bitching to the township council and got the land the range was on rezoned to force it to close. 30 years later, they have never been able to develop the land because of concerns of lead in the soil. This is the same scenario. If you don't want to live near a race track, DON'T BUY A HOUSE NEXT TO A RACE TRACK!

Unfortunately most of our elected officials dont give a damn what their constituents want. God Bless and keep up the good fight Cleetus.

This is my home track, which is the only place I can go legally and safely to test and tune my car, and have a blast with great people. Destroying race tracks left and right is just going to push more people out onto the streets. The end result is us losing a safe place to have fun and race our cars, and pushing us out onto the streets because we have nowhere else to go for a hobby we love

Garrett, please read between the lines. The city commissioners will eventually try to push you out. The contracts between builders and city are to big, $$$ not to mention the illegal back door deals lining the commissioner's pockets. Ok, possible solutions 1. Get people you know to run for city commissioner 2. Find a way to declare the land and area around your track protected land i.e. found arrow heads etc... 3. Buy the land around you, you become the developer, place track, land, assets into foreign trust, out of juristiction of free and state 4. If you have to, higher investigator to look into each commissioners dirty dealings, they are all on the take, that's why they are commissioners to get these back door deals for pay off $$$$. It sucks to go this method but sometimes you have to fight evil with evil. Iam a pro at this. You're going to have to get creative because as you know they are encroaching on you fast. They already crossed the urban boundary line. Again bottom line, find a way to dedicate the track and land around it as a protected territory via some methods stated above or other creative way, like wet land conservation area. Like if you were to find a protected species of fish in a pond or birds etc... hint hint 9:06

The only thing they can do legally for the noise, is to make you stop the tracks between the quiet hours. My suggestion for you, is to search already for “mechanisms” that cutting the noise from the area. One example is to plant trees at the end of your fence, that are going to get tall. (This might be a long journey😅)

People ask you because they are concerned. You may not realize it but you are a hero to a lot of people, including myself, who live in a small lot or apartment that cannot do the things you have achieved. You are our spirit bald eagle! Without you, I would have continued making my car payments, hammering through life. But instead, i built my first real build. It is a 500hp Turbo K24 powered Mini Cooper. Was it a dumb decision? Hell yes. Do i regret it? Not one daggone bit. Keep on inspiring us Garrett, your videos bring us so much joy.

What really protects you is that based on the writing in the deed, each home owner that complains can be individually sued. Not only that, but with the FOIA, any writing to any city trustee will get them sued, long before they can organize. You will need to be diligent about keeping up with it, but a violation could mean they lose their house. That might get real interesting, especially since a bank would likely be involved. Its one thing to be fined, but a completely different one to potentially lose your home.

That’s what happened in Sacramento ca. drag strip is closing. 6 miles from my house. Sacramento Raceway has been there for 50 years. They build all these houses around it then the people in the houses don’t like it somebody offers the owner of the dragstrip ungodly amount of money and they take it.

Man you're fighting the good fight, im having an extremely similar situation out here in Clarksville Tennessee, we have a dirt track and 1/8th mile in town and they built houses around it and have been trying to buy out the track and turn it into a park and the owner has been resistant up until recently, he's in his 80s and can't care for it anymore and as much as he doesn't want to sell it he will end up having too unless we get a miracle, stay strong with your track man, don't let them snuff us out! 💪💪

Builds houses next to race track. Then proceeds to complain about said race track. It's so aggravating how this always seems to happen. These tracks need to start being protected from developers/real state companies.

My best advice on the whole development thing is; start making more noise, more often. Don't stop. Louder, harder, better. All day, every day. Peace bro.

That's actually some pretty strong wording in the deed! Idk about Florida law but in Texas those homeowners would be shit out of luck if they don't like the noise, you can't change the deed. Once they agree to it it's set in stone, all they could do is move!

Your County Commissioners were paid off 100%!

Your fans should buy all the houses near the tracks. Happy neighbors and packed stands at every event.

The clause in the deeds is absolutely incredible. Not as protection, but as a deterrent.

Good luck with that Cleetus.. If the good O' US of A is anything like here in Australia.. We have had race tracks / drag strips with gazetted emergency airfields closed, regardless of what conditions the lands around them were bought under .. Hell they even get international airport flight paths altered .

You have nothing to complain about. And eventually you will have a great location to develop.

I'd petition the town to put a 4x8 sign in the roads going into the new neighborhoods explaining that there is a track near by. with a picture of "YOU ARE HERE" explaining how close they are. Hell It be a fun time making video's meeting the new neighbors lol

Hey Cleetus hopefully you’ll catch this in the mess of 10k comments but I think one of the most beneficial things you can do is embrace the community. Host Toys for Tots, support schools and host events for those people so that they can think of you as more of an asset than a nuisance. Have kids days, fairs or festivals, really just make them love you more than the few that will hate you.

You are going to lose the track, doesn't matter what that deed restrictions are. If for no other reason then the health and well being of thousands of homeowners will outweigh the needs of the track. I watched it first hand growing up with Raceway Park (Englishtown) probably the premier dragstrip on the east coast in it's day. The homes came and slowly the track changed, hours reduced, headline events eliminated, restrictions to only mufflered vehicles on weeknights, bit by bit - gone - disappeared. Although with E-town, they caused their own demise when the Knapp boys started selling off tracts of land. But once the homes started, the end was near. And E-Town was not the only track in Jersey to get overrun with developments. Atco Dragway was the latest to shut it's doors in July 2023.