By JIM GENARO

Old tensions between race-car fans and the nonprofit group RiverLink flared up again last week after the organizationís executive director sent a letter to city officials complaining about a recent rally at which cars were driven around a former track in an Asheville public park.

The June rally at Carrier Park was held to raise funds for a memorial to race-car drivers and the former Asheville Speedway, which was purchased by RiverLink for $1.1 million in 1999.

The group donated the land to the city, along with $1.6 million, to develop the park, on the condition that it would never again be used for car racing.

In an Aug. 1 letter to Mayor Terry Bellamy, all members of Asheville City Council and City Manager Gary Jackson, RiverLink Executive Director Karen Cragnolin said that by allowing race cars to to ìspeed around the trackî during the rally, the city had ìviolated the spirit, if not the letter, of the conservation easement and gift.î

Furthermore, the letter threatened legal action against the city if similar events took place in the future.
However, Councilman Jan Davis, a former race-car driver, said that the cars at the rally were only driving ìvery slowî ó about 15 mph.

ìIt was, to me, a very poor choice on the part of RiverLink,î Davis said of the letter during a telephone interview with the Daily Planet last Monday.

RiverLink Chairman Richard T. Hall reportedly said that the letter was based on a misunderstanding that the cars had been racing around the track.

Cragnolin did not return a phone call from the Daily Planet before presstime.

Meanwhile, Davis said that the three laps that were made by three cars during the rally were a symbolic tribute to the former speedwayís legacy.

ìThere was not a dry eye in the house,î Davis said of the rally. ìIt was such a sweet event.î

Councilman Carl Mumpower also objected to Cragnolinís letter, responding in an e-mail that ìa large number of folks were disenfranchised by the loss of the New Asheville Speedway and the process surrounding that transition ... The elitism and arrogance of perspective in your letter are, for me personally, a pause for concern.î

Davis had been motivated to raise funds for a memorial to racecar drivers after the death of driver Bob Pressley in 2004. So far, Davis said, the effort has raised about $41,000 ó about $9,000 short of its goal.

Donations for the effort can be made to Eblen Charities at 12 Regent Park, Asheville, NC 28806.