Local nonprofit teams up with corporate giant for Laguna Seca management.

For months, the local nonprofit that manages the Laguna Seca racetrack has been fighting for relevance and financial viability. 

They might have found it, thanks to a new partnership with their erstwhile adversary. 

The Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) built the racetrack in 1957 and has managed Laguna Seca since as a concessionaire. Despite hosting some big revenue-generating races, SCRAMP has struggled to stay afloat financially. 

After SCRAMP submitted a 10-year proposal to county officials last year, laying out their plans to remain as the concessionaire, the county looked elsewhere. Officials turned to the Daytona, Florida-based International Speedway Corporation (ISC), a publicly traded company that owns or operates 13 racetracks across the country, promoting hundreds of races. 

SCRAMP waged a public relations battle against ISC for months, which included ads in the Monterey County Weekly, calling on readers to "Keep Laguna Seca local."

Now, ISC and SCRAMP have agreed to partner and announced Friday that they'll jointly submit a proposal to Monterey County for the future management of the racetrack. 

Details on what the proposal will be remain scarce, but both entities lauded the agreement. 

"ISC’s national scale and financial expertise combined with SCRAMP’s operational knowledge and many local charitable relationships create a unique synergy providing for the facility’s long-term stability," according to a statement from SCRAMP. 

And from ISC: “We look forward to continuing our work with SCRAMP."

In 2014, SCRAMP reported generating $10.8 million in revenue from sponsorships, ticket sales and other sources, according to its form 990s, which nonprofits are required to file with the IRS in lieu of income taxes. 

The nonprofit's total expenses for the year were $10.5 million, leaving the organization operating at a very narrow margin. 

On its form 990s, SCRAMP claims it has almost $16 million worth of assets, but almost all of that is actually county property, which the county pays to maintain.

Invoices obtained by the Monterey County Weekly through a Public Records Act request show multiple invoices for maintenance work from SCRAMP to County Parks in recent years, sich as $9,636 for bridge repair in August 2014, a $33,937 bill from Granite Rock in July 2014 and $7,758 in August of 2013 for repairs after a car hit a utility pole. 

Alternatively, ISC is partly through its a five-year plan (through 2017) to invest $600 million in capital improvements, according to the company's five-year annual report.