Laguna Seca’s renowned racetrack needs help but its owners are hesitant to invest.

The learning curve between operating a business in the private sector and operating one under the bureaucracy of the public sector has been, at times, steep for John Narigi, who was tapped by the county in 2019 to run its nationally renowned racetrack, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

When he encounters the constraints of the government org chart and his five democratically elected bosses, Narigi, who spent decades as general manager of the four-star Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa, relies on a refrain: “I was brought in to run this as a profitable business.” Narigi says he has had to learn the government process “through the school of hard knocks.”

Narigi’s firm took over operation of the county-owned track after a more than six-decade run by the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP). With the track came decades of deferred maintenance—what Supervisor Mary Adams calls “benign neglect”—that now presents what Narigi advertises as an existential threat to the track’s future. It will take $66 million to bring the track up to industry speed, but two projects are being presented as emergencies: replacement of the bridge that hangs over the start and finish line, and a complete resurfacing of the track. Cost: $9.1 million.

The bridge, a necessary thoroughfare for about 75 percent of the attendees at any given event, looks every bit of its 50-year age with rotting wood, hanging nails and dangling electrical wires. The track has not been resurfaced since 2007.

The Board of Supervisors has approved more than $3.3 million in smaller retroactive contracts at the track throughout 2021—work that was started before the county approved the specific expense—but has hesitated on larger items. This has led to a sometimes pugnacious public relationship between Narigi and his bosses, especially with Supervisor Wendy Root Askew, the lone no vote on a $750,000 ask in October to begin planning for major repairs. Root Askew, visibly uncomfortable, said if the repairs were as urgent as advertised, they should have been listed as capital improvement priorities during the annual budget process.

Barry Toepke, director of heritage events at the track, says Porsche is deciding between Laguna Seca and another undisclosed track for its major Rennsport Reunion event next year. He says they may be waiting until after Dec. 8, when the Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on whether to finance the bridge and track projects.