Monterey County will not extend a new contract to the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula, bringing an end to SCRAMP’s management of the park that contains WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Assistant county administrative officer (ACAO) Dewayne Woods, who controls the bidding process for the Monterey-owned property, informed SCRAMP of its decision via email, stating “the county is now in negotiations with another proposer for management services at Laguna Seca Recreational Area.”

SCRAMP CEO Tim McGrane was not expecting the end of a 62-year-old relationship between the organization and its oversight of the circuit.

“This news comes as a surprise to the SCRAMP organization,” he said. “We were starting to make real progress on getting the facility and the raceway operations turned around and poised for the future, but it appears at this time we may not have the opportunity to see these plans through.

“As the existing facility operator, we were stunned by the fact that we were not provided the opportunity to discuss our proposal with the ACAO. The entire process has been unconventional, ranging from the bypassing of the County’s usual Request For Proposal (RFP) process, the announcement in mid-October requesting proposals from any interested parties with only two weeks’ notice, and complaints that SCRAMP had not met deadlines to submit a proposal when in fact a submission date had been agreed upon in May, and subsequently met, has been challenging.”

Although no leading candidates to replace SCRAMP have been named, the ACAO is known to have met or interviewed with a number of parties and individuals to lead Laguna Seca under his direction. Former bidders from the most recent contract cycle in 2017 to former Laguna Seca CEOs have been involved as the mounting effort to part ways with SCRAMP have led to the latest outcome.