A temporary race track could become a reality in Kalaeloa within months under a tentative deal reached between the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the group Save O'ahu's Race Track.

O'ahu motor enthusiasts have been left without a place to race legally since Hawai'i Raceway Park shut down at nearby Campbell Industrial Park just over a year ago. O'ahu is the only major island in the Hawaiian chain without a raceway and the lack of a facility has spawned a rivalry between two groups of former users who have been at odds over the future of racing on the island.

SORT spokeswoman Evelyn Souza said the 35-acre portion of what's known as Parcel 24, which is on the 'Ewa side of the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station, is a good pit stop on the road to a permanent solution.

"Right now, it's overgrown with haole koa and kiawe but it looks like a diamond in the rough," Souza said.

The group expects to have a month-to-month lease with DHHL finalized in the next few weeks and have a track in place by the end of summer, Souza said.

The cost of the lease is still under negotiation, DHHL Director Micah Kane said. Souza said work done by volunteers, who will clear the brush on the land, is a consideration in the negotiating.

"There's going to be a mutual benefit since they're clearing the property," Kane said. "We're trying to be good neighbors by providing them with some relief while they're looking for a permanent track."

The first phase, which will cost about $175,000, will consist of an oval dirt track for stock cars, dirt bikes and ATVs. It may also include a mud bog, Souza said.

The second phase would feature asphalt venues and include a drag strip, as well as accommodations for drifters and Sports Car Club of America racing, she said. That phase is expected to cost about $1 million.

Les Vallarano, a SORT member who races an Indy car, said he and other enthusiasts have had nowhere to go since Hawaii Raceway Park shut down.

"Now, finally we'll have some place we can race legally," said Vallarano, 45. "It gives the young people an outlet for the hobby without racing or drifting on the street."

Souza said her group is looking at different means of financing the improvements. SORT hopes to have racing there for at least two years to allow the group to recoup its costs, she said.

The nonprofit organization has been trying to get the city to undertake condemnation proceedings to acquire the old Hawaii Raceway Park, several miles away, so that it can be reopened as a race track. The park shut down last year and has since been sold to a developer who has other plans for the 66-acre site.

The City Council is preparing to hear resolutions that would designate the site of the old Hawaii Raceway Park as a recreation area, condemn it and buy it at market value.

Souza said there has been no discussion with DHHL about making the arrangement on the Kalaeloa site a permanent one. Getting the old raceway park reopened is still her group's bigger interest.

"That would be a leap for us to even imagine because we are quite content with what we have," she said. "But who's to know? It is recreational property, it does suit the needs of the community, and if nobody objects to us staying there, why not?"

Kane however, said he doesn't see the arrangement becoming permanent.

The vegetation on the site is "a blessing in disguise" because it will cut down on noise from the racers, Souza said. And because the facility will not have electricity, there won't be any lights for night racing, she said.

The site, at the corner of Coral Sea and Tripoli, is about a mile from a housing complex formerly owned by the Navy and now rented out to civilians.

Sen. Mike Gabbard, R-19th (Kapolei, Makakilo, Waikele), lives in the Kalaeloa subdivision and said he supports the project. "There are thousands of racing enthusiasts, so it's definitely good news if there's going to be at least a temporary racetrack facility in our district," he said.

Gabbard said he does not believe noise will be a problem.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Oahu Motorsports Advisory Council said his group has mixed feelings about the impending deal between SORT and DHHL. Michael Kitchens said his group supported former owners of the raceway park, headed by developer Tom Enomoto, in their quest to obtain a separate property in Kalaeloa, about 139 acres known as Parcel 9, for a permanent track.

Negotiations between the Enomoto group and DHHL involved having the development group swap a piece of land for the Kalaeloa property, which is leased to a storage company for $480,000 a year.

"We are disappointed with the fact that DHHL has not been receptive to the developer's attempts to complete the land exchange," Kitchens said. "As far as SORT's temporary site, we are comfortable and happy they were able to acquire something as far as racing is concerned. Our goal is a permanent and safer multi-purpose facility that can support racing's current and future growth."

Kane said the Enomoto group has never offered property that meets his agency's goal to provide homesteads for Hawaiian beneficiaries. DHHL did not approach the Enomoto group about taking over Parcel 24 because "the ... group has never pursued a temporary parcel," he said. "They've always pursued a permanent land disposition and have never presented a parcel that met our liking that would fit a land exchange."

Enomoto was not available for comment last week.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.