Vanishing Speedways: The Crisis of Drag Strip Closures

This last week, the drag racing world received some disturbing news. 3 tracks all announced their closure. Atco in New Jersey, Emerald Coast in Florida and Redline Raceway in Texas all announced that they were closing up. Redline Raceway had timing equipment stolen before the announcement was finalized! All of these pretty well said the racing will no longer be in the picture. I’m no stranger to track closures, my home track of Rocky Mountain Raceways closed at the end of the 2018 season.

The unfortunate truth is that we’re seeing tracks get closed at an alarming rate and most of them are getting turned into warehouses. In my case, the land the track was on was sold 5 years prior and was being operated on a lease option. At the end of the 5 years, the track got plowed under. 

Part of the reason that drag strips and race tracks in general are an easy target to get acquired is the large amount of land they sit on and being a business that doesn’t make the largest amount of money. This can be considered an undervalued business, and could be acquired easily.

One of my favorite tracks, Firebird Raceway in Boise Idaho, has cemented their place in the community through years of effort and building good relationships within the community. They also went a step further and had the land declared a historical site ensuring that the track will be safe for years to come.

Running a race track is hard, it’s not a job that I personally want. I know that working to treat the patrons, both racers and spectators alike, is an important thing to get right. For example, Firebird offers a bucket of ice cream for $1. It’s simple, the kids and families love it, and the racers love it. 

I know that you can’t make people happy all the time, and there will always be someone who has a bad experience. The point is to do our best to not be “that guy” that is constantly bashing the track and others. We should be working to promote goodwill and help our track be the best it can be. We should be able to have an open and positive discussion on how things can be improved. 

There’s my thoughts on the subject.

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