Resurrection of a Dragstrip

[Mach Daddy]

...

"Smokin' Amarillo Dragway" has a history dating back to the '60s. The middle '70s she was at her high point when I went there and watched the Winston Winternationals. Over the last decade she's fallen on hard times and didn't even open last year.

Well after much doubt we finally have a tentative opening date this year thanks to a lot of guts and hard work by the present owner.

Today, a few of his friends showed up to lend a helping hand to resurrect her from the heap.

It was a GREAT day !!! I didn't count heads but I'm guessing somewhere around 25 people or so came out to bust some azz in the heat to help get our track ready for our 2007 opening day !!!

Here's some pics I took:



It was Smokin' ... Bwahahahahahahhahahahahahah

These roasted up nicely but I didn't have many/any takers ... :?

A real site for sore eyes ...

Sign from the tower came down first thing this morning for a makeover ...

Metal bleachers before the assault ...

Adam making some weeds his biachez ...

I really thought it was going to be a very long day at this point ...

See that shovel ??? Not a friend of Mach Daddy anymore.

You couldn't even see these posts at the beginning of the day ...

Team NorthSide Racing kikkin' some grazz azzzzzzzz

Quit smiling and get back to work !!!

A shot of what part of the soldiers rode in with (with a gratuitous shot of my Tahoe. )

More rides ...

"Who You Gonna Call When You Hit The Wall" ???

Beverage of choice for early in the day ...

Fuel for the belllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

I actually heard someone yell "timberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" ...

Tower sign makeover ...

Remember ... You couldn't even see these posts at the beginning of the day !!!

Won't be long now ...

Bleachers all cleaned up.

How many supervisors do you need to paint a sign ???

How many ???

It was a very long, and gratifying day.

...

 

[craz1469]

Thats a good thing to see. Hate to see drag strips die.

 

[DaleM]

Nice to see the interest in racing is not going away. I'd like to see more road courses.

 

[phil'snotch]

awesome, keep us updated on the progress

 

[mex69]

nice i use to live close to amarillo an hr above it in sunray but now live in the dfw.. were exactly is this place never heard of it. might hit it up sometime when it opens back up

 

[hmmmidunno]

damn looks good. now just get the timing lights working. check the track surface and patch the cracks

 

[SVT04]

1/8 or 1/4 mile? Who owns the track now and where will operating money come from ?

Good to see the track get some attention. May keep some guys off the streets.

Reminds me of the same kind of activity we did every summer when I was a kid so we could run. We would clean all the grass out of the cracks and trim all the grass along an old abandoned airstrip,then race every Friday and Saturday.We painted a start and finish line and just had a blast...

The guy who owned the land said it was OK for us to do so even if the RCMP were asking him to stop us. They said if we got hurt he would be responsible...he told them to get off his property and leave us alone....we raced there all through 3 summers and no one was hurt....

I moved away after that so don't know the fate of the old strip. That was a long time ago now....

Seems like those were simple times compared to the way things are now.

 

[Mach Daddy]

... were exactly is this place never heard of it ...

South of Amarillo off Washington and the Claude Highway. Actual address is on Burlington Road.

... now just get the timing lights working. check the track surface and patch the cracks

Sound system was hooked up last week. The tree is in perfect condition ... maybe even a new tree. It is in the tower building. Timing lights and boards are being hooked up this week. Track surface and shut-down are very smooth with no debris (after yesterday) and only minor cracks that will be repaired after the concrete barriers go in over the next 10 days.

1/8 or 1/4 mile?

May keep some guys off the streets.

1/4 mile track ... and yeah ... street racing is a bigger problem than it was when the track was open.

Thanks for the input everyone ... I'll post pics in a couple of weeks after she opens. :rockon:

...

 

[1bad_stang]

nice i use to live close to amarillo an hr above it in sunray but now live in the dfw.. were exactly is this place never heard of it. might hit it up sometime when it opens back up

I'm from right up the road also, Perryton. I've never heard of that track. I might have to take the ol' TERMINATOR up there and make a couple passes for old time sakes!!:rockon: I havent been up that way in years!! Maybe I'll see some old friends.

 

[Almo]

Good stuff!! :rockon:

 

[Antex]

Thats a good thing to see. Hate to see drag strips die.

+1 :beer:

 

[F8LSNAKE]

Awesome, I wish they would reopen the one here in WR, but there are subdivisions and schools all around it now, so I don't think it will ever happen. We are still fortunate that we are only 30min. away from two different tracks. And within a 2 hr. drive we have at least 7 different tracks.

 

[msm808]

Good Stuff Man!

 

[Jsko]

Looking good so far

 

[DVJ38]

Great job, nice to see everyone pitching in.

 

[69cobrajet]

Nice,it's good to keep these older tracks alive.:thumbsup:

 

[CPViolation]

Very nice.
The Bay Area has lost 2 1/4 mile and one very old 1/8 milers.
Only Infineon and Sacramento still exist. The two tracks are ~ a three hour drive apart.
Jeff

 

[straightliner1]

CPV,

What 3 tracks are you referring to? I had no idea the Bay had any "independents" of its own.

 

[GtownMACH]

man thats great to see that track cleaned up. If thats the same strip i'm thinking about, it used to be real popular way back in the day. I bet its needed big time around there too b/c i can't think of any other dragstrips in west texas.. except for the highways!

 

[ShapeShifter]

awesome man!