In all of my years in the sport of drag racing, which has been nearly all my life, I’ve had the distinct displeasure of reading about or hearing about far too many race tracks that ceased operations and closed up shop forever. And more recently, I’ve had to report on them as well. In our weekly Flashback Friday feature here on DRAGZINE, we travel back in time to take a look at the cars, the stars, and everything else that makes up the history of this great sport. And as part of that feature, I’ve written about several “ghost tracks” that have long since boarded up their timing towers, padlocked the gates and left the once shining facilities to rot away in the elements. Others are now buried below housing complex and retail outlets. However, despite my wish to have actually been there and witnessed the energy at what could be numbered in the hundreds of now deceased race tracks, none of them ever really hit home. That is, until now.

After Dover Motorsports closed up the Memphis Motorsports Park last October, attention turned to another of their holdings, the Gateway International Raceway just across the mighty Mississippi from downtown St. Louis. And before the official announcement was even handed down this fall, it was well known the track would be terminating its operations until further notice. Now, Gateway wasn’t my “home track” by any means and I doubt anyone there knows me from Adam, but I’ve probably spent as much if not more time there than any other track in the midwest over the years. I’ve had the pleasure of racing, winning, and witnessing some great races and moments there. The place really is a mid-American mecca that was visited by racers and fans from all across the country thanks to its central location. And as such, it meant a lot to a lot of people.

Like many, I never knew the original incarnation of Gateway. I can recall being 12 or 13 years old and making the short three hour drive over to St. Louis for a little weekend R&R vacation with the family and my father and I had heard there was a racetrack nearby. So we pulled out a map (you know, the paper kind that doesn’t talk to you) and went old school geocaching for it. By the time we arrived rains had wiped out the racing for the day, but not before we took some time to chat with the locals about the place. The old strip was in its final days, surrounded by graders, dump trucks, and a quarter mile dragstrip drawn out in the dirt.

The late Steve Grebeck honored at the 2002 Mobil 1 World Ford Challenge.

Like many, I have a lot of great memories from the track. Those not only include winning a handful of races of my own there, but taking in several exciting World Ford Challenges, the NHRA Sears Craftsman Nationals (that later changed names) in the blazing June heat, NMCA, Monster Mopar, the ADRL, and many others. During its time, it has claimed the lives of Top Fuel racer Darrell Russell and Super Gas competitor Phil Burghard, saw record shattered, upsets accomplished, and tens of thousands of new Missouri-Illinois racing fans made.

A massive crowd takes in the 2003 NHRA Sears Craftsman Nationals in 2003. Something many may not recall is that the St. Louis event was for a short time the only scheduled night race on the NHRA tour.

In spite of its closure, there is reason to remain optimistic about the eventual reopening of some portion of the facility. I don’t particularly know the lay of the land nor the intentions of local politicians and investors, but the location doesn’t exactly seem ripe for the picking from a development standpoint. If anything at all, it could serve as an extension of the landfill across the street, but doesn’t come across as your Wal-Mart or condominium complex sort of area. Meaning it could be safe from total extinction for a while.

Jason Scruggs and Joey Martin compete before the largest crowd in Gateway's history at the 2009 ADRL Hardee's Gateway Drags.

Area native and drag racing announcer and photographer extraordinaire Bret Kepner recently shared on his Facebook page the finer details of the financials and business models of the facility that proved to be its downfall and that information doesn’t bode well for the track on the surface. But, with Dover Motorsports display of willingness to practically give Memphis Motorsports Park away at auction, a list of rumored “race-minded” interested buyers, and the leverage of the money that its weekly and annual events generate, there’s no reason to write the Gateway International Raceway off just yet.