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Images courtesy of DallasRaceway.com
Following an all-too-familiar trend, Dallas Raceway Park in Crandall, Texas announced last week that it would be closing its gates. The announcement on the tracks website stated the closure was due to “hard economic times and financial reasons.”
Dallas Raceway joins a number of others struggling tracks across the nation. Tracks that had been around consistently for decades have shut down left and right, while others are threatened by housing developments, a seeming lack of interest, or an economy that seems trapped in a downward spiral.
Dallas Raceway was refurbished in 2009 with an all new concrete dragstrip, a 3,600-square foot tower complete with a control room and suites, a massive hospitality center, 13-and-a-half acres of paved concrete pit parking, air-conditioned bathrooms, showers, and even a game room, plus a 24 million gallon lake stocked full of bass and catfish. As a result, many fans of the track believe that this one is too good to be left in the dust.
No word yet on the sale of the track, but of course, racers and fans are keeping their fingers crossed.
In addition to weekly test and tunes, the track was host to many IHRA events including a Nitro Jam national event, as well as the spectator favorite, Pinks All Out in 2010.
Until the middle of last week, racers believed that the track would be 
openingbsometime this month following their holiday closure, per the formal track plans. Several racers had spoken with track owners and management, and knew that there was some trouble, but last week’s announcement came as a shock to most everyone.
The closure in Dallas comes on the heels of another prominent Texas track closure; Pine Valley Raceway in Lufkin, Texas closed late last year, with no formal announcement—just a simple “for sale or lease” notice on their website, leaving stunned patrons arriving for test and tunes locked out, and wondering what happened.
With two more closures finalized, and the 2012 race season months away, racers and fans alike can only wonder: what can we do to save the sport of drag racing? And further, how do we make it happen quickly?
