Communities full of noise ordinances and restrictive regulations have caused the demise of many of our local drag strips, so it’s nice to hear that one of those former tracks is making a comeback. Thanks to Kentucky business men Keith Murt and Blane Grow, aviators and drag racers will so0n be sharing one
facility. The Grow Air Park in Paducah, Kentucky is currently being renovated to allow drag racing back on its surface. In the 1970s, the site was opened as a drag strip and then later converted to an air park. The runway will remain the same for the most part, except for the addition of guard rails and timing equipment. As long as the pilots can land their aircrafts between guard rails, they will still be allowed to call the strip home as well.

The newly re-christened facility is to be named Beacon Raceway and is scheduled to hold its first race on May 5th. The new Beacon Raceway is located next to Paducah International Raceway (PIR), a 3/8-mile high bank oval dirt track. The dirt cars race on Friday nights, so Murt and Grow made the logical decision to operate the drag racing facility on Saturdays, allowing the area’s motor sports fans to enjoy both forms of racing without competing with one another on hampering either track.

Murt, a Paducah native and accomplished businessman has competed in select NHRA Full Throttle national events the last two seasons in Top Fuel. Murt ran NHRA Competition Eliminator in the ‘80s and ‘90s and made his Top Fuel debut last season driving for Mitch King. Murt owns a successful construction company that has assisted in converting the Beacon Raceway from a single purpose air park into a multi-functional race track. It sounds like Kentucky racers and fans will have one more reason to look forward to summer.