Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last five months, you’re keenly aware that oil rig blowouts are all the rage these days. If you don’t have a miniature oil rig gushing in your backyard, you just aren’t hip. But while the complete mismanagement and scope of the BP oil spill and a subsequent spill in Louisiana involving a tug boat have given the entire world fodder for getting their jollies, it’s certainly no laughing matter for folks who live and earn their keep in the Gulf. And now, the effects are putting the pinch on at least one drag racing facility.

Image credit: Shawn Bosarge

Another recent and ongoing oil well blowout, which occurred last Wednesday in Louisiana’s Assumption Parish south of Baton Rouge has resulted in the evacuation of residents of nearby homes and businesses and closed down a two-mile stretch of Louisiana Highway 70. Smack in the middle of the effected area is the No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, which too has been ordered to shutter its doors until the well can be capped.

State officials have estimated it could be up to six weeks before the repairs can be made so that residents may return to their homes and businesses – including No Problem – can resume operations. With some of the tracks larger events on the schedule occurring in late August and throughout September, the blowout could prove fiscally devastating for the track. No Problems’ annual Division 4 Lucas Oil Series points meet, scheduled for September 17-19, is one of the tracks’ marquee events and it too is currently in a wait-and-see stage given to the estimate on repairs.

No Problem owner Pat Joffrion recently told DailyComet.com that after only a week, the blowout has already taken a financial toll on the track, and the six week closure would undoubtedly be devastating for his business.

Stay tuned to the No Problem Raceway website for further scheduling updates.