We live in an age where drag strips seem to be disappearing at an alarming rate. The great state of Maine only has two operational drag strips, and that number was about to be cut in half in 2025. Thankfully, Crystal Lancaster stepped up and gave one of the facilities a new lease on life as Fernald Field Dragway.

The location that Fernald Field Dragway stands on was originally a military airbase owned by the United States government and was named after Roy L. Fernald. In the 1950s, the government retired the airbase and gave the property to the small town of Winterport, Maine. Then, in 1967, the airbase was turned into a drag strip and renamed Winterport Dragway.

In April of 2025, the Winterport Dragway Association declined the town’s lease offer and ended a 58-year relationship with the town. The track was on the verge of closing down, but that’s when Crystal stepped in.

“I put together a lease proposal of my own/took money out of my personal savings, and presented my offer to the Town of Winterport. My lease offer was unanimously accepted on April 29, 2025, and I’ve been working to rebuild the facility ever since – that is how Fernald Field Dragway came to be! We successfully opened on Sunday, June 8th with 70 racers and over 100 spectators in attendance,” Crystal explains.

It’s no accident that Crystal decided to take on the task of keeping the track alive. Crystal was born and raised in a family of drag racers, and she started racing herself as soon as she legally could drive a car. Her father’s business, Lancaster Restorations, LLC, even got involved with the track as a sponsor, and Crystal volunteered to help anytime there was a need at the track.

“Having prior track management experience, along with my master’s in business administration, and knowing that race tracks across the United States have closed at a rapid rate, I felt obligated to do whatever I could possibly do to make sure the Dragway gates stayed open in Winterport, Maine. The way I see it is, the money doesn’t come with me when my time ends, but the memories I create at Fernald Field Dragway with my family, friends, and fellow racers certainly will,” Crystal says.

Crystal has jumped into the driver’s seat of Fernald Field Dragway and went hammer-down with the racing schedule in 2025. The track has a full points series, index racing, Gassers, street nights, The Pine Tree Jamboree, a Fall Brawl event, and much more.

It’s clear that Crystal and her team work on giving everyone who comes to Fernald Field Dragway a great experience. From the way it sounds, after this first year as operator of the track, Crystal intends to really open things up in 2026 with more racing action.