For racers in southern New York and northeastern Pennsylvania, the last six years — and certainly the last nine months — have been a rollercoaster of emotions. Earlier this year, it was announced that the Skyview Drags in the town of Owego would reopen following six years of dormancy, bringing drag racing back to the area and igniting a fervor of energy among the racing faithful in the area — many of them pulling their dusty race cars out of storage or restarting long-forgotten projects to take advantage of the rebirth of their local strip. Built in 2004, the 1/8-mile Dragway had closed its gates in 2018 and was slowly withering in the elements.

A new owner — the identity of whom was and remains anonymous — invested in the facility, and was aided significantly by the donation of materials and the volunteering of local racers to bring the facility back to life. The facility opened in the spring and contested a busy schedule of events through the summer months. However, last month the multi-purpose track and its 389 acres were suddenly put on the market, with real estate brokerage United Country Tom Mullen & Associates manning the $3.5 million listing. Racing operations continued unabated with no signal of trouble …. that was, until September 4, when the owner or a representative of the owner made a brief but poignant post on Facebook, informing racers the track was officially closed, with no no details regarding its future.

“We are officially closed on 9.04.2024 due to my health. All schedules have been suspended for the rest of the year. Thank you for your patronage and support,” it said, the statement coming as a shock even to those most directly involved in the revitalization and operation of the dragway.

The announcement set off a flurry of activity on social media and around the local racing community — many frustrated and angry over the time and personal expense that they’d gone to, only for the facility to close before even a single season was completed.

The track remains for sale, but information on its future as a racetrack — or otherwise — locals tell us remains an unknown. DRAGZINE has reached out to sources involved in the track’s reopening and will update this story as information comes available.