Let’s turn the tide of bad news, shall we?

The Skyview Drags, an 1/8-mile drag racing facility located in Owego, New York, a short drive from the New York/Pennsylvania border, last heard the sound of racing engines and the smell of burnt rubber on its surface in 2018. The facility has sat dormant for six years, its still relatively new structures and surface — it was built in 2004 — slowly being reclaimed by nature.

After the track closed the original property owner passed away; his family then sold the 440 acres of land and the dragstrip and 1/2-mile concrete oval that rest on it. In a story that is a true departure from the norm, the new owner, with no background or knowledge of the sport, opted to invest in racing and revitalize the dragway. He then called upon veteran local racer, Pat Schrader, to help him in the endeavor as his operational manager.

“I’ve raced at Skyview since it opened. This was our local track — it’s only about 25 minutes from my house,” Schrader says. “They’d do Friday night test and tunes and a bracket race on Saturday. The new owner wants to get it back open, and I’m here to help make that happen. He’s very anxious to get it back to a higher standard, which is phenomenal. It’s great to have someone willing to jump in and do something — he tells me if I believe in it, to do it. To have that support from him is making it easier on my end. He doesn’t know anything about the sport, he’s just into buying and selling and revitalizing properties. He’s already made several hundred thousand dollars in repairs — it sat for six years, which hasn’t done the buildings any favors. So we’ve been plucking away at it trying to get it ready for the new year. The owner wants to see it up and running, and wants to add campgrounds to it, add four-wheeler and kart tracks — there’s 440 acres, so there’s so much you can do with this land.”

Schrader says he and some 50 volunteers have gone through and cleaned the facility and removed grass and weeds from front to back. They’ve also completed paint work on the building interiors, and $40,00 was spent to put new windows in the timing tower. New floors and carpet will go down in the tower, and both of the large bathrooms will be fully remodeled, as will the concession stand. Schrader is on the precipice of ordering an all-new timing system, and is in talks with the WDRA to sign a sanctioning agreement.

Schrader says the venue had great racer and fan support during its tenure, and there’s already been an outpouring of interest in the grand reopening of Skyview Drags.

“The number of people that have reached out to me has been unbelievable,” Schrader says. “I’m averaging 400 messages a day. We lost a couple of tracks down in Pennsylvania, and everyone around here is itching to go racing again. We’ve got guys pulling their cars out of storage and freshening motors so they can race again. The interest has been unbelievable, and I think it’s going to be huge — with good management I think this place is going to be back up and running and thriving in no time. I really do.”

Schrader says he’s had the Sampson No Prep group reach out, and will conduct eight events at Skyview Drags in 2024, including the season opener on April 27. There will also be a complete slate of weekly Saturday e.t. bracket racing events. “Once we’re up and going, I’m going to get every racing group in there that I can,” he adds.