Got some Christmas money burning a hole in your pocket and like a good challenge?
The Central Illinois Dragway, located in Havana, Illinois — 3.5 hours south of Chicago — remains up for sale, its price reduced to $650,000 in mid-December.
The 1/8-mile dragway, situated on 64-acres among rolling farmland and the Illinois River, was originally known as Midstate Dragway and, for a time, as Mason County Dragway. It opened on August 17, 1969 and has operated continuously ever since.
Sanctioned by the International Hot Rod Association, the Havana strip has featured the Funny Car Chaos series as well as the Ozark Mountain Super Shifters, Nostalgia Super Stock Inc., and the Midwest Nostalgia Pro Stock Association in recent seasons, in addition to its slate of weekly bracket racing competition.
In 2011, the asphalt surface (from 360-feet to the finish line) was repaved, and two seasons later, in April 2013, the concrete from the water box to the 360-foot mark was replaced, giving the strip a fresh facelift. The shutdown area measures 1,730-feet, turning onto a freshly-paved (2013) return road.
Frank Hutto, who purchased the raceway in 2011, did not return messages for comment on this story.