Fort Wayne, Indiana Residents In Favor Of Drag Strip Proposal

From the very beginnings of auto racing, the racing contingent has had to fight a continuous uphill battle against local governments and communities to gain approval to build its sanctuaries of speed. While race track propositions consistently going under fire and tracks being placed under stringent noise and time constraints today may seem like a present day trend, these back and forth battles actually date back throughout drag racing’s 60-plus year history. So when a little tidbit comes across our desk regarding a community that is not only approving of a racing facility, but actually voting in favor of one above other proposed projects, that’s plenty to get our attention.

Fort Wayne, Indiana, the state’s second largest city, recently polled its 253,000 residents to determine the best use of a portion of a $78 million light lease legacy fund to help improve the city, and to date, the suggestion of a drag strip actually leads the way in the responses.

The title of the proposed idea is, “build a drag strip on the east/southeast side of town to create new economic growth.”

Supporters of the drag strip plan say that cities like Fort Wayne would normally pay all of the costs associated with building the facility, and would then lease it out to an operator, thus eventually making its cost back and turning a profit for the city.

“Other cities have seen growth actually come from a drag strip. Cities have grown up around that drag strip. There’s no doubt in our minds that it would be an economic benefit to the city if this was done,” said Fort Wayne Resident & Drag Strip Supporter Shane Kever. Kever said the Legacy Fort Wayne process is the right time to build a drag strip to promote economic growth, and that out-of-towners would flock to the Fort Wayne track to fuel that growth. Members of the Task Force are slated to give their recommendations to Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry by this summer, who could potentially announced a decision for use of the funds by late summer or early fall.

As drag racing participants, media, and fans, we’ve all been down this road enough times to know better than to get our hopes up, but whether this idea comes to fruition or not, the fact that residents are actually looking at a racetrack in a positive light is a surprising 180 from the norm.