The lingering hopes of an historic Ohio drag racing facility that dates back nearly seven decades reopening in the future could soon be permanently dashed, as the Pacemakers Dragway is being eyed for a partial redevelopment into housing.
Plans submitted by property owner Larry Nelson call for approximately 35 acres of the dragway in Mount Vernon, Ohio to be rezoned to make way for a mobile home park. The proposal would convert a portion of the 140-acre site from Rural Residential Agriculture to Residential Mobile Home Park use.
The Knox County Regional Planning Commission on Thursday accepted a recommendation from its Land Use Committee to approve the rezoning request, clearing an early hurdle in the process.
“We saw no reason not to recommend that the parcel be rezoned,” Land Use Committee chair Steve Bratton said in a statement to local news outlet Knox Pages, citing similar developments in the surrounding area. “There’s definitely a precedence in Clinton Township.”
The final decision now rests with Clinton Township trustees. The plan outlines a development of roughly 100 to 130 mobile homes that would be positioned perpendicular to the existing dragstrip. The dragstrip itself would be repurposed as a central roadway through the community. The current entrance to the track would also serve the residential development.
Pacemakers Dragway, founded in 1956, was one of the oldest continuously operating NHRA-sanctioned tracks in the country. The 1/8-mile strip last hosted racing activity in 2024 after struggling with financial and infrastructure challenges in recent years.
The potential redevelopment reflects a broader national trend, as aging dragstrips have faced mounting economic pressures while there has been increasing demand for residential and commercial land.
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