Alright guys,

I am actually looking at purchasing a large plot of land and building a 1/4 mile drag strip. Does anyone know what the NHRA's regulations are for a race track. Does anyone have any pro's and con's of their race track? Can anyone give me suggestions of what they like at their track that they race at and what they dont like?

Thanks
Andrew

 

My suggestion - move to PA and put it near me!!!!!

Seriously - I'll be following this. If a racetrack can be quickly profitable and a use for old brownfield land, I could be interested, as well. There is a lot of land in environmental remedialtion around the area, and I wonder if the zoning board and epa would be more relaxed in approving it for racetrack use, as opposed to retail(shich has to be much cleaner)...

 

Hey post,

Me an a buddy may be goin to Atco on Saturday........


Wanna take a road trip???

 

Why don't you guys take a trip to Cecil county Dragway sometime. I live in Newark, De. It is just off of Rt 95. It is the second exit after you get into MD.

 

Very possibly. Two minor issues, though. 1) I have a bad crack in my windshield so I don't know if they would pass me for tech. inspection, and 2) Sunday is the g/f's birthday, so I have to check and make sure I am free. I'll pm you my number, in case you don't have it. Buzz me up.

 

Cecil sounds good, too. I really need to get some runs in either way.

Since it seems this is the direction the thread is going, anyone into Englishtown? I hear it is a pretty fast track and they prep real well.

 

I can't run this weekend. How far is Englishtown from Newark, De.? I would like to run on a test and tune day. i don't like bracket racing that much.

 

Ok guys, I still dont have any info about the tracks that you guys run at. Is there anything that you really like about your track or dislike?

Thanks
Andrew

 

post honda..i have never in my life seen them fail someone for tech inspection due toi a windshield issue.

stylin...number one, you would have to make sure that the property runs at least 3/4 of a mile north to south. you would also have to take special care to ensure that it is PERFECTLY leveled. i have run at a track with a 1% upgrade from 1000 foot out, and it sucks. the NHRA requires a 1/4 mile strip (obviously) and i believe a full 1/4 mile shutdown area. your biggest expenses would be leveling a half mile of ground, plus the staging lanes and youd want to have at least soem paved pit roads, and the return road...so youre looking to pave about a half mile of four traffic lanes (strip), plus a half mile of 2 traffic lanes (return road with breakdown and loading area), plus you want something at least 30 car lengths long and at least 4-6 lanes wide...plus the fixed jersey barriers that run along side the track, and the guard rails outside of that. your three biggest expenses to make a real track will be paving, an electronics system, and insurance. you would have to build a structure of some sort to house the electronics and something from which to hand out slips. as time progresses, you could worry about dumb stuff like concessions and scales.

but im sure that the price of paving the track and return road, plus the water box and starting line which should be asphalt, plus the timing system, the tree, and the scoreboards would be astronomical...

 

Okay - Thanks. I have more experience on the road course(BMWCCA events, mostly) than on the strip, and they would definitely not pass me at a place like Watkins, or Summit. There is basically a 3 foot long crack bisecting it.

Also - great write-up on 1/4 mile tracks. Sounds like you have a lot of experience.

That amount of paving would cost some serious $. We are about to widen a 600 foot stretch of roadway about 12 feet in front of an industrial property I am developing, and so far the preliminary cost estimates are around $500,000.00 for the widening. This is with no concern of 1% grade, and a simple expansion to an existing roadway... To pave and level the amount of roadway needed for a quarter mile track as you've described, I would expect the cost to be in the millions. I wonder what kind of surface prep is necessary, in terms of what is needed under the asphalt? Do you think that type of use would require 12"of stone, or would less be acceptable?

I agree - the insurance would be one of the biggest obstacles, if not the biggest.

I would like to hear from someone who has been involved with starting up a track and find out what problems and costs they wound up running into.