The Reopening Of Great Bend’s Historic Drag Strip Is A Rare Tale Of Success As Other Race Tracks Continue To Close

Racing is alive and well, but not every facet of racing has benefited from the rise in its popularity and notoriety. Recently we’ve seen historic race tracks closing, being redeveloped or sold. But some are thriving, like Great Bend’s SRCA Dragstrip in Kansas, which happened just a few weeks ago. SRCA is a success story for historic tracks and preservation, but it’s one of few victories when there’s still a number of tracks closing throughout the country. Their endings were usually shadowed by the money needed to keep them operating.

SRCA was fortunate that its neighbors and the city were supportive of bringing the historic track to working order. SRCA is important historically, as it played home to the first-ever NHRA Nationals in 1955 (it opened in 1953). In 2023, 70 years after its opening, a track inspection led to the closure of the track, KSN reports, requiring a complete rebuild of the surface. With the help of Great Bend, the track went through a $5.9 million renovation which included a new timing tower. 

Over in Michigan, the IHRA was the helping hand that rescued Milan Dragway, as part of a purchase of seven tracks in 2025. Opened in the 1960s, Milan eventually became the Detroit area’s home for drag racing following the closure of Detroit Dragway. Milan is now Darana Dragway, which has undergone a complete revitalization with a new track surface, stands and fan amenities.

But another Michigan track has not experienced such fortune. Onondaga Raceway, home to a small 1/8-mile dragstrip that opened in the early 1960s, has been embroiled in a war against its neighbors over noise complaints — a fate many tracks have had to contend. Though common sense would say a potential homeowner should be aware of the area surrounding your future home, that really doesn’t seem to be the case. Since 2013, Onondaga Township residents filed several nuisance cases against the long-established race track, according to MLive. After several openings and closures following the loss and win of each complaint, the track remains closed as it awaits another appeal as of this writing. 

Its closure inspired the state to introduce a new law, approved earlier this year called the “Right to Race,” providing protections to race tracks from “nuisance claims” from surrounding neighbors. Michigan is one of several states, including Iowa, North Carolina, and Kansas to have introduced and passed similar legislative measures. 

But if neighbors are not the problem, its likely rich individuals or companies with a disgustingly unquenchable thirst to develop these grand sprawls of land for homes or build grossly wasteful data centers. Unfortunately, the acreage surrounding race tracks make for a great place to do either. If your local race track has struggled to bring in money, a fairly large check might unfortunately become a fairly enticing ticket to freedom.