Amarillo Dragway is alive and growing

Amarillo Dragway opened on Memorial Day, 1960, and over the years it has become an important chapter in the history of the two-lane acceleration game. Most of the big name racers from the golden age raced there and many launched careers there as well. Eddie Hill and Kenny Bernstein are just two of the top professionals who earned their competition licenses at Amarillo.

In recent times the track began to show its age, but thanks to veteran racer Norm Henson and his wife Cathy – “Cat” to all who know her – the venerable facility has a new lease on life.

“My wife and I bought the track in 2003, and we ran in 2004 and 2005,” Henson said. “In 2006 I was unsure what I wanted to do so I went to work for the IHRA for a season, because I figured that it would be a good way to learn more about running a track. I worked out on the starting line at all the national events that year. Through that I got hooked up with Terry Haddock’s Nitro Funny Car team and worked with them for some of 2006 and most of 2007.

“During that time a number of racers in the Renegades Division contacted me and told me that they would like to see the track open up again,” Henson said. “So we put our heads together and came up with a game plan that would allow us to start running again. We had some great help from a lot of volunteers and some generous sponsors, and we re-opened Amarillo towards the end of 2007.

“Opening day this year was March 29, and we kicked off a full season of racing with a Nitro Night promotion with both of Haddock’s Nitro Funny Cars. They put on a great show, and the fans loved it!”

Henson and his team have worked hard to fill the 2008 schedule with lots of racing as well as special events designed to bring some of the excitement of the “good old days” back to Amarillo Dragway.

“We run every other week,” Henson said. “Saturdays we run the Summit SuperSeries points race and our track points. Sundays we bracket race, and we have added a new class that has brought some additional folks out to the track. We call it Fun Street, and it runs on the quarter-mile while our bracket racers compete on the eighth-mile. Racers who don’t want to bracket race can still come out on Sunday and run. It’s basically a test and tune session for them. It’s working out well and has increased our car counts. We also have a pretty strong Jr. Dragster group here – we usually have 20 or more cars show up for a race.

“When I made out the 2008 schedule, I made sure that I included a special event each month. We have the Southwest Supercharger group coming in at the end of May. They have a collection of pretty wild blown dragsters, altereds and such. In July we have Nanook and the Rat Trap, a pair of Fuel Altereds that have been around forever. I think it’s important to have these exhibition-type shows. It’s what the fans want to see.

“It takes a lot to keep one of these deals going, and we’ve had some great help from Don Stevens, who is a co-driver for Haddock Racing,” Henson said. “He has brought some things to the table that have helped us a whole lot. We’re on top of our game now. All we need to do is keep the racers happy and entertained. With fuel prices what they are you have to go the extra mile to keep people coming in the gate. Cat and I live at the track, and a lot of racers just leave their rigs here during the week. It makes more sense for them to drive back and forth in a street car rather than in a gas-guzzling rig. This is another thing we do to keep the racers happy.

In addition to the racer-friendly environment Henson has created, he’s made a sizeable investment in physical upgrades at the track.

“We have been making improvements as we go along,” he said. “The latest project we have on the go is replacing our old metal guard rail with concrete barriers. We’re almost done with that, and it will make a big difference. We recently upgraded all of our electronics and installed a TSI timing system with all new underground wiring. We have a new set of scoreboards ordered – we’re replacing the old bulb-type boards with LED boards. They’re easier to see and cheaper to run. We also built a new tech and fuel building, and added a new entrance and ticketing building. We have signed a five-year commitment with IHRA, and we want people to know that we’re here to stay. We plan to add programs and make upgrades every year, and make Amarillo Dragway a place racers and fans will want to come to week after week.”