A Weekend of Drag Racing and Drifting Highlights Grand Opening of Lead Foot City Race Track in Southwest Florida
As 2024 draws to a close, the count for new tracks and re-opened tracks, versus tracks that have been shuttered, seems to have the scales tipped to the positive side.
And although Florida got news not too long ago that a track will close in the spring of 2025, the new drag strip at Lead Foot City held a grand opening this past weekend.
You could win this LEGIT 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Indy Pace Car - Click HERE for more details and your chance to win! Every dollar you spend, from merchandise to Sick the Mag magazine subscriptions, get entries! Click HERE to visit the store!
As we originally reported in February 2024 (READ THE ARTICLE HERE), Lead Foot City made the decision to expand their footprint in Brooksville, Florida to add to their existing compound and schedule that included drifting and several car themed events.
Originally rumored to be considering asphalt and more of a no-prep / flag start track, things got ramped up quite a bit when the concrete trucks showed up instead!
Lead Foot City did the initial burnout area, starting line and eighth-mile racing surface in concrete, and the shutdown in asphalt. Concrete retaining walls were added for safety, and the track was wired up for a traditional drag racing Christmas Tree, scoreboards and the associated sensors.
But to appeal to the ‘street’ side of things, Lead Foot City also installed traditional traffic lights, giving competitors a chance to stage up on a ‘stop light’ with an instant green start.
The new track garnered a lot of attention, including from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). And by the time the grand opening weekend rolled around on December 21st, the NHRA had announced Lead Foot City has become the newest track in the NHRA Member Track Network as part of their Southeast Division.
“We’re thrilled to partner with the NHRA, having a unified vision of safety in motorsports,” Lead Foot City Mayor Achilles Thomas stated. “Being a facility that is focused on the NHRA Street Legal program helps to bring NHRA back to its roots, giving racers a safe place to race without taking the fun out of it.”
The Grand Opening weekend brought out a wide variety of cars and trucks, all grateful to have another race track option in the state that can operate year-round based on weather conditions. Lead Foot has also brought in Marco Lopez, who previously worked at Orlando Speed World, as their new track manager.
Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive will visit the new facility as our first checkpoint of the week in route from South Georgia Motorsports Park to Bradenton Motorsports Park. For more information on Lead Foot City, you can visit their website HERE.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Lead Foot City and James Thompson.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com