SRCA Drag Strip in Great Bend, Kansas Agrees to Settlement with Construction Company – Could a 2025 Race Season Be Possible?
As the track that hosted not only the first National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) national event in 1955, but also been a part of Hot Rod Drag Week and Rocky Mountain Race Week, the Sunflower Rod and Custom Association (SRCA) Dragstrip has been void of any racing action for the last two years.
Recently, a settlement was reached that might change their 2025 season hopes.
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News first broke about the SCRA Dragstrip in Great Bend, Kansas, in April of 2023. Having undergone an update to the tracks surface in 2021, concerns were raised about the conditions of the new surface before the season began in 2023, including surface condition and thousands of holes in the track. Those issues would lead to the track canceling their 2023 race season, as well as the 2024 season.
The April 21st, 2023 post on SCRA Dragstrip’s Facebook page is below:
“The Sunflower Rod and Custom Association G.B.,(SRCA) have made the decision to cancel the 2023 race season at the SRCA Dragstrip. Great Bend, the owner of the track, has hired a consultant and engineer who are investigating the recently constructed track surface and will be furnishing a report. The final report has not been received but the preliminary indication is that the track will require substantial remedial work which might include a replacement of the racing surface.”
“The decision is bittersweet. After thorough analysis and discussions, it was determined that the maintenance and operating expense of the current drag strips' surface for continued safe high-speed racing would be very expensive for the 2023 race season, only to be torn out with the anticipated concrete replacement.”
The closing of the track for 2023 brought a ton of attention to the cause, including a video from Brian Lohnes, one of NHRA’s lead announcers:
The Great Bend Post released an article earlier this week about how lawsuits and arbitration claims have been getting sorted through by the city to determine who would be at fault for the project that did not meet the dragstrip’s specifications.
After a few years of work, Great Bend City Attorney Allen Glendenning commented on the settlement: “Through mediation last week and finally today, we've come to a tentative settlement agreement with the Suchy side of things," said Glendenning. "We recommend that you (council) approve this settlement agreement and authorize the mayor to sign it."
Details on the settlement or steps to possibly repair the track were not disclosed before or after the city council’s meeting on November 18th, and the council voted by an 8-0 count to approve the settlement agreement with Suchy Construction.
As several have noted on social media, this could be the first step to making necessary repairs to the track. Is it too late to get SRCA back to optimal shape for racing action in 2025?
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Motion Raceworks, SRCA Dragstrip and Robert Williams.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com