By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The finish line is finally in sight for a rebuilt SRCA Dragstrip west of Great Bend. In May, the Great Bend City Council signed an amendment to move forward with 100 percent design on the dragstrip. During Monday's meeting, the body approved a second amendment to finalize the project at $5,205, 405. The project is slated for a March 1, 2026, completion date. Before the vote, Councilman Gary Parr asked the council if this was the right move. Mayor Cody Schmidt agreed.
"We're going to be almost $7 million into this," he said. "I'm assuming the SRCA and their consultants are down with this design; they're okay with this design? They've looked this over and said it's good and it's going to work, because those are the guys who are running the track."
"They've been a part of this the whole way," Schmidt said.
The $5.2 million price tag will include the complete demolition of the current track and construction of a new track, including a $700,000 allowance for the construction of a new timing tower 300 feet to the west, where the new start line will be moved. Topeka-based Bartlett & West will complete the work. Schmidt said he has been pleased with Bartlett & West General Manager Jim Rinner and the firm.
"Jim and his team have done a really good job, I feel like, in the meetings I've sat in," said Schmidt. "Logan has been in a lot more than me, but they've really dug into the weeds and looked at it. They know what's at stake. They know what we've come out of. I feel really comfortable, and I think Logan feels really comfortable. We're only going to get one more shot at this."
The project will be paid for via a variety of funds, with $3,282,064 of the cost coming from remaining lawsuit money. Another $1.158 million will come from ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act federal COVID-19 dollars) and SPARK (Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas) funds. More than $480,000 will come from 2024 year-end transfer funds.
Rinner said demolition will begin soon with the March 1 deadline of having everything completed.
"You'll be seeing a lot of work happening fast," he said. "We expect a start of demolition in about three weeks, or around Aug. 11. We expect to be mobilizing the paving crews by mid-September. We should be seeing a lot of pavement going down in really the best time of the season, in the more moderate temperatures."
The historic SRCA Dragstrip, which held its first race in 1953, has gone three years without a race. Plans are to return racing to Great Bend for the 2026 season.