By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
This year will mark the third straight year without any races at the SRCA Dragstrip in Great Bend, but Great Bend City Administrator Logan Burns told the Great Bend City Council Monday that hopefully crews will be paving the track in August and be finished with the project next February.
This past January, the council approved a contract with Bartlett & West for the rebuild design of the track for $55,000.
"We're meeting biweekly right now," said Burns. "The site survey is complete. We're looking forward to bringing the next step in the design process back to the council in the next meeting. Our next step will be getting the 60-percent drawings completed and then start the demolition."
The dragstrip was reconstructed in 2021 by Suchy Construction but several issues followed the completion of the project making the surface unsafe. Tied up in a lawsuit to determine who was responsible for the mistakes, the city reached settlements with multiple parties to move forward.
The plan is to still have racing return to the track in 2026.
"We have commitments from the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) to bring some good races to town. I'm excited to get that project going."
The first race was held at the Great Bend track in 1953, and the SRCA joined the NHRA in 1955.