St Thomas Dragway To Reopen !

St Thomas, On (May 24-2010) There is no need to tell everyone about the tough economic times we are still in these days. Simply open a newspaper or turn on your six o’clock news and it may not take long to hear a story about another place that is closing or that is laying off a significant number of their workforce. The racing world is not immune to those kinds of things either. If you’re a fan of this sport with a little research you can find out how this has hurt many of the small market areas where tracks have been forced to close up shop, leaving the racers without a safe controlled environment to do what they enjoy, drag race. However this is not a doom and gloom article this is, in my opinion, the exact opposite.

 
One of the longest running drag tracks in Ontario is making a comeback. John and Sharon Fletcher have taken control of St. Thomas Dragway just outside of London, Ontario in the small town of Sparta. John’s first order of business was to hire Larry Satchell as his Track Manager. I had the pleasure of speaking to Larry about what has happened in the last week or so and he is looking forward to his first face to face meeting with John at the track. Both Larry and John know that there is a ton of work to be done. Larry has yet to step foot inside the track but knows that there are many areas that need to be addressed. Things like the overall condition of the racing surface and shut down areas, as well as the pits and spectator amenities.

Larry has told me that John has already contacted the NHRA about becoming a member track so things are starting to happen quickly. After evaluating the condition of the track and shut down it is possible that it could operate as an 1/8th mile track. Larry and John are planning on working out all the details to get the track operational again like getting equipment to maintain the track during the events. This is a fresh start again for St. Thomas and really I think a lot has to be said about the passion that both John and Sharon have for drag racing in their community. The Fletcher’s are busy people with a horse farm and trailer business that they own and operate but yet they don’t want to see the track just fade away. I have to admit I don’t want to see that happen either. I will say it has been quite a number of years since I was at St. Thomas Dragway but it is where I saw my first drag race. And it was the experiences that I had while there that has put me on this path as a photographer and fan of the sport.

Larry also told me that in no way do they wish to compete with Grand Bend or Cayuga and the race programs that already exist at those tracks; they just want to fit in and offer another venue for racers to race. A soft opening is tentatively slated for the first weekend in June with a Friday test and tune, but that won’t be determined until a thorough inspection of the racing surface has been done. Larry’s short list of plans is to simply get the track operational again and to get the word out that St. Thomas is open for racing again.
Stay tuned to CDR for updates as they happen.

Brad Turk
Canadian Drag Racer Magazine