Thursday, August 3, 2000

Checkered Flag
Groundbreaking today for Abilene Dragway Park
By Ted Dunnam

Abilene Dragway Park, a permanent drag racing facility, will have its groundbreaking ceremony at 7 p.m. today at its site located approximately one-half mile west of Abilene Speedway on west highway 80.

Scheduled to speak at the ceremony are Abilene Mayor Grady Barr, Abilene Motor Sports Inc., president Gary Glenn, Abilene Performance Car Association representative Dave O’Connor and track owners Orville and Ginny Pirraglia.

The 1/8th-mile strip is being built on 174 acres and will offer drag racers the opportunity to race locally on a year-round basis. Currently, the only drag racing event offered in Abilene is the Abilene Shootout Drag Race that is held once a year at Abilene Regional Airport.

“We still don’t know exactly when we’ll start construction,’’ Ginny Pirraglia said. “We’re still getting the site plan approved and we have some other things we have to take care of.

“We’re going to try to start doing the dirt work within the next week or two before we start putting up anything else.’’

There was a possibility that drag races could be staged this year at the facility, but now that seems unlikely.

“We’re shooting to start a new season in February 2001,’’ Pirraglia said. “Originally, we thought we might be able to have some races in November, but we’re not planning that now. If it happens that quick, great, but we’re not counting on it.’’

Pirraglia said she was unsure how many dragsters the facility would accommodate, but that “we’re looking at being able to facilitate 150 to 180 cars at least.’’

As far as fan seating is concerned, the Pirraglias have acquired some bleachers from Dyess Air Force Base, but that aspect of the facility is still in the embryonic stages, also.

“I suspect we’ll attract drivers from as far as 150 miles away. For the groundbreaking, we’ve got people coming from Lubbock, Wall, San Angelo, Haskell, Snyder, Ballinger…a bunch of places,’’ Pirraglia said.

Sprint cars return

The V-8 winged sprint cars return to Abilene Speedway Saturday night in addition to the regular racing schedule.

At intermission, the last Kids Gold Rush will be held for this year. It features 10,000 pennies and bags of candy spread on the infield with kids making a mad dash to collect all they can.

Gates open at 6 p.m. and racing starts at 8 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults and $3 for kids 6-12 years of age.

Children five years of age and under receive free admission to the races.

Contact assistant sports editor Ted Dunnam at 676-6771 or dunnamt@abinews.com. We are on the Web at sports.texnews.com.