A fresh start for Omaha's only local track

Paul Merolla · 12-14-2014, 01:42 PM

I attended a "Racer information meeting" last night put on by the new association of racers who are involved in operating the track formerly known as Rolling Thunder Dragstrip at MidAmerica Motorplex.
The association is a group of 5 guys who are busting their butts to make this a great place to race. They have a written agreement with the owners that spells out each party's responsibilities and, most importantly, keeps the track open for at least 2 more years (and negotiations are ongoing for even longer.) The long time track manager, who also busted his butt, has been relieved of his duties.
The first change, at the owner's request, is a name change / rebranding: the track is now called I-29 Dragway. Personally, I like it!
We also were invited to vote on improvements to be made; actually, to rank in order of importance the 5 things they have determined to be most pressing...restrooms, shutdown area repairs, right lane repairs, etc. What I took away from all this is that the folks who want the place to succeed are banding together to make it happen, without the "Roadblock" they used to run up against. One of the 5 is a regular on this board, my buddy Clark (cad), who is definitely interested in drawing some class racers to the track that have always frowned on the place for one reason or another. The one complaint I have heard for years is traction / track prep. To help put that one to bed, they are bringing in Bobby Meyer this spring to help formulate prep strategies for all the various conditions we run in. This alone should be incentive enough for guys to at least give the place another chance, in my opinion.
It is my hope to have a Midwest Class Racers combo race at I-29 Dragway this season, if the scheduling and sponsorships can be worked out.

12-14-2014, 01:42 PM	#1
Paul Merolla Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Papillion, NE Posts: 606 Likes: 233 Liked 292 Times in 64 Posts	A fresh start for Omaha's only local track I attended a "Racer information meeting" last night put on by the new association of racers who are involved in operating the track formerly known as Rolling Thunder Dragstrip at MidAmerica Motorplex. The association is a group of 5 guys who are busting their butts to make this a great place to race. They have a written agreement with the owners that spells out each party's responsibilities and, most importantly, keeps the track open for at least 2 more years (and negotiations are ongoing for even longer.) The long time track manager, who also busted his butt, has been relieved of his duties. The first change, at the owner's request, is a name change / rebranding: the track is now called I-29 Dragway. Personally, I like it! We also were invited to vote on improvements to be made; actually, to rank in order of importance the 5 things they have determined to be most pressing...restrooms, shutdown area repairs, right lane repairs, etc. What I took away from all this is that the folks who want the place to succeed are banding together to make it happen, without the "Roadblock" they used to run up against. One of the 5 is a regular on this board, my buddy Clark (cad), who is definitely interested in drawing some class racers to the track that have always frowned on the place for one reason or another. The one complaint I have heard for years is traction / track prep. To help put that one to bed, they are bringing in Bobby Meyer this spring to help formulate prep strategies for all the various conditions we run in. This alone should be incentive enough for guys to at least give the place another chance, in my opinion. It is my hope to have a Midwest Class Racers combo race at I-29 Dragway this season, if the scheduling and sponsorships can be worked out.