MOORESVILLE DRAGWAY

According to Woodruff, Erich has already demonstrated a commitment to honoring the facility’ s longstanding history by recognizing the founders of Mooresville Dragway at the May event. He’ s also worked to ensure the facility remains a good neighbor to the surrounding community, including adjusting schedules around local weekend church services.“ Matt wants to be a good partner and community member,” Woodruff says.

The development teams also envision the facility being used throughout the week for non-racing purposes ranging from law enforcement driver training to car shows as well as a variety of other community-focused events.

Plans are currently in the final stages of local permitting approvals in Rowan County. If the

process goes as smoothly as they hope, construction could begin as early as October. While the completed project is expected to take about two years, portions of the project could be finalized and opened much sooner.

“ It’ ll be phased,” Woodruff explains.“ Once we redo the dragstrip and make it as awesome as it can be, we want to start using it.”

One of the most exciting aspects of this redevelopment project is how the facility will be designed and built around the modern racer and fan, rather than trying to retrofit decades-old infrastructure. Woodruff himself has already advocated for several racer-focused improvements, including a dedicated steel setup pad where racers can check chassis measurements and balance their car after making a pass down the track. Food truck areas with dedicated utilities, clean concrete surfaces, and shaded seating areas are also planned as part of the fan experience.“ We can really make a difference,” Woodruff says.“ That’ s what we’ re going to do.”

Even beyond the facility itself, the track leadership team has big ideas for future events which will include grudge races, car shows, heritage racing, test-and-tune, bracket racing, and much more. Woodruff mentioned the possibility of becoming a stop on the HOT ROD Power Tour as well as hosting Street Car Takeover events, and potentially partnering with programs like Sick Week. They also plan to host events geared towards the younger generation to get them off the streets and onto a sanctioned racetrack.

“ A lot of the younger kids want to show their cars. It’ s more of a car culture these days and that means having a safe place where they can hang out, get something to eat, and race their cars and show their cars instead of getting run off by police because they’ re in a public parking lot,” Woodruff explains.

When it comes to sanctioning, no final decisions have been made yet. The dragstrip is currently under IHRA sanctioning, and Woodruff noted the team also maintains a relationship with NHRA leadership. Regardless of which direction they go, he believes both sanctioning bodies will be chomping at the bit.

For a sport that rarely sees brand-new facilities built from the ground up, Race City Motorpark + Social Club is going to do just that and more. It is a unique opportunity that combines the history of one of North Carolina’ s most beloved eighth-mile tracks with an innovative approach to introduce a modern, multi-use motorsports destination. Once the gates officially open, it will set a new standard for what a community-focused motorsports facility can and should be. DI

44 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 201