Joe Davidson
·4 min read
The drag strip has been a haven for racing enthusiasts for more than 50 years.
For the past half-century, fans at Sacramento Raceway Park have mixed in cheer; the view of cars of all shapes, sizes, colors and makes; and the sounds of engines and tires at 5305 Excelsior Road.
But the action may soon come to a screeching halt.
The owners of Sacramento Raceway Park, located south of Rancho Cordova in Sacramento County’s Vineyard area, announced Thursday on its social media platforms that there is a “potential buyer lined up for the land” on which SRP owns and operates. The statement said the sale “is by no means official yet.”
A sale could happen as early as September, according to the owners’ statement, meaning this summer would mark the venue’s final stretch.
The statement read, in part: “To prevent the spread of misinformation on social media, we’d like to send out this official announcement: Due to the influx of rumors going around about the potential closure of Sacramento Raceway, we would like to issue an official SRP statement with full transparency for our valued racers and patrons who have supported the track for more than 5 decades.
“There is a potential buyer lined up for the land that SRP owns and operates. The sale is by no means official yet, and we will issue a statement if and when it is. We understand how frustrating this can be and we will update you as soon as possible. The current timeline is around September of 2023. If at that point in time it does go through, we will finish out the remainder of the 2023 season and SRP would be officially closed by 2024.
“If the sale does not go through, we will continue operating for as long as possible.”
The strip was built in 1964 on a 198-acre property that was purchased in 1967 by Western Oil Development and originally named Sacramento Raceway.
The Smith family of Sacramento purchased the strip in 1971, and followed up with a number of upgrades.
The next closest 1/4-mile drag strip is Sonoma Raceway at Sears Point, more than an hour drive from Sacramento. Other paved drag strips in the state include Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Famoso Dragstrip in McFarland in Kern County and Redding Dragstrip.
The news hit longtime racing fans hard, with many going to the Sacramento Raceway Park social media posts to express anger or sorrow.
The voices include Suzanne Cottrell, a lifelong Sacramento County resident and racing fan. She is a decades-long friend of Dave Smith, the drag strip owner, deeming him “as family.”
In fact, last fall, Cottrell’s step mother, Kathy, and Dave’s wife, Nancy, died within weeks of each other. The grieving husbands embraced and talked old times, including racing. Cottrell defended the Smith family in a phone conversation with The Bee, insisting that the family wasn’t “quitting” on regional race fans.
“It’s been inevitable for years that this would happen,” she said of a likely sale. “It’s been harder and harder with permits and smaller crowds. People just don’t understand. Yes, there will be a lot of money involved if it sells, but that’s not why they’re selling. They’d sell because the writing is on the wall and Dave is in his 80s. He and Nancy loved the drag strip. They put everything into it for more than 50 years. It’ll be so hard for Dave if this does sell. The guy deserves a little peace here.”
Cottrell said she has done all one can do on that drag strip. She’s raced cars, cheered family and friends who raced. She was a flag girl on the track, worked the clocks, helped test cars.
“We’d put a tow rope on a car and take it down Excelsior to the strip,” she said with a laugh. “It’s been a huge part of my life. We won’t see a strip like this around here any more. I love Sonoma and Sears Point, and we’ll be racing out there this weekend, but it’s not the same. It’s a second home but it isn’t home.”
Cottrell said the best thing racing fans can do is show up at the strip.
“Do so for the rest of the year, and show up as a thank you if nothing else,” she said. “If you’re really going to miss this track, then bring anyone and everyone and pack the place. It hasn’t been packed in a long time. We can still do that.”
