Often times we find ourselves reporting on dreary or dismal news regarding drag strips but this is a feel good story of big time proportions. BS photos ace Greg Rourke tipped us off to the awesome revival of Accelaquarter Raceway in Harriburg, Illinois and we’re sure you’ll be as cheery about the whole deal as we have been since checking it out. The small eighth mile track had been rolling down a sad road for the last couple years and by several accounts the place was getting shabby and racers were starting to look to race elsewhere than the little eighth-mile facility. Things started to change immediately when the facility was purchased by Frank Sisk in 2012.

As you’ll see when you look at the track’s FB page, the place was suffering through timing system problems, drainage issues, and other maladies late in 2012 so Sisk made the bold decision to simply close the place for the year and put a full tilt effort into revitalizing the track. That effort started almost immediately and is nearly finished now. What did they do? Basically rebuild the place from the ground up. New tower was built, new walls were poured. The entire track was torn up, the racing surface was redone as a complete concrete eighth-mile with freshly paved asphalt shutdown, the pits were expanded and (it appears) paved. Anything that didn’t move was painted or refurbished in some way, shape, or form. From the photos we’re seeing on the FB page, Accelaquarter Raceway is going to be one of the cleanest, nicest, local eighth-mile strips in the country. Oh, the pesky timing system was completely scrapped and replaced as well. As an additional feel good twist, Greg told us that there is another track in proximity to Accelaquarter and rather than get into some sort of struggle to the death with them, Sisk and crew have decided to schedule their facility in conjunction with the other track rather than at odds with it. THAT is creating some good ju-ju right there.

We love stories like this and wanted to share this one with you because it shows that the heart of grassroots drag racing is still beating strongly across the country. No one at this track will be effected by the loss of Ford as a corporate NHRA sponsor or any other drama that happens in the financial stratosphere of the sport many of us have loved our entire lives.

We wish Frank Sisk and his whole crew and the racers of the area much success and long term fun at Accelaquarter Raceway. We’ll keep you posted when the doors are thrown open. It will be soon!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ACCELAQUARTER FACEBOOK PAGE AND CHECK OUT THE TRACK’S RENEWAL 

(Photo by Jeff Mahan)