Back on track

While sports throughout the Kansas City metro remain canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, US 36 Drag Strip recently welcomed hundreds for its first major event of the 2020 season.

Although open through much of May for smaller races and tune-up events, last Saturday’s Race Stars Heads-Up Index Series/King of 28’s races required parking lot attendees to navigate throngs of visitors into the venue all while maintaining social distancing recommendations from state officials.

“Opening night was pretty big too. We talked to the county and we followed the guidelines for all of the recommendations,” said US 36 Drag Strip owner Mike Franks. “Whether people totally adhere to that is out of my control. I think everybody was just glad to get back to some form of normalcy. Most people were glad to just get out of the house. You can only coupe people up for so long.”

While noting COVID-19 may have dissuaded some drivers from participating, the enthusiastic racers and fans in attendance overshadowed the void. For Casey Rivera, who thought COVID-19 may have canceled racing season entirely, getting behind the wheel Saturday night was a blessing.

“We’ve been running this the whole time, but this is our first major event. This is our home track and a big event for us. It’s a lot more fun,” said Rivera, who drove a 1964 Chevy Nova Wagon his father drove as a high school student and later modified into a drag racer. “Once the track opened up, we’ve been out here every week. I thought, they’re having [racing], definitely. Every weekend we race, it’s sentimental to us. It’s priceless.”

Although proud of the turnout and community support, Franks said last Saturday is far from the peak of the 2020 racing season. 

“Those guys will travel quite a ways to do this. It’s not the normal racing you see with the local people. It’s nitrous-power type cars that run really fast and pays really well. The Ozark Mountain Super Shifters are probably one of my favorite shows,” he said.