While drag racing is alive and well, there’s been a fallout of track closures from the ongoing insane real estate prices and property values across the nation. The cost of land has soared in recent years and unfortunately, many iconic drag strips have closed their pit gates to racers and fans. The only thing making noise at some of these shuttered tracks are the bulldozers razing and flattening the tower, bleachers, ET shack, concessions stands and other permanent buildings of once thriving racing facilities. A recent victim of this trend is Houston Raceway Park, a drag strip that was the backdrop of many NHRA record-breaking runs for decades. Built in 1988, Houston Raceway Park covered 500 acres on the eastern edge Houston’s growing metropolitan area and had the honor of being Houston’s only major multi-purpose motorsports facility. But eventually, the land the track was built on became very valuable and developers presented the track owners with an offer they couldn’t refuse. Now, Houston Raceway Park is another victim of a hot economy and progress, and now gets added to that list of drag strips that are gone for good. When the track announced it was closing its doors for good in spring of 2023, a thud could be felt among the loyal racers that frequented this modern racing facility.
And since the last event for this once sprawling race track was scheduled for April 1, people began to wonder if it was a joke, but no, it’s done. Kaput. Bye bye. So long. Thanks for the memories. For many competitors, including second-generation Dodge Sportsman Racer James Caro, it’s a sentimental quarter-mile trip. He’ll always have the dubious honor of being the track’s last NHRA Super Stock winner as he piloted his 2010 Challenger Drag Pak to victory at the recent “Texas Sportsman Challenge” just last month. This race is part of the NHRA Lucas Oil Divisional Race Series and for decades, has been a popular event for legions of sportsman racers descending on Houston Raceway Park.
“Being able to race and then win the final Super Stock race at this historic track in Houston is both gratifying and bittersweet. Houston Raceway Park has always been a good track for me and my father,” said Caro. “We attended the first NHRA Divisional Race here in 1988 and in 1989, I was lucky enough to win the Fram NHRA Super Nationals in Stock eliminator title driving my HEMI® Challenger. Heck, my dad even won in Super Stock during the 1991 race; so yeah, we have many great family memories at Houston Raceway Park and we’re sorry to see it go.” But knowing time marches on, Caro was not too melancholy as he knew it would take six rounds of intense competition to win the final NHRA race at Houston Raceway Park. “The race was challenging for us due to changing weather conditions. We planned on testing the Thursday before the race to get our setup dialed-in as rain was predicted for the weekend,” noted Caro. Well, it rained and that reduced the number of qualifying sessions the racers got but that didn’t rattle a seasoned veteran like Caro. He learned some valuable tips while competing at the NHRA “Baby Gators” and Gatornationals over in Gainesville weeks earlier before rolling into Houston Raceway Park. Caro knew what his Drag Pak needed to be fast and consistent. “Our opponents were all tough, kind of the who’s who in the NHRA Division 4 Super Stock. We ran former world champs, and every racer we faced was on his game. There were no ‘gimmies’, but my Drag Pak performed flawlessly, and my driving was good. In the final round, my competitor and I were door-handle-to-door-handle all the way down the track and to the finish line stripe. I didn’t know if I had won until the win light in my lane came on. We were happy to get the last win at Houston Raceway Park and I’ll never ever forget that moment!” This is Caro’s seventh win at the NHRA divisional level, and it certainly won’t be his last as the 2023 season is just getting going.
Along with Caro’s victory, the month of March also saw other Drag Paks in the winner’s circle at NHRA and NMCA races throughout the country. A Drag Pak claimed Factory Stock Showdown honors at the NHRA Gatornationals and a week later, AJ Berge drove his “Ramchargers” Drag Pak to a win at the NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem event at Orlando Speed World. While Caro’s Drag Pak is powered by 5.9L Magnum V8 engine versus the more modern GEN III HEMI engine, his Dodge has no problem running heads-up with other “Brand X” Super Stockers that fall directly into his specific class. The venerable Magnum engine pumps out over 700 horsepower and despite being considered an “old-school” powerplant by other Mopar® racers, it can hold its own when it needs to. But for now, Caro is back at this shop in Louisiana servicing his machine and getting ready for his next NHRA race. He’ll head across the Lonestar State to the Texas Motorplex just outside Dallas. You can look back, but not for long as there’s always another record to break or an eliminator to win. Dedicated drag racers like Caro are always looking ahead to the next race. So as the lights go out on Houston Raceway Park, and the front gates get locked and chained, this track will become a distant memory for some. But for James Caro and his Drag Pak, they will forever be etched in the history books of Houston Raceway Park.
0 Comments