CALLAHAN, Fla. — A first-of-its-kind drag strip in Northeast Florida, aimed at reducing the number of street racers, is finally breaking ground.
Cones, dirt, and big machinery currently mark the site at Callahan Speedway, but in a few months, this location will be a place where people are going to be revving up their engines.
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“My need for speed, I’ve had it since I was born. It’s in my blood,” Ken Hamilton, an avid racer, said.
Soon, Hamilton’s need for speed will be fulfilled in his hometown. Callahan Speedway in Nassau County broke ground on an eighth-of-a-mile drag strip Tuesday. It’s an exciting development for locals who currently have to make a trip to Gainesville to race.
“It’s going to be good because then we’ll be able to come out here a lot more,” Odin Harrison, who helps his family race and is excited for the race strip, said.
“We only live like 10 minutes away now,” Klaiton Harrison, who’s also excited for the race strip, said.
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Owners of Callahan Speedway, David and Lisa Hicken, said they almost gave up on their dream due to a five-year setback and costs, but David’s passion for having a safe place to race motivated them to keep going as they look to curb speeders in town. They expect hundreds and even thousands of racers to come down.
“If you feel the horsepower anywhere, you just did something illegal. Well out here, you’ll be able to cut loose what you’ve got and legally be able to do it in a safe way,” David Hicken said.
“It’s going to have a concrete burnout area and a concrete launching pad. We’re going to have security, we’re going to have paramedics, we are going to have all the stuff to make sure that it’s safe and of course obviously everybody knows we need to try to get the young ones off the street,” Hicken added.
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The track will host a variety of events, from drag race cars to mini dirt bikes and even lawn mower drag racing, but the county said all engines testing their horsepower on the race track will need to have a muffler to keep the noise down.
“We’re going to plan on making this a good family-friendly, but competitive racetrack. We want the competition and that’s what people want. So that’s our goal,” Hicken said.
The racetrack is expected to open by May.
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