Drag Illustrated Issue 149, October 2019 | Page 57

Racing In the Cornfield Kearney Raceway Park keeps drag racing alive in Nebraska By Van Abernethy N ebraska’s Kearney Raceway Park is affectionately known by the locals as “the track in the cornfield” and it’s stood the test of time since 1964, eventually becoming the only remaining drag strip in the entire state. Nestled in the south-central town of Kearney, the track was constructed on one of the runways at Kearney Regional Airport, which is still in operation to this present day. Businessman Carol Sheldon is credited with having the vision for a drag strip, although he wasn’t a racer himself, but rather, a car collector who was very involved in the happenings around Kearney, including the city board and airport au- thority. Sheldon owned the track for quite a while before it changed hands of ownership decades later. By the mid-1990s the track had been highly leveraged with debt and its future was uncertain. That’s when a group of shareholders, including longtime racer Don Schweitzer, stepped in and extended the track a lifeline of help to keep it in operation. Schweitzer became more involved in 2007 when he and Al Simmons took over, with Simmons being named track manager. “Al ran the track until 2017, and then I took over as manager in 2018,” explains Schweitzer. Schweitzer has either raced here or been in- volved in some capacity since the late 1960s. His wife, Kathy, works the gate, keeps the books and sees that everything balances. Don stopped racing for a few years when he sent his kids off to college, and when the last one graduated and returned, she urged him to get his car out and begin racing again, which he did, right up until he took over managing the track last year. Schweitzer is quick to point out that a group ef- fort has kept this track from going under and that same effort keeps the track in operation currently. “Joe preps the track, Greg mixes compound, Mike helps with mowing, Jeremy announces, Nicole is the starter, and the list goes on and on,” says Sch- weitzer. There’s a board of directors in place and a group of shareholders who still own the drag strip entity, while the city of Kearney owns the ground. The track is NHRA sanctioned and has operated as a quarter-mile strip since day one. “We still run our bracket points program on the full quarter mile, but we also run other classes and events on the eighth mile,” says Schweitzer. Fairly new to Kearney Raceway Park is the popularity of no-prep races, of which the track has held three events in 2019. Schweitzer is a fan of the no-prep scene and says he enjoys it because it represents something different. The Great Plains Buick Challenge was held in August with a great turnout, and upcoming events include the Bracket Finals in September and NHRA All Access in October. There’s a colorful cast of racers who assemble on a regular basis, including Justin Hamel, reigning champion of the Pro division. Hamel was a former Motocross racer who had a career-ending accident. “I crushed the C-7 vertebrae in my neck in 2011 when I was 19 years old,” Hamel says. “Since racing motorcycles wasn’t an option moving forward, I asked my dad, ‘What can we do?’” His dad knew the answer would be found in drag racing. “We’re gonna build a drag car!” he said with assurance. They started with a 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, wherein no permanent modifications were made. “Everything is just bolted in, includ- ing the Monarch hand controls,” he explains. The Shifnoid and transbrake are controlled with his right thumb, and he operates his line lock on the hand control under his left index finger. “Prior to my motocross accident I had never drag raced, but after clocking a 10.59 at 129 mph on my first pass I was hooked instantly,” he smiles. Hamel had to learn on the fly having no previ- ous experience, but soon won his first round of competition, and reached the semifinals during his inaugural season. He came back out his second year and won the opening race, which completely energized his entire season, placing 4th in points. Amazingly, Hamel and team came out and won the Pro class championship at Kearney in 2016, was runner-up to Matt Nolan the following year, then repeated with another championship season in 2018. His beautiful Monte Carlo also won Best Appearing at Topeka, much to the delight of his dad. “This car was built by a couple of hillbillies!” laughs the elder Hamel. Currently, Hamel is run- ning second in points behind Dan Wilder, who’s having a terrific season. Every class has an interesting story at Kearney, right down to the entry level Jr. Dragster division. Many kids who compete in this class are here because their parents brought them to the track, but in the case of Macie Antle, her parents are here solely because of Macie. It all started at age 9 when Macie attended an NHRA national event at Topeka. Overwhelmed, she told her dad that she wanted to drive race cars when she grew up, but her dad explained she could do it immediately through the Jr. Dragster ranks if she was really serious. Then, her mother’s co-worker found a race car for sale and soon Macie was suiting up for action, where she promptly won her first round at bat. She typically wins about four events per season at various tracks. She’s still burning up the drag strip at age 15, with plans of trading in her Jr. Dragster for a full-scale Super Comp dragster in 2020. Dalton Olsen is another standout competitor. He’s the reigning champion of Super Pro and is currently leading points again this season. Tim Reeve captured the Sportsman points champion- ship last season, with Josh Peterson out in front as of this writing. Ron Potts drove his Ford Lightning truck to the championship in Street Legal last year, and is extending his lead again this year. Jesse Nelson secured top honors in the High School class, with Dylan Olson and Rayc Meyer winning their respective Jr. Dragster categories. Kearney Raceway Park operates April through October each year with approximately 10-12 points-earning bracket races and other special events per season. DI DI DI DI DI DI DI October 2019 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | 57 DI DI DI DragIllustrated.com