Member track profile: Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway

Steven Cole Smith
The Dragway, an eighth-mile track in Lancaster, New York, hosted 43 events at the Dragway in 2016.

The Western New York racing facility is, the track says, "coming off the second season of its rebuilding era with more facility upgrades undertaken, including the resurfacing of the 1/8-mile dragstrip, paving racing and pit surfaces and improved lighting. LNS&D continued to see renewed enthusiasm and support from competitors and fans, as well, to the point the track is already receiving inquiries about pit pads for 2017."
The track has already set opening dates for next year: The Franco's Pizza IHRA Drag Racing season will open on Friday, April 28 with a Test & Tune session and a technical inspection. The first points race of the year will take place the following Friday on May 5.
The strip doubles as the front straight for the stock car oval, which dates back 57 years. Its history has more than its share of ups and downs, but this past season was definitely a highlight, with multiple improvements.
"I can't even begin to fathom what a huge move forward this is for Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway. There a lot of people involved with this track who are very happy right now," track presidente Tim Packman said last April. "The ownership group saw how the race teams and fans responded to improvements that were made last year, so they deserve a lot of the credit for showing them the investment is worthwhile."
Indeed, further improvements are underway, and will continue into 2017. The track held its annual banquet in November, where all of the 2016 Lancaster National Dragway class champions were honored during the festivities, including Shawn Beatty (Mallare Enterprises Top ET), Dale Eckert (and Clay Ricketson) (McGard Mod ET), Mason Fix (with Jim Bruckman and Nick Morrissey) (Tread City Tire Street) and Mike Peters (Hebeler's Bikes & Sleds).