After Nearly Seven Decades of Racing History, the Future of Pacemakers Dragway in Ohio is in Serious Doubt as Rezoning for Homes on the Track Property is Requested
Originally opening in 1956, Packers Raceway Park (and later known as Pacemakers Outlaw Dragstrip) has hosted everything from test and tune and bracket racing, to grudge racing and no-prep.
The track has faced financial hardships once before, closing for two years between 2019 and 2021. But 2026 could be the year that the track doesn’t recover from, as rezoning for a portion of the track property to into a mobile home park is on the table.
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The eighth-mile track located in Mount Vernon, Ohio (about 40 miles northeast of Columbus) has under operated under both NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) and IHRA (International Hot Rod Association) sanctioning. After the track was closed for two years, it was re-opened in 2021 by Gary Moore, and it mainly focused on no-prep and heads-up style racing.
The track has been seen in plenty of no-prep videos, including the popular Street Racing Channel (SRC), who hosted events at the track in the past. It was also the home to Central Ohio Power Wheels Drag Racing, giving kids a place to enjoy racing since 2018.
Now, the future of racing at the facility is in serious doubt, as current owner Larry Nelson requested rezoning of a chunk of the 140-acre Columbus Road land from Rural Residential Agriculture to Residential Mobile Home Park (RMHP) use.
On Thursday, March 20th, 2026, the Knox County Regional Planning Commission accepted recommendation from the Land Use Committee, noting there are at least four other mobile home parks in the general area.
The final decision is now passed to the trustees of Clinton Township on whether to rezone the parcel of land. Nelson has stated he plans to use the existing entrance to the drag strip for access to the mobile park, and the drag strip itself would be the road between two rows of housing pads, featuring between 100 and 130 mobile homes.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Pacemakers Dragway, Street Racing Channel and Gen 2 Garage.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com