The Demolition of Houston Raceway Begins
Although it had been known for some time that its days were numbered, Houston Raceway in Baytown hosted its final event on April 1st, 2023, a test and tune that would signal the final time anyone would traverse the quarter-mile track that had produced so much history.
When originally opened in 1988, Houston Raceway was the second of the new generation of super tracks, following in the footsteps of Texas Motorplex a few hours away in Ennis. Everything from a three-story tower building that included 23 suites, race control facilities and a media center was cutting edge when introduced. The facility, built on 500 acres of property, has a seating capacity for more than 30,000 spectators, and boasts a paved pit area that can hold around 400 race cars, with room for hundreds more in the grass areas around the track.
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With near sea-level location at the top of Trinity Bay, the track got a reputation for being one of the quickest and fastest tracks on the NHRA tour right from the first national event held in 1988, the Supernationals. The first 4-second pass in NHRA history was recorded by Texas racer Gene Snow at 4.99. But that elapsed time record would stand for only a day, as fellow Texan Eddie Hill clocked a 4.93 in winning the race on Sunday evening.
By the year 2015, Houston Raceway added another event that would grow to epic size, the TX2K event. Combining roll racing and drag racing into a multi-day event, TX2K would normally sell out on race entries well before the gates opened.
Houston Raceway, which was also rebranded for a few years as Royal Purple Raceway, is also where five-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Erica Enders began her racing career, along with sister Courtney. The sister duo in the Junior Dragster class led to the Disney movie “Right on Track” about the Enders’ Junior Dragster days.
By 2018, the track’s owners were looking into selling the property. One year later that deal was finalized, but Seth Angel, the track operator, stated a lease was in place to allow racing for a few more years.
The writing on the walls started to appear in mid-2021, when the NHRA announced the SpringNationals national event in 2022 would be the final one at Houston Raceway.
It was thought the TX2K would suffer the same fate, but they managed to get one more year of the event hosted at Houston Raceway in March, 2023.
The property is now undergoing demolition to prepare for a warehouse expansion.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Nathan Allen Doyle, Michael Holcomb, Trent Butler, 1320 Video and Houston Raceway.