Pacific Raceways’ venerable drag strip will get a much anticipated upgrade starting this weekend as work crews prepare a portion of the racing surface for replacement.

Plans call for complete replacement of the first 300 feet of track plus the burnout area behind the starting line.

Miles Resources of Auburn has been selected as prime contractor for replacement of the concrete, which will need to be able to withstand the down force pressure of 7,000 horsepower from Top Fuel and Fuel Funny Cars.

The NHRA’s Full Throttle Drag Race Series will return to Pacific Raceways for the 25th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals Presented by Super Start Batteries on Aug. 3-5.

The three-week project will mean the rescheduling of events, added Brandenburg.  The raceways’ premier Auto Max USA Drag Race Series originally scheduled for May 19 will be rescheduled to Aug. 25.  The All High School Drags Presented by Primus International, Pep Boys Service & Tire Centers, Green River Community College and Bracketstars will be moved from May 12 to June 9.

Other affected dates include three Wednesday test & tune and Pacific Raceways Drag Club (PRDC) events, two Jr. Dragster and Car Club Challenge Friday night races, a Friday PRDC race and two high school series events.

Most of the missed events, with the exception of the PRDC and high school series races, have been rescheduled, said Brandenburg.  The track is looking at dates for those events as well, she added.

The rescheduled race dates are listed below. Other race dates can be found at pacificraceways.com.

Pacific Raceways is the Northwest’s only NHRA national event track.  The O’Reilly Auto Parts race has been part of the NHRA’s long-time western swing, featuring national events on three successive weekends.  Prior to the event at the Kent track, professional and sportsman drivers will compete at Denver and Sonoma, CA.

While work on the drag strip will curtail quarter-mile racing for three weeks, it will not slow down a busy road course schedule.  Large weekend races including SOVREN’s Spring Sprints (May 4-6); International Race Driver’s Club (May 18-20); and Sports Car Club of America (May 26-28) will compete on Pacific Raceways’ 2.25 mile historic road racing course, which shares a portion of the drag strip.

The concrete racing surface was ground last August prior to the national event, said Brandenburg.  However, deterioration continued necessitating its replacement this year.  In addition to consulting Miles for expertise, Brandenburg said the track sought the advice of two other concrete specialists and NHRA’s Wayne McMurtry, who is the association’s concrete mix specialist.  “We are making every effort to insure the racing surface will be able to withstand our Northwest weather for years to come,” she said.

The drag racing schedule will resume on Saturday, June 2 with the Auto Max USA Drag Race Series event.