Raceway Park Closes Its Doors

After more than half a century of burning rubber, Raceway Park will no longer hold drag races, officials said.

With the rising cost of fuel, tires, insurance and other expenses of speeding from a standstill to more than 200 mph on a 1,000-foot track, drag racing has become too expensive for the mostly amateur racers who drive on weekends and Wednesday nights at what is officially known as Old Bridge Raceway Park, said Steve Mamakas, executive officer of the Old Bridge Township Mayor’s Office of Economic Development.

“I’m a racer myself,” said Mamakas, who races in a penny-orange 2009 Dodge Challenger SRTH with a 425-horse power engine. “Last time I raced was probably about a year and a half ago, and yea, I will miss it.”