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Light em if you got em
City donates used lighting to historic drag strip
new race start pic.tif
The historic local drag strip, seen here in the start of one of the races during the first national drags in 1955, will soon have improved lighting, just in time for an especially busy racing season. - photo by COURTESY PHOTO

Not a moment too soon, Sunflower Rod & Custom G.B. (SRCGB) will have extra lighting at the local historic drag strip, located near the Great Bend Municipal Airport.
SRCGB President Hank Denning told the Great Bend City Council this week that the site of the first ever National Hot Rod Association nationals, held at the local track in 1955, is gaining more and more attention for Great Bend.
SRCGB has a lot of plans in store for this racing season, and to make the most of them, it needs better lighting.
City officials approved donating to SRCGB the lights that used to be at Langrehr Field. All new lighting is part of the sports complex development off south McKinley.
The lights that were donated by the city will be installed by SRCGB, Denning told the council. “We;re not asking the city for any funding.”
However, the lights will make it possible for the strip to be lit well enough to extend racing hours, and will help make the parking area safer, Denning noted.
Plans for 2011 include some nationally important events, he added.
Because of its unique association with the history of this sport in America, the local track will be an important part of the 65th anniversary of the NHRA this year, including the introduction of special trophy races here.
And the extra attention that SRCGB will have this historic season will also include the first time running here of the Rocky Mountain Superchargers, a racing group that will be here as part of the national competitions.
SRCGB will also host the Lucas Oil races again this year, but the race has been moved back to May, instead of April, which means there’s a much better chance that competitors will have been racing weather this year.
In September, he continued, the local track will be part of Drag Week, a national series of events that are hosted by HotRod magazine.
All of these events and more are going to continue to bring national attention to the local facility, Denning stressed. “There’s just so much that we have going on.”
He said it’s an exciting time for the sport in this region. “Our cup’s half full. It always has been.”