By Jess Baker
It was all hands on deck at Warwick Dragway this week, with upgrades to the facility’s 1/8 mile track finally underway after decades of advocacy.
The beloved club was awarded $1.9 million in federal and state funding late last year to extend its track at Morgan Park to the national standard 1/4 mile.
The funding will also allow the club to extend the dragstrip’s existing braking area and return road, construct pit lanes, upgrade the staging area to national level, and install a new grandstand for spectators.
Warwick Dragway president Chris Loy said it was “unbelievable” to see the club’s plans come to fruition and fresh concrete poured at the Dragway on Monday 13 September.
“It’s been 25 years in the making to go to the 1/4 mile,” Mr Loy said.
“it’ll allow us to have a lot bigger events, faster cars, and hopefully it’ll bring more people to town.”
Mr Loy said the new track will be completed and ready for racing in the new year, opening the club up to host national events and thousands of spectators.
With about 90 per cent of competitors at the club’s meetings from out of town, and an average of 1000 spectators, the upgrade is likely to provide a significant economic boost for Warwick and the Southern Downs.
Mr Loy said he was grateful to Dragway volunteers, the local community, Southern Downs Regional Council, Mayor Vic Pennisi, CEO Dave Burges, and federal Member for Maranoa David Littleproud for supporting the project.
“It’s just great, after all this time, to see that it’s happening,” he said.
Local companies like Brownlie Concretor and Southern Downs Concrete, and local labour, have been employed by the project and will continue to be used for its duration.
CEO Dave Burges said creating employment opportunities was important to the council when deciding which projects to put forward for funding.
Long-term benefits of upgrading Warwick Dragway, such as increased tourism, were also taken into consideration.
Mayor Vic Pennisi said the “flow-on effects” of investing in the facility would be significant.
“Once this takes off, there’s potential mechanics, spare parts, tyres, fuel – all of those types of things will gravitate to these types of facilities,” Cr Pennisi said.
“Making grandstands and kitchens and food and all of those things will add value to what’s already here.”
Cr Pennisi said he was looking forward to attending his first drag meeting in the new year, after the 1/4 mile strip at Morgan Park is completed.
Maranoa MP David Littleproud announced the jointly-funded project in December last year, saying at the time that the Australian and Queensland governments’ aim was to support local economic recovery following the 2019-20 bushfires.
“The Southern Downs community has shown incredible strength and resilience through a very challenging year, so I am proud to see this funding go towards a meaningful project that will attract visitors to the region and boost the local economy,” Mr Littleproud said.
