LIHUE, Kauai (AP) — Construction work will begin next month on a $1.3 million project to renovate Kauai Raceway Park.
At a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, Department of Land and Natural Resources engineer Carty Chang said the goal is to complete as much work as possible by Labor Day for a resumption of racing in September.
When he was assigned the work, he said, he had not realized the importance of drag racing in Mana.
“It’s a great economic driver for the Westside,” said state Rep. Dee Morikawa, D-Niihau, Poipu, Kokee. “When I first came here to learn more about the request for funding, I was blown away by the more than thousand people, and more surprisingly, the amount of families which come to the drag races.”
The track was last resurfaced in 1972. The track will be repaved and the launch pad and burnout box will be reconstructed.
The Hawaii Legislature approved $246,000 for design and design and construction management and $847,000 for construction.
The Limtiaco Consulting Group is the design consultant. Jennings Pacific, LLC is the construction contractor.
The project is about families, DLNR chairman William Aila said.
“It’s a place to gather to share stories of the past, make stories for the present, and to teach children about how they will create stories for the future,” he said.
Garden Isle Racing Association since 1999 has promoted safe motors and hosted family events at the park, he said. The nonprofit organization’s mission is educating the community about automobile safety and discouraging street racing.
The association sponsors races for street-legal cars, imports, muscle cars, Junior Dragsters and professional race cars.
