CALLAHAN, Fla. — Action News Jax was the first to tell you about the fast-paced problems plaguing our roadways: illegal street racing, shutdowns, and sideshows. Now we’re learning about a possible safe solution is in the works in Callahan.
The owner of the Callahan Speedway has already been approved to build a drag strip where drivers are not only allowed but encouraged to come and burn rubber, taking the dangerous behavior off public streets to a place it’s sanctioned and safe.
This comes as yet another street racing accident comes to light off Pecan Park Road. Action News Jax received video of two cars racing down a road, losing control and crashing into a commercial site. The road is wrecked, fences knocked down and landscaping torn apart. They are lucky. No one was hurt.
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The popularity of car clubs and racing culture hit a high point during the pandemic. While it is punishable by up to a felony, fines, and jail time, much of the activity still eludes police enforcement.
There hasn’t been a place for drivers to go since Pecan Park’s racing venue closed in the early 2000′s, so rather than trek to Gainesville or into Georgia, drivers take to our streets and interstates. David Hicken, who owns the Callahan Speedway, is hoping to change that.
“People that are racers,” he says, “want to put their foot in it and feel what they’ve got and, where can they do it? They can’t. so what do they do? They hide and they do it.”
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But in less than a year, his Callahan Go Cart and Remote Controlled racing outlet will be joined by an eighth-mile drag strip.
“It’s going to have the Jersey walls down the side,” he says, “to contain anything that can happen or go wrong as far as keeping them in there. There’s going to be safety for the crowd.”
Those Jersey walls are barriers between the crowd and the cars. Fire and medical staff will be on hand for race days just in case. The whole operation will be top-notch with automated starts and digital metrics tracking speeds, race times and winners.
He’s hoping that appeal will draw drivers off our roads and onto his strip instead. “Will that make our roadways safer, you think,” asks Investigator Emily Turner. “No doubt,” Hicken says, “it’s basically a big adult playground. Its things where people can go and do what they do what they love to do…and do it safely.”
After the drag strip is open, Hicken says he plans to tackle the illegal stunts and sideshows ripping apart parking lots across town. He’ll build a big concrete pad with similar barrier walls and spectator seating, hopefully cutting back on the destructive driving and donuts ANJ has highlighted in previous stories.
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