The surface of any drag strip is going to have a certain level of character, but too much of the wrong type of character can be a problem. Unfortunately, the track surface at Pueblo Motorsports Park (PMP) has become unsafe and forced the postponement of the 2024 racing season.
PMP discovered the surface issues while it was scraping the track for a no prep race. As the PMP team was working on the scrape, they discovered some trouble spots on the asphalt surface that required further examination. These problem areas covered a large portion of the track, and seemed to stem from the winter weather the track experienced over the past year.
The PMP staff brought in the City of Pueblo’s Director of Parks and Recreation along with the City Engineer to look at the surface. It was determined that the surface would need to be replaced due to the level of damage. Now, a request for proposal will be generated to replace the surface of the track.
According to an announcement on the PMP Facebook page, the bids that are being solicited for the job are:
1.) New concrete from the 330’ through the 1/4-mile finish line.
2.) New concrete from the 330’ to about 750’-800’ and from there new asphalt through the 1/4-mile.
3.) New asphalt from the 330’ through the 1/4-mile finish line.
The front side of the track won’t be used for drag racing until the repairs are made. As of now, there is no timeline on how long the process will take. The facility will still hold road races and its Steel City No Prep events will still go on as planned since they’re run on the backside of the track. There are some other events in the works that will be used to raise funds for the track repairs.
PMP is hopeful the repairs will start before the end of the season. The track could need assistance to complete the project depending on how much money is approved by the city. Due to the potential cost of this project, PMP is encouraging anyone who’s interested in helping to speed up the process to contract the track.