Alaska Raceway Park Celebrates 60 Years of Motorsports Entertainment
Contributed by Liz McFarland
Alaska Raceway Park, formerly Polar Dragway, was built on leased land in 1964 by Lee Nelson. Nelson bought another piece of property off of Old Glenn Highway to build a road leading to the track, now called Larynel Drive, which goes over Bodenburg Creek on a bridge that Nelson built.
In 1967, Hot Rod Magazine printed a full article on Polar Dragway highlighting our track, drivers, and racing rivalries. In the 70s, Nelson changed the name from Polar Dragway to Polar Raceway Park and expanded the property to have a road course and an oval dirt track, both of which were short-lived. At this point, the drag strip was NHRA-sanctioned which allowed several classes to race.
In 1994, Top End Inc., formed by a group of racers, bought the track from the Nelson Family and changed the name to Alaska Raceway Park and was sanctioned by IHRA. After buying the track, the corporation added an entrance to the track via Sullivan Ave. In 1995, Earl Lackey became a member of the ownership group Top End Inc., and in October 1998, Earl and his wife Karen became sole owners of the track.
In 2000, the Lackeys repaved the track and paved Sullivan Ave. from the bridge to the entrance of the pit gate. In 2003, Alaska Raceway Park was named Track of the Year by IHRA. By 2003, ARP was already mentioned in several publications across the country.
The newest edition to ARP is the paved oval track which was built in 2016 and is NASCAR and INEX sanctioned. In 2018, Michelle Lackey took over the management of Alaska Raceway Park. In 2019, the drag strip returned to sanctioning by NHRA.
Through 60 years of changes in track layout, property lines, and ownership groups, the track remains thriving and growing each year. Now, 60 years later, ARP will host over 30 events in 2024 with over 175 drivers across both tracks.
For a more in-depth history of Alaska Raceway Park, scan the QR code to watch “Alaska Raceway Park: A Brief History” on YouTube.