Couple breathes new life into Gilliam raceway
Earlier in June, along with hundreds of local and out-oftown racing teams and fans, I had the pleasure of taking a short drive up the scenic Boom or Bust Highway to Gilliam to attend the grand re-opening of the Thunder Road Raceway Park.
This racetrack, surrounded by corn and cotton fields, was built in the late 1990s to host the International Hot Rod Association World Championships. The investment and determination of a couple, Nelson and Marla Hoyos, from West Palm Beach, Fla., made this recent re-opening spectacular to say the least.
This couple has shared their vision with the communities surrounding the racetrack along with the NHRA, ESPN and the national racing community, and has opened the doors again to drag racing at its highest level in North Louisiana.
The Hoyos heard about the vacated racetrack and drove from Florida to Shreveport. Within a few hours of touring the facility, they made the decision to re-locate their successful driving school in Florida to Louisiana, based on the venue’s size, quality and location within the most competitive region of drag racing so they could follow their dream and passion of owning and managing their own racing facility.
They moved here and have quickly re-vitalized this facility and brought back the racing community.
Nelson is no stranger to drag racing and taking on tough challenges. He is a two-time world champion drag racer and has owned and operated his own driving school over the last few years in West Palm Beach, Fla. His driving school, Driven2Win, has trained hundreds of drivers, many of whom have gone on to race professionally.
Nelson is a legend within drag racing. In fact, ESPN2 attended the re-opening to film his transition from professional racing to ownership and managing his own facility. This feature will be televised nationally during an upcoming NHRA race.
In the short time I have known them, I already have a great deal of respect and admiration for their drive and energy and fearless determination to bring this dragstrip back to its once nationally admired status.
If you did not get a chance to make it to the grand opening, you will have plenty of opportunities since the racetrack will be open every weekend through November.
The Hoyos are thrilled about hosting an NHRA sanctioned event Sept. 12-14 and anticipate 400-500 racing teams from all over the country. They quickly began discussions with the NHRA and other racing organizations to host even larger events, which could include world championship racing events in the next couple of years. Seeing how this duo is already hosting large events only months after opening their doors, I will put my money on seeing great things at this re-energized raceway. Check out their website and schedule of events at www.racetrrp. com. Show them some support and make it a point to attend an event this season.
Kelly Wells is the Vice President of Sports and Tourism for the Shreveport- Bossier Sports Commission. The Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission is a division of the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau in partnership with the City of Shreveport, Caddo Parish Commission, Bossier Parish Police Jury and the City of Bossier. Visit our website: www. shreveportbossiersports.com or email Kelly Wells at kwells@sbctb.org.
