Closed Six Years Ago, New York’s Skyview Drags To Reopen

Let’s turn the tide of bad news, shall we?

The Skyview Drags, an 1/8-mile drag racing facility located in Owego, New York, a short drive from the New York/Pennsylvania border, last heard the sound of racing engines and the smell of burnt rubber on its surface in 2018. The facility has sat dormant for six years, its still relatively new structures and surface — it was built in 2004 — slowly being reclaimed by nature.

After the track closed the original property owner passed away; his family then sold the 440 acres of land and the dragstrip and 1/2-mile concrete oval that rest on it. In a story that is a true departure from the norm, the new owner, with no background or knowledge of the sport, opted to invest in racing and revitalize the dragway. He then called upon veteran local racer, Pat Schrader, to help him in the endeavor as his operational manager.

“I’ve raced at Skyview since it opened. This was our local track — it’s only about 25 minutes from my house,” Schrader says. “They’d do Friday night test and tunes and a bracket race on Saturday. The new owner wants to get it back open, and I’m here to help make that happen. He’s very anxious to get it back to a higher standard, which is phenomenal. It’s great to have someone willing to jump in and do something — he tells me if I believe in it, to do it. To have that support from him is making it easier on my end. He doesn’t know anything about the sport, he’s just into buying and selling and revitalizing properties. He’s already made several hundred thousand dollars in repairs — it sat for six years, which hasn’t done the buildings any favors. So we’ve been plucking away at it trying to get it ready for the new year. The owner wants to see it up and running, and wants to add campgrounds to it, add four-wheeler and kart tracks — there’s 440 acres, so there’s so much you can do with this land.”

Schrader says he and some 50 volunteers have gone through and cleaned the facility and removed grass and weeds from front to back. They’ve also completed paint work on the building interiors, and $40,00 was spent to put new windows in the timing tower. New floors and carpet will go down in the tower, and both of the large bathrooms will be fully remodeled, as will the concession stand. Schrader is on the precipice of ordering an all-new timing system, and is in talks with the WDRA to sign a sanctioning agreement.

Schrader says the venue had great racer and fan…