Colorado National Speedway building drag strip at Dacono facility, aims to give street racers legal outlet

Colorado National Speedway is expanding beyond its oval-track roots, announcing this week that a drag strip is under construction at its Weld County facility on the north side of the Denver metro area.

The strip will not be a traditional quarter-mile, NHRA-style setup. Instead, the track is building a one-eighth-mile, no-prep surface designed to replicate the feel of unsanctioned street racing — but in a controlled, legal setting.

The facility will feature a full professional Portatree timing system with elapsed time and mile-per-hour readings at the 60-foot, 330-foot and 660-foot marks, Owen said. Drivers will also have 1,000 feet of braking distance beyond the finish line and a fully paved return route.

An opening date has not been announced. The speedway said its goal is to expand motorsports access in Weld County and across Northern Colorado — a region that has lacked a dedicated, publicly accessible drag facility even as the Denver metro area’s population has continued to grow.

The announcement comes as Colorado National Speedway prepares for the start of its 2026 oval-track season, which opens May 2 with Cars Tour West. The Dacono track already hosts weekly NASCAR-sanctioned racing events on its paved oval.

The addition of a drag strip could position the speedway as a more versatile destination for motorsports fans along the Front Range, tapping into the popularity of street-racing culture that has surged on social media and television in recent years. No-prep racing, in particular, has grown a devoted national following through events promoted by series such as Street Outlaws and independent promoters across the South and Midwest.

Construction on the strip is already underway. The speedway shared aerial footage of the work in progress on its Instagram and Facebook pages.