Drag racing event set for April

Tucumcari city manager said organizers have set the date for a drag-racing event on city streets in 2025 before a bigger one during Route 66’s centennial in 2026.

Paula Chacon told the city’s Lodgers Tax Advisory Board on Wednesday that one of the organizers, Doug Woodward, scheduled the so-called “soft event” for April 26, 2025.

Woodward said at an earlier meeting he wants the 2026 event — tentatively set for September or October — to have 300 vehicles.

Organizers want to pattern it after the annual Kingman Route 66 Street Drags in Kingman, Arizona.

Chacon said Woodward told her the 2025 event would be limited to 150 vehicles. She said he was leaning to using Lake Street for the event, with Camino del Coronado as another option.

She said officials at the New Mexico Department of Transportation again flatly rejected the use of Tucumcari’s Route 66 for the event.

Chacon said the agency’s traffic bureau said “absolutely not” for the drag races, labeling it as street racing and cited liability concerns. She said she also had been in contact with NMDOT District 4 engineer Adam Romero about the request.

Unlike Tucumcari, Kingman holds jurisdiction over its stretch of Route 66.

In other business, the board discussed future tourism campaigns with officials from Gray Digital Media, affiliated with News Channel 10 in Amarillo.

The city commission approved hiring Gray during a meeting last month. Chacon said the commission likely will officially approve the nine-month, $58,582.20 contract with the company during its Oct. 24 meeting.

Board member Al Patel, absent from Wednesday’s meeting, sent a proposed list of responsibilities and expectations for the firm.

Chairman Matt Bednorz, however, pushed back at Gray attending every lodgers meeting, saying he’d rather have the company use its time to work on campaigns. Board member Lila Doughty also voiced concern with that proposal.

Bednorz said Gray should “just keep us informed what’s going on.” He also said because the city is responsible for the contract, the city manager or other city personnel should be the first points of contact.

Mayor Mike Cherry last month assigned the board to oversee the company’s activities.

Matt Monahan, who opened Art City on the city’s north side this spring, offered to collaborate with the board and Gray, citing a time crunch before Route 66’s centennial in 2026.

Board members voiced support to having Monahan act as a liaison for businesses and other entities in the city.