Alice Springs Inland Dragway, also known as ASID is a motorsports complex located south of

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Owned and operated by the Central Australian Drag Racing Association (CADRA), it is the only purpose-built quarter mile

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, mos ...

venue in regional Australia and is sanctioned by the

Australian National Drag Racing Association The Australian National Drag Racing Association, or ANDRA for short, is a drag racing sanctioning body in Australia. The organisation was created in 1973 from a more drag racing oriented faction of the Australian Hot Rod Federation. Today AN ...

(ANDRA) and

Motorsport Australia Motorsport Australia, formerly the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), is the nationally recognised governing and sanctioning body for four-wheeled motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and relate ...

History

Prior to the construction of a dedicated facility, the Central Australian Drag Racing Association held regular race meeting on a runway at the

Alice Springs Airport Alice Springs Airport is an Australian regional airport south of Alice Springs, Northern Territory. The airport was notably involved in Australia's second domestic airline hijacking, and later a suicide attack by a former airline employee w ...

. As a result of years of lobbying by the association and local community, the

Northern Territory Government The Northern Territory Government is the executive branch of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the Co ...

provided an $850,000 grant towards construction of a permanent drag strip. Additional funds were sourced from club members and sponsors, with the facility opening in 2008. The first race meeting at the new dragway occurred on 22–23 March that year. Initial race meets were held over a 1/8 mile distance. Further government grants in 2013 and 2015 allowed a number of upgrades, including the extension of safety barriers bringing the dragway up to international standards, permitting side-by-side racing over a full 1/4 mile and lifting a previous speed limit. As a result of this funding, ASID was the first drag racing venue in Australia to install LED lighting for the full length of the strip, staging lanes and braking area, while covered scrutineering and spectator areas were also added to the facility. In September 2017, 12 people were injured when burning fuel was sprayed from a vehicle competing in a burnout competition during the

Red CentreNATS Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

festival. This incident forced a temporary shut-down of the event and prompted a significant safety review, highlighting the lack of consistent national rules governing burnout competition safety standards.

Events

CADRA hosts a major race meeting, the Desert Nationals, at the Alice Springs Inland Dragway over two days each year. This competition attracts competitors from across Australia in a number of categories, with races held over a "half track" 660 ft (1/8th mile). The dragway serves as the start/finish line and staging area for the

Finke Desert Race The Finke Desert Race is an off-road, multi-terrain two-day race for motorbikes, cars, buggies and quad bikes through desert country from Alice Springs to the small and remote community of Aputula (called ''Finke'' until the 1980s) in Austra ...

. Since 2015, the dragway has been one of two major venues for the Red CentreNATS automotive festival, hosting drag racing events, as well as the Burnout Championship and invitational Burnout Masters "Desert Storm" competitions. The latter event awards significant prize money, with the top three performances guaranteed qualification for the Burnout Masters at the annual

Summernats Summernats (a portmanteau of "Summer" and "National"), is an annual car festival held in Canberra, Australia since 1987, except 2021 due to COVID. Summernats, which is usually held at the start of the year, is a specialist car enthusia ...

festival in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. The burnout pad at the dragway was named "The Hard Ass Burnout Pad" to honour CADRA member Dave Harders who passed away in 2012. It was expanded to replicate the Summernats burnout pad ahead of the inaugural Red CentreNATS. In 2021, ANDRA announced the establishment of an annual Australian Drag Racing Championship series, with ASID as one of five venues across the country to host a round in the inaugural season.

Track records

As of 2022, the outright track record for a 1/4 mile run at Alice Springs is held by Kelly Bettes, at 4.905 seconds and a top speed of . This record was set during the Desert Nationals in 2017, despite Bettes scrubbing the wall during the run.

References

{{reflist 2008 establishments in Australia Sports venues completed in 2008 Drag racing venues in Australasia Sport in Alice Springs Motorsport venues in the Northern Territory