Quarter-mile · Airway Heights · Since 1974
The Spokane Drag Strip
For more than fifty years, the quarter-mile at Spokane Raceway Park has been the Inland Northwest's drag strip. It's where the AHRA World Finals ran every August, where Garlits and Force came to race, and where a jet car once went 307 MPH. It still runs today.
Fifty years on the quarter-mile
The drag strip came first. About 500 investors put roughly $2.5 million into a racing complex on the West Plains, and in May 1974 the American Hot Rod Association ran the first race on the new quarter-mile. The half-mile oval followed in 1978 and the road course in the 1990s, but drag racing was always the heart of Spokane Raceway Park.
In September 1975 the track hosted its first AHRA World Finals, and that weekend became the biggest of the year in Northwest racing. Top Fuel dragsters, nitro Funny Cars, Pro Mods and jet cars came from Montana, Idaho, Alberta and British Columbia. In the 1970s and '80s some of the biggest names in the sport raced here, including Don "Big Daddy" Garlits, Don "The Snake" Prudhomme, Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen and John Force.
Read the full story on the Spokane Raceway Park history page.
Big moments
- 1974
First race
The AHRA runs the first drag race on the new Spokane quarter-mile in May.
- 1975
The first World Finals
Dragsters and nitro Funny Cars headline the first AHRA World Finals in Spokane, which becomes an August tradition.
- 1987
Garlits flips at 270
"Big Daddy" Don Garlits's fuel dragster flips at about 270 MPH at the World Finals. He escapes without serious injury.
- 2002
Street racing and 307 MPH
Friday Night Street Racing starts in April, giving street cars a legal place to run. At the 40th World Finals the elapsed-time record falls to 5.833 at 240.82 MPH, and a jet car sets the speed record at 307 MPH.
- 2003
Craig Smith's 5.06
Odessa's Craig Smith qualifies first and wins Top Fuel with a 5.069 at 288.69 MPH. Chris "The Greek" Karamesines, the 1959 AHRA Nationals champion, qualifies fourth.
- 2008–21
Spokane County Raceway
Spokane County buys the track in 2008. The drag strip runs as an NHRA member track from 2009 to 2014 and with the IHRA in 2015.
- 2021–
Qlispé Raceway Park
The Kalispel Tribe of Indians buys the facility. In 2023 the drag strip rejoins the NHRA Member Track Network, and in 2025 Street Outlaws comes to town.
Track records & winners
Figures as the track posted them on its own website at the time.
Jet car speed record, AHRA World Finals, August 2002
Track elapsed-time record at 240.82 MPH, set at the 2002 World Finals
Craig Smith, Top Fuel winner, 2003 World Finals, at 288.69 MPH
Ken Kraus of Great Falls, Pro Alcohol Funny Car winner, 2002, at 240.84 MPH
See every class winner from 2003 on the history page.
What ran here
On any given weekend you might see:
- Pro classes: Top Fuel Dragster, Top Fuel Funny Car, Pro Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car, Pro Mod, and jet cars
- Sportsman and bracket racing: Super Pro, Pro Eliminator, Street Eliminator, Top Comp, Super Street, ET Stock
- Special events: the Lilac Funny Car Championships and the Fox Hunt
- Everybody else: High School Drags, Jr. Drags, and Friday Night Street Racing
Racers wrote in about their own cars. Read about the WhipLash Racing family's Monza, Dean "The Hog" Lambson's 9-second street Camaro, and the weekend the records fell.
Drag racing in Spokane today
The quarter-mile still runs as part of Qlispé Raceway Park, at 101 N Hayford Road in Airway Heights, next to Northern Quest. Here's what's coming up on the drag strip, from the track's official schedule:
Questions people ask
Is the Spokane drag strip still open?
Yes. The quarter-mile that opened as part of Spokane Raceway Park in 1974 still runs today as part of Qlispé Raceway Park in Airway Heights, owned by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians since 2021. The schedule is posted at qrpracing.com.
Where is the Spokane drag strip?
At 101 N Hayford Road in Airway Heights, Washington, on the West Plains just west of Spokane and next to Northern Quest Resort & Casino.
When did the Spokane drag strip open?
The American Hot Rod Association ran the first drag race there in May 1974. The track hosted its first AHRA World Finals in September 1975.
Which famous drag racers raced in Spokane?
Don "Big Daddy" Garlits, Don "The Snake" Prudhomme, Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen and John Force all raced at the Spokane track in the 1970s and '80s. Chris "The Greek" Karamesines was still in the Top Fuel field at the 2003 World Finals.
What was the fastest run at Spokane Raceway Park?
According to the track's own website, a jet car set the track speed record of 307 MPH at the 2002 AHRA World Finals. In 2003 Craig Smith won Top Fuel with a 5.069-second pass at 288.69 MPH.
Did you race the quarter-mile?
Bracket racer, street racer, crew chief or fan on the hill: tell us about your night at the Spokane drag strip.
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