Unnamed street drag strips (Medicine Hat)

The city gave an organizer permission for a one-time drag race on a closed stretch of 10th Avenue NW. About 2,000 spectators reportedly paid to watch 50 entries, and he made money, so he got permission to do it again in 1983. That time he rented a timing system in place of a homemade set of traffic lights and timed cars over a measured eighth mile. The timing had some glitches and the crowd was smaller, but he made money again. In 1984 a husband and wife got approval for two races at the same spot by promising improvements: fences and barriers to protect spectators, more portable toilets, a good concession area, and traffic closures that wouldn’t hurt businesses more than needed. Those races did moderately well. The Medicine Hat Bracket Racing Association formed in late 1984 and held two races in 1985 on an eighth-mile section of Brier Park Way. From 1986 to 1990 it ran quarter-mile races on 23rd Street NW, where it had bought a Chrondek timing system, built grandstands and put up guardrails. After an accident, 1990 was the last year the city allowed racing on 23rd Street.