Callahan Speedway, sits along rural U.S. 1, north of Callahan. It is a dirt track right now that caters to riders of things like RC cars and go-carts.
Owner David Hicken says he’s watched the unfolding chaos on Jacksonville streets with respect to street racing and has laid out plans to build a drag strip for these “wannabe” racers to come to. “A drag strip is always something I wanted to do,” Hicken said. “And so I went to the county and had a lot of people that wanted it also. A lot of it were the street racers and the drag racers.”
Hicken says he’s in the process of revising his plans right now and expects to get full approval from the Nassau County Commission -- expecting to build and complete the track this year.“I got the approval and finalized my engineer drawings here within the next week,” Hicken said. “They get presented to the county. They give the approval they might change a few things, then it’s time to bust dirt and cut down trees.
“The county put two things on me. Vehicles have to exhaust under the vehicle and they’re required to run some type of muffler,” Hicken said. “They make all kinds of mufflers. It is required to have a muffler so that’s my restriction.”Hicken tells me he’s heard considerable interest from the Jacksonville car community for him to build a track north of Callahan.
About time..