History of Hawaii Raceway Park
Dirt oval opened January 1, 1962. Drag strip opened in 1963. Two mile road course operated from 1973 to 1975
1.32 mile road course opened in 1992. 300 foot sand drag strip opened in 2002.
The entire racetrack shut down in 2006 after their
lease with the James Campbell Estate ran out. In June of 2008 the
65.8 acre industrial zoned property near the Campbell Industrial Park in
Kapolei was for sale again. It was bought by Irongate in 2006 for about $13
million and it was probably worth about 28 million in 2008. Irongate had
originally planned to sell home lots on the property, but in 2008 they
decided to sell it instead.
50 State Pro Gas Association In 1973, Hawaii Raceway closed due to new promoters not keeping up
with the lease rent. The sport was in a deep tail slide. So George Nitta
flew up to meet with his friends who had started a new racing organization
in California called the Southern California Pro Gas Association.
George Nitta harbored a passion for racing even before the park was
built in 1963; ten years ago, with just two cars, he started a program for
juniors, determined to pass on that passion. The program was designed to
teach kids to win, says George, but also to stress overall competency:
“There is one stipulation that covers all of the kids, and that is grades.
You must maintain a C grade level and higher. No grades, no racing.”.
George Nitta harbored a passion for racing even before the park was
built in 1963; ten years ago, with just two cars, he started a program for
juniors, determined to pass on that passion. The program was designed to
teach kids to win, says George, but also to stress overall competency:
“There is one stipulation that covers all of the kids, and that is grades.
You must maintain a C grade level and higher. No grades, no racing.”.