andyc740
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Friday, Oct 22, 2010, the Texas Mile weekend was finally here again! The CMA has been volunteering at the Texas Mile for the past three years and I always thoroughly enjoy the weekends. It was a nice, cool, 95-mile ride from my house to the Goliad County Airpark, north of Berclair, where the Texas Mile is hosted. It’s a weekend of top-speed runs on the airport’s 7,800 ft. runway, with a speed trap at the final 132 feet of the mile and about a half mile left to shut things down.
The Texas Mile began in October 2003, and is run by Shannon Matus and crew, the friendly folks from Houston who bring you NASA racing in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. The Goliad County Industrial Airpark is an old Navy landing field sited out in the country about 10 miles north of Berclair. Berclair is about halfway between Beeville and Goliad on Hwy 59. This is an image from a USGS survey.
The Texas Mile uses the closed runway on the left. The runway on the right is active, but is closed during the event. There’s not much out there when the Mile isn’t happening. The starting line for the Mile is at the bottom. The taxiway is used as pits, with taxiways for both runways in use by racers during the event. There's no money to win at the mile, just a chance to go home with a fistful of timing slips, a speed certificate and a T-shirt, if you want to pay for one.
When I arrived about 8:00, the entrance gate was set up. Racers and cars had begun showing up Thursday afternoon, when the Texas Mile crew had arrived to start setting up. It costs $200 to $300 to run, depending if you want a 2-day pass or a 3-day pass. Registration is on-line and is limited to 150 vehicles. It usually fills within 24 hours of its opening, then registrants go on a waiting list. Spectators are charged $15 for all weekend. The event is not publicized, but I think we probably had at least 10,000 spectators over the weekend. The spectators’ cars park in the grass on the other side of the taxiway.
This is where the people coming in are dipped and inspected. No, where spectators pay admission, sign a waiver and get wristbands.
The control tower.
And the registration tent for the racers.
Several food vendors set up shop as well as a truck from VP Racing Fuels in San Antonio.
These pictures were taken Friday before things got busy. Friday morning was cool and quiet and some pretty fast passes were made. One guy on a 2000 Hayabusa did a pass at 270 mph, setting a record for bikes!
The Texas Mile began in October 2003, and is run by Shannon Matus and crew, the friendly folks from Houston who bring you NASA racing in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. The Goliad County Industrial Airpark is an old Navy landing field sited out in the country about 10 miles north of Berclair. Berclair is about halfway between Beeville and Goliad on Hwy 59. This is an image from a USGS survey.
The Texas Mile uses the closed runway on the left. The runway on the right is active, but is closed during the event. There’s not much out there when the Mile isn’t happening. The starting line for the Mile is at the bottom. The taxiway is used as pits, with taxiways for both runways in use by racers during the event. There's no money to win at the mile, just a chance to go home with a fistful of timing slips, a speed certificate and a T-shirt, if you want to pay for one.
When I arrived about 8:00, the entrance gate was set up. Racers and cars had begun showing up Thursday afternoon, when the Texas Mile crew had arrived to start setting up. It costs $200 to $300 to run, depending if you want a 2-day pass or a 3-day pass. Registration is on-line and is limited to 150 vehicles. It usually fills within 24 hours of its opening, then registrants go on a waiting list. Spectators are charged $15 for all weekend. The event is not publicized, but I think we probably had at least 10,000 spectators over the weekend. The spectators’ cars park in the grass on the other side of the taxiway.
This is where the people coming in are dipped and inspected. No, where spectators pay admission, sign a waiver and get wristbands.
The control tower.
And the registration tent for the racers.
Several food vendors set up shop as well as a truck from VP Racing Fuels in San Antonio.
These pictures were taken Friday before things got busy. Friday morning was cool and quiet and some pretty fast passes were made. One guy on a 2000 Hayabusa did a pass at 270 mph, setting a record for bikes!