Progress 2025 — An 1/8-mile at a Time: Alexander, Boothe bringing new life to local drag strip

Published 11:08 am Thursday, April 3, 2025

By Carey Reeder

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Story by Carey Reeder

Photos by Brandon Sumrall

“I live my life a quarter mile at a time. For those ten seconds or less, I’m free.”

For many drag racers, that famous line from the hit movie series “Fast & Furious” is more than just a great movie line or the occasional online meme. It is truly the way they live, revolving everything in their life around the next time they will be able to make a pass on the track.

Racers in Chilton County used to have their chance to make those passes at the Chilton County Dragway on Alabama Highway 191 in Maplesville. Originally opened in 2000, it was a bustling facility for a decade before the gates were closed and the track was lost, leaving just a barren parking lot as the only raceable surface.

Thorsby’s Josh Alexander and Jesse Boothe live by the opening mantra, too. The Chilton County Dragway was the first track Alexander made a pass on at 14 years old, and it holds a special place in his heart. Alexander’s father was a drag racer, and he passed along that passion to his son who started at an early age.

“This place is sentimental to me, and it is right here at home just 10 minutes from the house,” Alexander said.

The 1/8-mile drag strip sat dormant and as an afterthought from the early 2010s till now with just those parking lot races happening that were not sanctioned by anyone. Thousands passed by the sign on Highway 191 each month, year after year, either remembering or wondering what once was.

Alexander and Boothe worked together and became friends sharing their passion for racing. They became family after learning Alexander is kin to Boothe’s wife. The two have raced together for a while, and always talked about the old drag strip.

“We always said ‘We should buy that place,’ and try to resurrect it,” Boothe said. “We about gave up on it.”

The two reached out to the previous owner about purchasing the facility, and the parties went back and forth for about a year trying to work out a price. Then, in the fall of 2024, the two put in one final offer and agreed that if they could not agree to this price, they would walk away from it. The two parties agreed, and the deed was signed over in October 2024.

“We tried so many ways to come up with the money (to buy the facility),” Alexander said. “We said ‘It is either going to work, or it is not.’ We got to the point where we could not get to an agreement, and then, finally we did.”

When the gates were opened to the facility for the first time by the pair, the first look at it was very grim. Both lanes of the track were completely filled with trees, bushes and other rubbish all over the racing surface. You could not see the retaining walls with the grass and bushes so overgrown on them.

“When we saw it like that, it broke our heart,” Boothe said. “How do you let a nice place like this get this way? It was just forgotten about and like ‘There it is, and I am not doing anything else with it.’ You could not tell it was even a track.”

The renovations and work started on the facility, and it was renamed the Chilton County Motorsports Park. The first order of business was to clear the racing lanes out, and the racing surface was revealed for the first time in 10 years. The two worked constantly on the facility — every weekend, after their full-time jobs during the week and any free time they had was spent at the track and dedicating it to the renovations.

“We would be here after hours, the weekend, just all different times,” Alexander said.

Alexander said owning the track and getting it through the process of renovations is something that lives with him every day since the project began. It is at the track, it goes home with you and there is always something else to do on the docket of improvements. The pair did not go at it alone with more than 20 volunteers coming out to help by pulling weeds, removing debris and other needs around the facility on various cleanup days.

“It surprised me at how many people stepped up and offered help. They did not want any money for it, they just wanted to see the place back up in operation,” Alexander said.

The two are friends with Billy Wilkins, owner of Buckshot Speedway in Clanton, a circle dirt track that hosts races for multiple different classes from the spring to fall every year. Buckshot got its feet under them in 2021 and has been racing each year since. Wilkins and Alexander and Boothe are friends, both building and rebuilding the racing scene in Chilton County and helping out at each other’s tracks as renovations are needed.

“I have always had a passion for drag racing, and never thought I would own a track,” Alexander said. “It is a lot different than just showing up to a track, unloading your car and racing.”

The racing culture in Chilton County runs deep. It may not be as prominent as some of the other traditional sports like baseball and football, but racing is alive here in the heart of Alabama. Alexander said within a 20-mile radius of the Chilton County Motorsports Park there are several drag racers who are thrilled with the project to bring the drag strip back.

“We like to race,” Boothe said. “We love racing, that is more than anything.”

After a few months of nonstop work and renovations, the facility held its first official event on Dec. 7, 2024 using flashlight starts on the old strip of asphalt that sat untouched for 10 years. Over 350 people came through the gates for the first event to welcome the track back open. A few more races were held at the drag strip over the winter months and a test and tune day. Anything to get more people out to the track and to raise money to go towards the facility’s renovations.

Currently, the track is passable and has seating for a few hundred people to watch the racing. A new timing system was installed in January that will allow for official timing and scoring of races. Many future improvements are in the works as well for the facility. Within the next five years, the goal is to have more grandstands for seating. Also, Alexander and Boothe want to turn the entire right side of the facility into parking for fans and build a crossover bridge that goes over the top of the drag strip. This will allow fans to walk back and forth to restrooms, concessions, see the cars and more during dead track periods, adding to the functionality of the facility.  There is no goal for an official capacity, just to be able to fit as many people in as possible that want to come out to see some racing.

“It was always my dream to own a race track, and I never thought it would come true,” Alexander said. “Hearing all the locals say ‘Man, I wish that place would open back up.’ After years of hearing that you want to make it happen.”

Chilton County Motorsports Park has some events planned for 2025, including races on May 23-24 that will feature multiple classes. A, B, C and D gassers, vintage pro stock and junior dragsters will all be competing in both bracket and heads-up racing at the two-day event. For more information on Chilton County Motorsports Park and its upcoming events, visit their Facebook page.

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