2023 Mar 15th
TK2K 2023- The end of an era
This years TX2K was definitely one for the books. From extreme weather conditions, to some wild racing, the events final showing at the legendary Houston Raceway was a fantastic way to end the tracks tenure. As of April 1st 2023, the track closed its doors forever, as a developer purchased the land and will be paving over the iconic dragstrip to build a distribution warehouse. (Cue Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell, because they are really are paving paradise to put up a parking lot).
The event was held from March 15th-19th on the legendary Houston Raceway for one final rip. Although the weather was temperamental, with bouts of rain, hail, strong winds and cold temperatures, our team was not deterred from showing up and taking part in the last running of TX2K at the iconic Houston Raceway.
The event opened on Wednesday with the Roll Racing qualifiers, and saw a steady build up to the weekends main Drag Racing events. While Roll Racing does not yet bring in the same large crowds as Drag Racing does, the excitement from those in attendance watching the Roll Racing events was palpable. For those who don’t know, Roll Racing is a type of drag racing that takes place at higher speeds, with more horsepower and with cars starting from a “rolling start” instead of a standstill (hence the name!). TX2K updated the track for the Roll Racing events this year, with the straight being 250ft shorter than in the past few years, which made for some truly exciting racing! T1 Racing came out on top at this year’s events, hitting an incredible final speed of 237 mph!
As the weekends main drag racing events approached, mother nature became more unpredictable, causing many teams to drop out of the race and not show up for the event. On Friday morning, the team woke up to the sad news that the Friday events had been cancelled due to the severe weather conditions. Officials from the track made the difficult decision in the early hours of Friday morning, citing the torrential downpours from the night before as the reason. Officials from the track worked tirelessly on Friday to re-do portions of the track that had been damaged from Thursday nights rain. The team took a drive down to the track on Friday to check in on our booth, and it was an eerie sight. Tents all over the grounds had been destroyed, spots were vacant, and it truly felt like a scene out of a dystopian movie. We are thankful that no one was injured and that our tent and booth avoided any damage.
Saturday morning brought sunnier skies and a great crowd turnout. Team Vibrant was set up in our booth, greeting old friends and making new friends. This year at TX2K, we partnered up with Jose from Speedlab Creations to provide track side assistance and welding services. The support vehicle was a success, as we were able to assist racers with breakdowns quickly and efficiently. We are so thankful to Jose and the entire team at Speedlab Creations for partnering with us on this incredible venture.
At the end of the weekend, we were sad to pack up and say goodbye to the iconic Houston Raceway, however we are so excited to see how Peter Blach and the entire team at TX2K grow the event even larger at its new home just outside of Dallas, at the Texas Motorplex.