Championship Drag Racing is headed to the upstate of South Carolina in 2009.

Union County Motorsports Association President Mike Petrie announced that a suitable investor had been procured to not only purchase the failed Broad River Drag Strip project, but also complete the racing facility in preparation for the 2009 drag racing season. The strip will be promoted under the IHRA sanction.

Curtis Teems, a businessman from Greer, South Carolina with experience in oval track promotion, was introduced during a press conference on Monday evening.

Teems originally tried to purchase the property from the founding owners of the Broad River Drag Strip project, but when negotiations stalemated, he and the Union County Motorsports Association began looking for property elsewhere in the county.

A suitable location for a new drag strip was located and in the midst of negotiations for the new site, the Broad River group reportedly decided to sell.

Championship Drag Racing is headed to the upstate of South Carolina in 2009.

Union County Motorsports Association President Mike Petrie announced that a suitable investor had been procured to not only purchase the failed Broad River Drag Strip project, but also complete the racing facility in preparation for the 2009 drag racing season. The strip will be promoted under the IHRA sanction.

Curtis Teems, a businessman from Greer, South Carolina with experience in oval track promotion, was introduced during a press conference on Monday evening.

Teems originally tried to purchase the property from the founding owners of the Broad River Drag Strip project, but when negotiations stalemated, he and the Union County Motorsports Association began looking for property elsewhere in the county.

A suitable location for a new drag strip was located and in the midst of negotiations for the new site, the Broad River group reportedly decided to sell.

“I’ve always had a love for racing,” said Teems. “I had found out they were having a problem getting the facility finished, and being an owner of two other race facilities, I was interested. Mike Petrie asked me if I wanted to come down and look at what they had and I did and I liked what I saw.”

The strip will be renamed Union County Motorsports Park and will contest Saturday eighth-mile events weekly from February through November, but has the capability of contesting quarter-mile functions. The racing surface will be sixty feet wide and 3,500 feet in length.

Construction is expected to resume on the project within the week and, weather permitting, is expected to be completed within six months.

Petrie’s involvement with the mission of bringing championship drag racing to the Upstate of South Carolina has spanned four years. He admitted this was four years that provoked a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

 “I’d like to thank everyone for their patience, especially those in the Union County Motorsports Association,” said Petrie. “I’m sure there were many thought this day would never come.”

Union County has a rich history in motorsports that dates back to the 1950s with three major oval dirt track racing facilities. At one time, Union County boasted as many as nine Grand National drivers competing on the NASCAR circuit, more than any other county in the state.

Neighboring Spartanburg County has won 25 world championships under the IHRA sanction.

”There were several of us in Union County that saw the need to preserve a bit of our history and promote motorsports within our county,” said Petrie. “Since we formed the motorsports association, we’ve seen several motorsports venues grow here.”

The announcement of the Union County Motorsports Park increases the support of motorsports facilities to six for the county. Currently there are three motorcross facilities, a dirt oval and a go-kart track.

The Union County Motorsports Association has a vision that includes becoming a southern home-base for professional race teams and supporting companies in Union.

Vin Eman’s Aruba Tourism-sponsored IHRA Pro Stock team was the first professional team to base their operations in Union. Several leading professional teams have expressed their interest for adding a home base in the community.

“We are serious about our motorsports,” said Petrie. “When you have the governmental leaders interested and excited about motorsports, then you’ve got something strong. The bottom line is that motorsports provides a direct tie to the increase of tourism for our community.”

Union Mayor Bruce Morgan found it difficult to suppress his emotions during the announcement.

”I’m excited about this – I love it,” said Morgan, who has been active in the project. “I can tell you one thing -- the Teems family won’t be doing this alone. They will have some partners with this project. We’re big on partnerships here in Union. This is proof that when you work together as a team – things happen.”

There’s no doubt the end goal for the Union County Motorsports Park will be the consummation of a national event. The new owner has expressed an interest in contesting a national event in the future. This objective will remain in the forefront of future, although it’s not likely to happen in the immediate.

“I think so, I really do,” Teems answered when asked if there was the potential for a national event in Union. “I don’t know how long it will take, but I think so.”