CQDRA Benaraby Dragway left with $50,000 of damage

A Queensland motorsports club has been left reeling after their complex sustained about $50,000 worth of what appears to be targeted damage just weeks out from their first meet of the year. VIDEO, PHOTOS.

A motorsport club has been left “gutted” after discovering an estimated $50,000 worth of damage to their facility, just weeks out from their first meet of 2024.

Committee members of the Central Queensland Drag Racing Association (CQDRA) found cut wires, damaged and missing equipment and broken locks when they went to the Benaraby Dragway on Saturday (January 13) for a working bee.

CQDRA Benaraby Dragway president Branden Lacey said it was a sight that “quite simply makes a grown man cry”.

Committee members of the CQDRA Benaraby Dragway have been left devastated after discovering their facility sustained $50,000 worth of damage.

“We had our committee meeting first and a committee member went to check everything was in order for the first round of racing and he came back to us and said ‘you need to come over here’ so we went over and that’s when we found the damage and kept finding the damage,” he said.

“We started at the track where the lasers are for the start line and they’d all been chopped out and the lasers taken, then we walked the full quarter mile either side and every laser and every sensor had been cut and missing.

“Our timing boards that show the race times, all the wires were cut to them, we went to our generator shed and realised the locks had been taken out of the door of that and the keys were gone from the big generator, then we went to the tower and found our Christmas tree (a piece of lighting equipment) and UHF radios were gone.”

As the team looked around the facility to find an entry point, Mr Lacey said they found some of their equipment, including headphones, radios and their Christmas tree, in the creek – but all were unable to be used because of damage.

Committee members of the CQDRA Benaraby Dragway have been left devastated after discovering their facility sustained $50,000 worth of damage.

He said the damage bill was estimated to be about $50,000 so far, but that figure could rise as further assessments were done.

The damage to the dragway is just another spanner in the works for the organisation’s new committee, as they work to start afresh.

“It’s hard to describe (the feeling),” Mr Lacey said.

“The feeling wasn’t great, just to see my committee members and the volunteers’ faces, as a president you try be strong to support everyone.

“I’m just gutted that someone could be so low and take so much away from the community, it affects all of us and the kids that come out and learn, it’s just horrible. I’m just blown away that someone could even go that way.”

While the committee and members come to terms with what happened and look towards the clean-up and rebuild of the track, a GoFundMe page has been set up by owner of Monster Fabrications and Central Queensland Metal Fabrications Tim Mills.

“We race down at Benaraby alongside many others and the recent news of the track being destroyed is devastating and going to put a massive hold on future racing,” he said.

“We would like all the 4wd community that participate in the dobinsons of the strip to all come together to get them back on their feet, also all other community members and businesses to all join in to get the track running better than ever so we don't lose this year's racing.

“All donations will go a long way to help them out so dig deep so we can all enjoy the racing to come.”

CQDRA Benaraby Dragway President Branden Lacey.

With police investigating the incident, Mr Lacey said the team would be at the track every weekend cleaning up and fixing things to try and be up and running for their first meet on February 24.

“We’re going full steam ahead with our preparations for the racing for the year, in the background our technicians are working with the Protatree mob in America and local electricians that have offered their help,” he said.

“Once the GoFundMe raises them money we will start to rebuild.

“We’ve been blown away, everyone has been really supportive.”

Mr Lacey and the Benaraby Dragway committee thanked everyone who has, so far, jumped aboard to help them.

Anyone wanting to donate can do so by visiting the GoFundMe page or if you want to help with clean up message the CQDRA Benaraby Dragway Facebook page.