FORT STOCKTON A press release details the annual Big Bend Open Road Race on U.S. Highway 285 between Fort Stockton and Sanderson is scheduled Saturday with practice beginning Wednesday.
The 118-mile roundtrip road race will close off U.S. Highway 285 to all other traffic from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Motorists will need to find other routes for that period of time.
Practice sessions are scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. Those practice runs will shut down nearly nine miles of U.S. Highway 90 from just west of Three Mile Bridge starting at Highland place and going to the roadside park west of Sanderson. There will be gaps in practice every 20 or 30 minutes to allow regular traffic to go through, but alternate routes are still suggested.
Law enforcement will be present for the practice runs and the race itself. Likewise, ambulances and EMTs will be available.
A parade is also scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Friday in Fort Stockton. The parade route is basically starting at Rooney Park, heading north on Main Street and then west on Dickinson Boulevard (also known as Business Interstate 10).
The race has five divisions. Four divisions are conducted in rally-like fashion, which means the closest average to the class wins. For example, whichever driver posts the closest average speed to 120 miles per hour in the 120 class wins that class.
The Unlimited Division is a more traditional race. The fastest driver to complete the 118-mile loop wins. Cars regularly exceed 1,200 miles per hour in this division. The record top speed was set in 2002 by Dave Golder with a speed of 220.8 miles per hour.
For more information about the race, visit the race website at bborr.com.
