Four years ago Rich Witkovski was racing his car at North Star Dragway in front of small crowds and with a few competitors.

He enjoyed it. He loves to race. He loved the track. He loved Denton.

But suddenly the track closed.

So Witkovski did the only thing he could think of.

“Me and my dad bought it,” he said. “We didn’t want it to turn into mobile home storage or something. Now it is one of the most popular tracks around and we are real proud of that.”

And after three years of owning the drag way, Witkovski, staff and drivers from all over the country will be celebrating their third anniversary today and Saturday.

Track manager Larry Croft is tagging the two days as, “the biggest show of the year.”

The lineup of races includes fuel altered cars, outlaw street cars, top gas bikes and nitro clown funny cars.

Plus, a firework display is set for Saturday night and the program Beat the Heat, a group of fireman and policeman, will be at the track racing cars and teaching kids about drug awareness. About 80 to 90 cars are expected to excite the crowd.

“What more can you ask for?” Witkovski said. “There is going to be all kind of wacky stuff. A lot of things are going to be going on and it is going to be a fun-family weekend.”

About 3,000 fans are expected to watch the event and competitors as young as 8 and as old as 74 will be behind the wheel the next two days.

“It is pretty varied,” Croft said. “You see cars from $3,500 to $250,000 out there. They will come from all over. From Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and California.”

Head of marketing, Nick Duty, is ready for the show to start.

“The last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic trying to get everything ready to roll,” he said. “But I am absolutely glad it is here because this is our flagship race of the season. It is very exciting.”

The track has come a long way since Witkovski and his father purchased the venue. They have added more grandstands, timing systems, scoreboards, guard rails and more concrete on the track.

“The owners have been real great about making this into a top notch race track,” Duty said. “They have put a lot of money and time into it and it has been great. The track has come a long way. It was kind of like an outlaw track when we took it over and now it is one of the best in the U.S.”

Croft, who designed the new and improved track, said he is enjoying the new product.

“It is a very nice small race track,” he said. “It is not like the one you will see on TV. But as far as a down home mom and pop race track it is one of the finest in the country.”

Croft, Duty and Witkovski all said they expect the track to continue to grow despite the poor economy.

“The owners are committed to riding this thing out and making this a long-term deal,” Duty said. “I see no reason why it will slow down in the future. We have still seen incredible growth this year even with the economy the way it is.”

And Witkovski said there is no chance he is selling anytime soon.

“We are not going anywhere,” he said.

The dragway is located on 3236 Memory Lane off of Interstate 35. Doors open at 4 p.m. and close around midnight. Kids under 12 get in for free and general admission costs $15.

MATTHEW MUENCH can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is mmuench@dentonrc.com .