The Four Aces Drag Racing Club has tried for more than three years to stage an event at the aerodrome, but has been knocked back for failing to address strict criteria.

A new development application submitted to Kempsey Shire Council will, club officials hope, deal a winning hand to local fans of the sport.

Club president Kevin Unger is keen to allay any worries of Aldavilla residents.

“A lot of people think this event is for high-powered drag cars,” he said. “They’re not allowed on airports. A lot of people are concerned about putting chemicals on the runway. That’s notallowed.

“ANDRA (the Australian National Drag Racing Association) says ‘no, it’s too dangerous’.”

Mr Unger said the club had done everything it could to address criteria in its development application, including noise control, tarmac impact, effects on the neighbourhood, traffic control, and spectator numbers.

If the application is approved and the one-off event is staged successfully, the club would aim to stage regular events.

“If everyone’s happy and we’re not treading on toes, we’d look to staging four (meetings) a year,” Mr Unger said. “It would bring money and tourism to the town, to the council and to the airport.”

The club president said entrant numbers would be capped at about 100 and the event would run for about eight hours.

The Four Aces Drag Racing Club has 28 members around the Mid North Coast.

Some former members had left because they had become disenchanted with the hurdles faced in trying to stage race events, Mr Unger said.

Membership would be likely to grow exponentially if the club was able to stage regular events.

Mr Unger invited anyone with concerns to contact him personally and said many people were more supportive of amateur drag racing once they found out more about the sport.

He asked anyone wishing to contact him to do so by email, including their phone details, via fouracesdragclub@hotmail.com