{"id":3709,"date":"2025-12-03T14:15:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T14:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/?p=3709"},"modified":"2025-12-03T14:27:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T14:27:15","slug":"the-beach-a-57-year-legacy-of-family-roots-and-the-crown-of-the-king-of-the-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/?p=3709","title":{"rendered":"THE BEACH: A 57-Year Legacy of Family, Roots, and the Crown of the \u201cKing of the Beach\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are racetracks\u2014and then there are places that raise<\/em> racers. Holiday Raceway in Woodstock, Alabama, affectionately known across the Southeast as \u201cThe Beach,\u201d is one of those rare places where history isn\u2019t just remembered; it\u2019s still being made every weekend.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Opened in 1968 and still owned by the same two families\u2014the Bateh and Beams families\u2014Holiday Raceway represents something almost unheard of in modern motorsports: a dragstrip that has never changed hands. For 57 years, the track has remained in the care of the same people who built it, worked it, raised their kids at it, and poured their entire lives into it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Keeping any business alive that long is impressive. Keeping a racetrack alive\u2014through economic downturns, changing times, weather, regulations, and the constant demands of running a motorsports facility\u2014is a miracle. And keeping it going between two<\/em> families, side-by-side, for nearly six decades? That\u2019s almost unheard of.<\/p>\n

We all know how hard it can be sometimes to get along with family, especially when business is involved\u2014but this place has always been a family affair.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A Track That Feels Like Home<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Walk into The Beach and you don\u2019t just see a racetrack\u2014you feel the past and present meeting each other. The place is clean, updated, and professionally operated, but the moment you hear the announcer\u2019s voice echoing across the pits, bouncing off the trees and trailers, you\u2019re transported back to what grassroots racing is supposed to be.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that nostalgic hum that racers talk about long after they\u2019ve left. The warm smell of tire smoke drifting across the hillside. The sight of kids on bicycles weaving between pit spaces. The friendly wave from someone who\u2019s been racing here for 30 years and remembers when you<\/em> were a Jr. Dragster kid.<\/p>\n

Holiday Raceway hits you in the chest with the roots of drag racing. But don\u2019t mistake \u201croots\u201d for outdated. The timing system is sharp. The surface is well-maintained. The facility is modernized. The Beach is proof you can polish a gem without changing what makes it shine.<\/p>\n

Where the Southeast Learned to Race<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Some of the best bracket racers in the Southeast cut their teeth right here. Before they were champions. Before they were known names. Before they had rigs and sponsors and big-money race wins\u2014they were kids at The Beach, learning to stage, learning to focus, learning to become racers.<\/p>\n

From the Junior ranks all the way into the Pro classes, The Beach has been a proving ground. A place where skill mattered, where consistency was king, and where hundreds of racers earned their stripes.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what happens when a track has 57 years of DNA in it. You don\u2019t just attract racers\u2014you raise them.<\/p>\n

The Tradition of Traditions: King of the Beach<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If Holiday Raceway is the heartbeat of Alabama drag racing, then the King of the Beach<\/strong> is its crown jewel.<\/p>\n

For more than 45 years, racers have come from all across the Southeast\u2014Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and beyond\u2014to battle for one of the most unique honors in grassroots drag racing: the right to be crowned King<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And with that crown comes the iconic five-foot trophy that racers talk about all year long. Towering, heavy, unmistakable. The kind of trophy you don\u2019t accidentally walk past in someone\u2019s shop. It\u2019s a statement piece. A declaration. A bragging-rights monument.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople drive from everywhere for a shot at that trophy,\u201d Beams says. \u201cIt\u2019s been consistent for more than 45 years. Winning it means something. It always has.\u201d<\/p>\n

King of the Beach isn\u2019t just another bracket race. It\u2019s a reunion. A benchmark. A chance for new racers to make their mark on the same surface their parents\u2014and sometimes even grandparents\u2014raced on.<\/p>\n

The winners become part of a legacy that stretches back decades. Their names are etched into a storyline that only a track like Holiday Raceway can produce.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A True Definition of Family<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Racetracks can be bought. They can be sold. They can be repaved, renamed, or forgotten. That\u2019s the nature of a changing sport.<\/p>\n

But Holiday Raceway stands as proof that when something is built on family, and supported by a community, it doesn\u2019t just survive\u2014it thrives.<\/p>\n

The Bateh and Beams families didn\u2019t just build a racetrack. They built a home for racers. A place where the sport\u2019s roots remain strong, where the atmosphere feels honest, and where winning still means something.<\/p>\n

A place where you can still hear the announcer echo across the pits and remember why you fell in love with drag racing in the first place.<\/p>\n

And every year, when racers line up for King of the Beach, they\u2019re not just chasing a trophy\u2014they\u2019re becoming part of one of the longest-running traditions in drag racing.<\/p>\n

The Current King’s<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We would like to congratulate the current King’s of the Beach<\/p>\n

Pro Winner: Dalton Steel<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Footbrake: Allen Reno
\n\"\"
\nJr. Dragster: Jase Beams<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are racetracks\u2014and then there are places that raise racers. Holiday Raceway in Woodstock, Alabama, affectionately known across the Southeast as \u201cThe Beach,\u201d is one of those rare places where history isn\u2019t just remembered; it\u2019s still being made every weekend. Opened in 1968 and still owned by the same two families\u2014the Bateh and Beams families\u2014Holiday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[55],"class_list":["post-3709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BE7-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BE7-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Kline Whitley","author_link":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/author\/klinewhitley"},"authors":[{"term_id":55,"user_id":4,"is_guest":0,"slug":"klinewhitley","display_name":"Kline Whitley","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Me.png","url2x":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Me.png"},"first_name":"Kline","last_name":"Whitley","user_url":"http:\/\/www.DragCoverage.com","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3709"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fppma_author&post=3709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}