WAILUKU — Vandals wrecked five structures and tore down new fences at Maui Raceway Park's drag strip in Puunene over the weekend, which may lead organizers to cancel races for the rest of the year, officials said yesterday.

"They basically took everything out there that we need to do the race," said Ken Sylva, president of the Valley Isle Timing Association, which uses the drag strip. "They just tore everything down."
Sylva said the races scheduled for Aug. 21 and 22 are canceled.
The organization will hold a meeting tomorrow to decide what to do, he said. Options include stopping races for the rest of the year and figuring out how or if new structures can be built. He estimated repairs could cost more than $40,000, money the nonprofit organization doesn't have.
"It's just terrible. What would anyone gain by vandalizing stuff? It just hurts a lot of people. Even the spectators will be hurt," said 67-year-old Roy Kato, an association member, who was looking forward to the August races and driving his 1968 Camaro.
Kato, a founding member of the association, said hundreds of people turn out for the drag races. The popular George "Flintstone" Andrade Memorial Day Drag Races draw thousands of spectators.
Sylva also worried about the younger generation of members, as the association has racers as young as 8 years old. The youngsters race age-appropriate vehicles, such as "junior" dragsters.
"The kids are the ones that suffer," he said.
Association members said its buildings along the drag strip were apparently the only ones damaged at the park, which has other users in separate areas.
Police are investigating.
The vandals apparently used a green tractor or piece of heavy equipment to knock down the ticket booth and destroy other structures. Association officers observed green paint marks all over the damaged structures and found tractor tracks in the dirt.
Maui police discovered the vandalism while they were using the area for training yesterday. They reported the damage and called association members.
The Valley Isle Timing Association owns the damaged structures. It leases the area from the county, Sylva said.
He said he doesn't know why someone would vandalize the area, but he added that a county gate leading to the park had been broken and left open for about a week, including when the vandalism took place. Usually the gate is secured when the park isn't being used.
County Parks and Recreation Director Tamara Horcajo acknowledged that the electronic gate leading to Maui Raceway Park was open because it had been damaged earlier. It will be replaced, she said. Parks officials also surveyed the damage at the drag strip.
Horcajo said this was the fourth time that someone has damaged the gate since it was installed less than a year ago.
The electronic gate was installed to make it easier for people who use the park. Previously the gate was under lock and key, she said.