Norwalk Raceway Park to host NHRA POWERade Series event in 2007

 

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8/29/2006

 

Ohio supertrack joins NHRA member track network;

National Trail Raceway to continue active schedule

 

To optimize its current 23-race NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season, NHRA will relocate the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals from National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio, to Norwalk Raceway Park, just outside Toledo and Cleveland beginning in 2007.

 

Norwalk Raceway Park is just outside the metropolitan areas of Cleveland and Toledo and not far from Detroit and Columbus. The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, the foremost drag racing series in the country, features the biggest names in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle, including John Force, Tony Schumacher, Melanie Troxel, Brandon Bernstein, Doug Kalitta, Ron Capps, Gary Scelzi, Greg Anderson, Warren Johnson, Jason Line, Andrew Hines, Angelle Sampey, and Antron Brown.

 

The date of the national event at Norwalk Raceway Park will be announced Wednesday, Aug. 30, as part of a press conference in downtown Indianapolis that will unveil the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series schedule, as well as preview the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals this weekend at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

 

“Adding Norwalk Raceway Park to the NHRA member track network and awarding this premier facility with an NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national event optimizes our current schedule to reach our fans throughout the state of Ohio and southern Michigan,” said NHRA President Tom Compton.

 

“We are excited to join NHRA and bring the world’s biggest names in the sport of drag racing to the fans throughout Ohio and southern Michigan,” said Bill Bader Jr., president, Norwalk Raceway Park. With the move to NHRA, Norwalk Raceway Park has extensive plans for major improvements and enhancements to accommodate the needs of the number of participants and fans synonymous with an NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event.

 

Although the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series won’t return to National Trail Raceway, that won’t mean the stars of the NHRA POWERade Series won’t make a visit to the quarter-mile facility east of Columbus in 2007. Next year, National Trail Raceway will stage a summer extravaganza featuring some of the stars of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. The date of the event will be announced along with the track’s 2007 racing season schedule at a later date.

 

“National Trail Raceway will continue to be a very active drag racing facility and one that will host a full schedule of racing throughout the season,” said Compton,. “But in an effort to optimize our schedule, we feel the move to northern Ohio will expand the reach of our schedule to new metropolitan areas such as Cleveland, Toledo, and Detroit.”

 

National Trail Raceway broke ground in the fall of 1963, and the 320-acre facility has hosted drag racing events since. In 1996, NHRA purchased the track and during the last 10 years has made significant improvements to the historic facility. The track serves a very strong Sportsman racing community in the Columbus and southern Ohio area and will continue to operate with a full slate of scheduled events to accommodate the needs of the Sportsman community in the region.

 

National Trail Raceway will continue to play host to an NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisional event as well as the popular Jeg's NHRA Northern SPORTSnationals designed to showcase NHRA’s Sportsman categories exclusively. In addition, the facility will run the NHRA Summit Racing Series, NHRA O’Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Drag Racing League, NHRA Street Legal Drags presented by AAA, and many weekly programs, including the Jeg's E.T. Super Quick Series.

 

The link: http://www.nhra.com/content/news.asp?articleid=15442

 

Another link: http://www.competitionplus.com/2006_08/monumental_change.html

 

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This is good news locally, as NHRA should draw more people and more money.  As for National Trail Raceway.........

This is good news locally, as NHRA should draw more people and more money.  As for National Trail Raceway.........

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...here ya go:

 

 

Loss of drag race angers fans

Licking County to take economic hit when event moves to northern Ohio, some say

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Tom Sheehan

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

KIRKERSVILLE, Ohio — The brown-and-white sign hanging outside the Village Tavern said "Good times, good food."

 

But the mood inside the tavern in this tiny Licking County community was anything but upbeat.

 

A small group of race fans gathered last week at lunchtime sharply criticized a decision by the National Hot Rod Association to move an annual spring dragracing event from nearby National Trail Raceway to northern Ohio.

 

...

 

http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/09/03/20060903-C3-02.html

 

This sucks!  I was always proud to have worked at Norwalk Raceway Park.........that name puts our town on the map!

 

 

From the Norwalk Reflector

http://www.norwalkreflector.com/fullstory.html?sku=2006110212170323256&s=reflectornews

 

Norwalk Raceway Park changes name

 

The newest National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) venue in Norwalk has a new identity, and it has nothing to do with its current $4 million expansion project.

 

Formerly known as Norwalk Raceway Park, the facility has changed its name to Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

 

Summit Racing Equipment, the world's largest direct-mail and Internet supplier of high-performance automotive parts, signed a track entitlement agreement which gives the company naming rights to the facility.

 

...

New name, same racing entertainment

 

NORWALK-Norwalk Raceway Park has a new name, but it's still providing the same quality entertainment racing fans have been accustomed to for decades.

 

The Raceway, 1300 Ohio 18, entered into a multi-year agreement with Summit Racing Equipment for naming rights to its racetrack in 2006. As of this year, the track is now called Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

 

Bill Bader Jr. has been running the Raceway since 1998, keeping the operation in the family. He is excited about the new name.

 

...

 

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2007/03/18/business/212051.txt

 

Love this shot!!!

 

http://www.emediawire.com/prfiles/2006/06/12/398251/nrpcrowdshot2001.jpg