Alaska Raceway Park is a motorsports complex conducting races from Mother's Day to Labor Day. It is located in Butte, which is near the Knik River, and Knik Glacier at Mile 10.4 of the Old Glenn Highway, about 41.5 miles northeast of Anchorage, Alaska, US. Nearby 6,398-foot Pioneer Peak looms over the finish line, providing a scenic racing venue recognized worldwide among race fans. The track sits at an elevation of 63 feet above sea level, offering excellent air pressure for racing.
The 1/4-mile drag strip was opened in 1964 and run on leased land for the next 30 years by Lee and Fern Nelson and sons Ron and Larry as Polar Dragway. [1] The track has had several names over the years, including Thunder Valley Raceway, Valley Raceway, Big Valley Raceway, and Polar Raceway. In November 1994, the racing operation was purchased from Lee Nelson and incorporated as Top End, Inc., held by a group of businesspeople who loved motorsport. The group included Jack (Randy) Harris, Louie Kirk, John Childs, Jerry Schreiner, Gregg Gunnarson, and Kristen Kinn, and the name was changed to Alaska Raceway Park. Earl Lackey purchased Jerry Schreiner's shares in 1995. Top End completed extensive changes: environmental cleanup, installation of an entrance via Sullivan Road, installation of new bleachers and sound system, and re-roof of all buildings.
The drag strip became the only Alaska IHRA member track [2] on March 1, 1995, through the efforts of Gregg Gunnarson. In 2003, Alaska Raceway Park was recognized by IHRA as Track of the Year [3] for showing "positive growth and success on the track." In 2012 IHRA recognized Alaska Raceway Park as the Summit SuperSeries Track of the Year [4] for Division 6. In Fall 1998, Earl and Karen Lackey bought the corporate stock from the other owners and, with their daughter, Michelle Lackey Maynor, remain the current owners. They continue track improvements, including new bleachers on the pit side, remodeling the main building (snack bar and lounge), adding a gift shop, enlarging the work shop, adding improved firefighting and track-cleaning equipment, paving the staging area and pit parking, and installing a separate entry gate for racers.
In April 2000, after 35 winters and thousands of rounds of racing, the track surface was weathered and frost-heaved. A new audio system with a radio transmitter was also installed before the massive cooperative effort to grind up the old track, lay a new bed using laser-controlled machinery, constructing a heated 300-foot concrete launch pad, then laying down 4,100 feet of asphalt. Much of the work was accomplished through volunteers, with assistance from the Operator's Union, VECO, Denali Concrete, and a donation of emulsion from Tesoro Refining and Marketing. On May 21, 2000, a new state-of-the-art computerized timing system was put into use.
In 2002, the Lackeys successfully purchased the 155 acres previously leased from the State of Alaska, as well as an adjoining 27 acres from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. This purchase made the track's status permanent and provided room for parking.
In November 2019, Alaska Raceway Park signed as a new Division 6 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) track. [5] This drag strip sanctioning offers ARP racers opportunities in the NHRA Summit Racing Series, NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League, NHRA Jr. Street, and NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA. Additionally, the track will have the opportunity to host NHRA’s specialty events, including the National DRAGSTER Challenge, NHRA Summit King of the Track, and NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League Challenge.
Over the years there have been many voices floating over the drag strip P.A. system: "Big Daddy" Dave, Jerry Pierce, Steve Byrd, Rodney Villanueva, "Big Schwag" Brett Wagner, "Chatterbox" Christa Mayfield, Alex Van Nice, Justin Giles and Sean Farris.
An adjacent 1/4-mile dirt oval track was operated from 1980 to 1986.
In 2016 a new 1/3-mile asphalt oval track is debuting, sponsored in part by Tesoro Refining and Marketing, Pruhs Construction, Soper's Concrete, Valley Block and Concrete, E-Terra, Acutek Geomatics, New Horizons Telecom, and J.D. Steel Co. The oval track was sanctioned in February 2016 as a home track by NASCAR in its Whelen All-American Series, consequently, the track became the first NASCAR-sanctioned track at Alaska [6] and also the northernmost NASCAR-sanctioned track in the world. [7]
Notable NASCAR drivers, like: Jordan Anderson, Jake Griffin, Bobby Reuse, Ken Schrader, Roger Reuse and Joe Hudson already competed at Alaska Raceway Park. [8] Keith McGee (the first-ever driver from Alaska to race in any series in NASCAR) also ran at the track. [9]
Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly 1⁄4 mi, with a shorter, 1,000 ft distance becoming increasingly popular, as it has become the standard for Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars, where some major bracket races and other sanctioning bodies have adopted it as the standard. The 1⁄8 mi is also popular in some circles. Electronic timing and speed sensing systems have been used to record race results since the 1960s.
A dragstrip is a facility for conducting automobile and motorcycle acceleration events such as drag racing. Although a quarter mile is the best known measure for a drag track, many tracks are eighth mile (201 m) tracks, and the premiere classes will run 1,000 foot (304.8 m) races. The race is begun from a standing start which allows three factors to affect the outcome of the race: reaction time, power/weight ratio, and traction.
Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park is an auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown Indianapolis. It includes a 0.686 mi (1.104 km) oval track, a 2.500 mi (4.023 km) road course, and a 4,400-foot (1,300 m) drag strip which is among the premier drag racing venues in the world. The complex receives about 500,000 visitors annually.
Memphis International Raceway was an auto racing park located near the Loosahatchie River in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, just approximately ten miles south of Millington, and a few miles north of the city of Memphis.
The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) is the second-largest drag racing sanctioning body after the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).
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Kil-Kare Raceway is a motorsports complex located in Xenia Township, Greene County, near Xenia and Dayton, Ohio, USA. Kil-Kare was first built by the Marshall Brothers, and first opened up as a 1/5-mile dirt track in 1951. After one race kicking up a dust storm, the track was paved with a full season of racing in 1952 and reconfigured to a 3/8-mile oval in 1955. The 1/4 mile dragway was opened in 1959, making Kil-Kare a premier facility for both stock car and drag racing.
I-70 Motorsports Park, also known as I-70 Speedway, is a multi-purpose motorsports facility near Interstate 70 east of Odessa, Missouri, USA. The track, first opened in 1969, and has since been completely rebuilt and renovated in 2021 under new ownership.
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Summit Motorsports Park, formerly Norwalk Raceway Park and Norwalk Dragway, is a drag racing facility located at 1300 State Route 18 near Norwalk, Ohio. It has been a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) sanctioned facility since 2007 and annually hosts the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals an NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Event and the Cavalcade of Stars, an NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Regional Event. As well as the national events, the facility holds regular local competition throughout the season.
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Maple Grove Raceway (MGR) is a quarter-mile dragstrip located near Mohnton, Pennsylvania, just outside Reading. It opened in 1962 as a 1/5-mile dragstrip. It was eventually lengthened to its current quarter-mile length in 1964. The track has been sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association for most of its existence. It has hosted an NHRA national event since 1985. Uni-Select Auto Plus came aboard as the Nationals sponsor in 2011. Other key events include the American Drag Racing League, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, the Geezers Reunion at The Grove, the Super Chevy Show, Mopar Action, Fun Ford Weekend and the NHRA Pennsylvania Dutch Classic.
Empire Dragway, formerly known as New York International Raceway Park, is a quarter-mile drag strip just located in Leicester, New York.
Summit Racing Equipment is an automotive parts retailer with four retail stores and distribution centers located in Tallmadge, Ohio; Sparks, Nevada; McDonough, Georgia; and Arlington, Texas. Summit Racing Equipment is also involved in motorsports and other events as a sponsor.
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Palm Beach International Raceway was a motorsports facility located west of Jupiter, Florida. The facility had a quarter-mile drag strip, a 2.043 mi (3.288 km) road course, 7/10-mile kart track as well as mud racing tracks. The road course at Palm Beach International Raceway was a 2-mile, 10-turn circuit constructed of hot-mix asphalt and set on an aggregate base. It was 40 ft (12 m) wide with a 1/3-mile section measuring 80 ft (24 m).
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