NHRA News: IRP honored as one of the top racetracks in the world (5/4/2004)

IRP honored as one of the top racetracks in the world

5/4/2004

Indianapolis Raceway Park has been named one of the top 12 racetracks in the world in the "12 Shrines to Speed" article in the May issue of Racer Magazine. Other racetracks included in the article were Monza, Monte Carlo, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Daytona International Speedway.

The "12 Shrines to Speed" were chosen on only a few factors. The article stated "it's the challenge they (venues) presented; for others, it's the history and atmosphere surrounding them. But all of our choices have one thing in common – that ability to quicken the pulse and send a shiver down the spine."

Picking only 12 tracks to honor for the article was a long and difficult task for authors Laurence Foster and Peter Stark.

"We were forced to exclude such halls of velocity and competition as Road America, Sebring, and Suzuka which hopefully makes it clear what kind of challenges we faced in narrowing the list to 12 tracks," Stark said. "In the end, we had to not only distribute praise and recognition to a group of venues that allowed us to give attention and credit to all forms of motorsport, but also be sure that each of the venues we spotlighted represents the absolute pinnacle of racing facilities and locales of its given corner of the racing world."

The story chose Indianapolis Raceway Park because of the Mac Tools U. S. Nationals, the world's largest and most prestigious drag race. The article noted, "for fans, it's the most intense, non-stop, high-horsepower onslaught of noise, speed, and sensory overload going."

"IRP was chosen for inclusion in Racer's '12 Shrines to Speed' feature on the basis of its long-standing reputation as THE place to go straight and fast," Stark said. "IRP is the Yankee Stadium of drag racing, or the 1,320-foot version of the Brickyard, Daytona, or Le Mans.

"For me, IRP holds a special place in my heart and mind because the U.S. Nationals, about 10 years ago, was the first 'real' drag racing event I'd ever attended. It's hard not to love the first place you saw, heard, and felt a Fuel car launch, to say nothing of my first experience of wondering 'why these wimps are putting gas masks on?' during the tuning of a Top Fuel car."

Ron Anderson, general manger of Indianapolis Raceway Park, was understandably humbled by the article. "This is one of the highest honors Indianapolis Raceway Park can receive," he said. "We knew we had fans across the nation but have Indianapolis Raceway Park recognized as a world wide force in auto racing is a tremendous accomplishment."

Racer Magazine is one of the world's leaders in motor sports coverage. This monthly publication covers F1, Champ Car, NASCAR, Indy Car, and NHRA. The current issue can be found at bookstores across the country.

One of five drag racing facilities owned and operated by NHRA, IRP was built in 1960 and has presented organized racing events since 1961. From March through October, the facility hosts more than 120 dates of racing on three tracks, a quarter-mile drag strip, a .686-mile paved oval and a 2.5-mile road course. Home to drag racing's biggest event, the NHRA U.S. Nationals over Labor Day weekend, the drag strip runs more than 50 days of point-to-point action, from national events to street legal community programs. The oval track draws racing's biggest events, including annual visits from the NASCAR Busch and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to five annual USAC races, and an exclusive Saturday Night Series. The road course provides a home for several racing sanctions, such as SCCA, while providing an ideal resource for driving schools, corporate outings and open-road tests for professional drivers.

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