Aug. 12-15
Brainerd Int’l Raceway
5523 Birchdale Road
Brainerd, MN 56401
www.brainerdraceway.com
Elevation: 1,200 feet
Tickets: 218-824-RACE (7223); 866-444-4455
Radio Frequency: 105.3 FM

NHRA’s version of a weeklong campout, this event is a popular stop due to the area’s recreational opportunities. Avid fishers often spend the days before the event trolling the area’s many lakes for walleye, bass, and northern pike, and a huge on-site campground provides nightly camaraderie for racegoers who sit around fires discussing the day’s action. A 700-foot concrete launchpad, one of the longest on the tour, helps boost performances at the last event at which teams can secure positions for the Countdown to 1 playoffs.

2009 recap: Morgan Lucas and Hector Arana scored huge victories in Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle, respectively, at the event sponsored by their biggest supporters to lead the list of winners. Tony Pedregon (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also scored important and emotional wins. The victories by Lucas, whose parents, Forrest and Charlotte, own Lucas Oil Products, and Arana, one of the first racers to receive sponsorship from the Lucases, overshadowed the victory drama of Pedregon, who overcame the pre-race departure of his tuning brain trust to beat Ron Capps in the final, and Anderson, winless since the 2008 Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, who ended one of the longest droughts of his career.

How to Get There: The track is six miles north of Brainerd on Highway 371 North. From Minneapolis, take Highway 10 North to Highway 371 North; go north to the track.
 
Visitor Information: Brainerd Int’l Raceway, 218-824-7223 or 866-444-4455; Brainerd Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, 218-829-2838 or 800-450-2838; Nisswa Chamber of Commerce, 218-963-2620 or 800-950-9610