The historic track located in Albany, Indiana held its first race on Easter Sunday 1960 and has been going strong in the years since. The 1/8-mile drag strip, which recently signed a multi-year renewal with the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), still has characteristics of days gone by.

“There’s not a lot of tracks left from that era,” Scott Daniels said. “We still have grass between the lanes and it has a nostalgic feel.”

It has a rich history as well with former IHRA President Ted Jones a previous owner of the facility. The Daniels have owned the track the last nine years. As all track owners can attest, there have been some trials and tribulations, but nothing compared to the rewards, especially the relationships with their fellow racers.

In many ways, it’s an idyllic community where there is a ton of mutual respect.

“We have a great group of racers. My wife and I have made it where it’s a family-friendly place to be and we love to see the families come out and enjoy the facility,” Scott Daniels said. “The facility, we can pit on two sides. Everybody can stay the night before and they can stay the night after. We just ask the last one out to lock the gate.

“In nine years, I’ve only had the gate left unlocked one time and that was because a racer had broken down and left his rig inside. The last person leaving thought someone was still in there, so they didn’t lock the gate.”

Muncie Dragway hosts its share of big races and even its own bracket series called the Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales Budget Bash Series where the Box and No Box champions run off at the end of the season for a 24-foot enclosed trailer as the grand prize. The runner-up receives a complete 383 short block.

Of course, Muncie Dragway is a huge supporter of the IHRA Summit SuperSeries program. In 2019, Muncie Dragway won the IHRA Division 5 (Thunder) Summit Team Finals with drivers Wes May and Steve Riggins meeting in the Top (Box) final. In addition, their tight-knit group of racers won the best team spirit award.

In 2020, Muncie Dragway had two individual champions — Dustin Jones (Mod) and Dominic White (Junior Dragster) — at the IHRA Division 5 Summit Team Finals, while Shane Daugherty (Top) and Gary Blankenship (Street) each made it to the final round.

The track was well represented at the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals with Jeff Kirkpatrick (Top), Marty McKinney (Mod), Rick Shreves (Sportsman) and Jack Kern (Junior Dragster) earning their way to Memphis through the track’s point standings.

Scott Daniels explained why the IHRA and the Summit SuperSeries have been such a great fit for Muncie Dragway.

“We decided to switch to IHRA a few years ago because it’s geared more for the Sportsman racer,” Daniels said. “That’s what we are. We’re not a national-event facility and are not going to be a national-event facility. We want more of what caters to us. IHRA has a great plan of action and they take care of the racers. The Team Finals are awesome and the World Finals at Memphis puts the icing on the cake.”

For more information about Muncie Dragway, click here to visit the track’s website.

To become an IHRA member, click here or call 561-337-3446.

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Click here to view the Coastal Plains Dragway event details.

Here are all the important facts regarding the event:

• Thousands of dollars in round prizes available to IHRA members in rounds 1-3.
- Round prizes are available for any IHRA member who advance to the final round each day. Click here to view IHRA partners
- Prizes can range from $50-$250 in gift certificates

•All IHRA/NHRA credentials accepted at the event

•Event entry will take place at the track

•IHRA license renewal will be available on site

•Special Edition 50th Anniversary IronMan awarded to winners

To become a member of the IHRA please call (561) 337-3446 or email membership@ihra.com.

For more information about Coastal Plains Dragway visit http://www.coastalplainsraceway.com/dragway/ or call (910) 455-3555.

For more information about the IHRA Sportsman Spectacular, presented by Hagerty and Moser Engineering, visit IHRA.com.

Located halfway between the racing hotspots of Charlotte and Darlington, the South Carolina track has been the place of dreams for a quarter-century. Pageland Dragway, which is celebrating its 25th year, recently renewed its commitment to the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) through a new sanctioning agreement.

There’s a good mixture of bracket racing with the IHRA Summit SuperSeries and grudge racing on the 1/8-mile drag strip. With a moderate climate, there are races scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays from March to November.

In addition, there’s a special street car event in December. The track has even hosted motorcycle and ATV races. As a proud IHRA-member track, Pageland Dragway follows all IHRA safety rules.

In 2020, the track was recognized as the IHRA Division 9 (Raiders) Track of the Year. It’s prestigious award with tracks ranging from Virginia to South Florida.

“Pageland Dragway has attained distinction as a well-run facility with an emphasis on doing things the right way,” IHRA Division Director Josh Peake said. “Their commitment to safety and professional conduct has allowed them to prosper over the last two and a half decades. We join them in celebrating 25 years of drag racing at Pageland Dragway.”

Through the IHRA Summit SuperSeries, Pageland Dragway features a strong bracket racing program. Trevor Jenkins (Top), Kevin Williams (Mod), Ross Freeman (Sportsman) and Ava Jenkins (Junior Dragster) were the track’s 2020 representatives at the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals in Memphis.

Jenkins is leading the Top points through the first three rounds in 2021. Kevin Blevins (Mod), Austin Raley (Sportsman) and Jackson are the other points leaders. In addition, Pageland racers Robert Rayfield and Wayne Covick were recognized for the Best Appearing and Best Engineered Full Bodied Cars at the 2020 IHRA Division 9 Summit Team Finals.

Click here to visit the Pageland Dragway website.

To become an IHRA member, click here for the IHRA membership page or call (561) 337-3446.

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Click here to view the Coastal Plains Dragway event details.

Here are all the important facts regarding the event:

• Thousands of dollars in round prizes available to IHRA members in rounds 1-3.
- Round prizes are available for any IHRA member who advance to the final round each day. Click here to view IHRA partners
- Prizes can range from $50-$250 in gift certificates

•All IHRA/NHRA credentials accepted at the event

•Event entry will take place at the track

•IHRA license renewal will be available on site

•Special Edition 50th Anniversary IronMan awarded to winners

To become a member of the IHRA please call (561) 337-3446 or email membership@ihra.com.

For more information about Coastal Plains Dragway visit http://www.coastalplainsraceway.com/dragway/ or call (910) 455-3555.

For more information about the IHRA Sportsman Spectacular, presented by Hagerty and Moser Engineering, visit IHRA.com.

The program, which was tailored to Piedmont Dragway’s weekly program, featured the Top Eliminator, Footbrake and Junior Dragster classes with all the race winners receiving a special 50th anniversary IHRA Ironman trophy.

Spaugh captured the $1,500-to-win prize for Top Eliminator with his  black Chevrolet Vega powering down the track in 5.475 seconds on a5.47 dial-in at 126.72 mph. He got off the starting line with a .008 reaction time. Final-round opponent Steven Whisnant of Dallas, N.C., fouled, going .005 too quick at the start in his 2018 Race Tech dragster to disqualify his run of 4.816 seconds at 143.67 mph.

Matt Sayers gave the Virginia boys another victory in the Footbrake class. The Vinton, Va., driver’s Chevrolet Malibu went down the track in 5.837 seconds (113.86 mph) on a 5.81-dial in. Runner-up Will Calton of Zebulon, N.C. Calton had the better reaction time .008 to .029 second, but had a tougher time getting down the drag strip at 6.66 seconds on a 6.61-dial-in at 104.77 mph.

Brian Yerger Jr. won the Junior Dragster title on a holeshot. The Morrisville, N.C. racer had a .031 reaction time to a .121 for runner-up Emma Freeman of Mt. Airy, N.C. Yerger’s winning package included a 8.021-second pass at 76.78 mph. Freeman finished with a 8.802-second run at 72.66 mph.

The IHRA Sportsman Spectacular presented by Hagerty and Moser Engineering returns to the Tar Heel State with a two-day race May 15-16 at Coastal Plains Dragway.

Thousands of dollars in round prizes are available to IHRA members in rounds 1-3. Click here for more information about the Coastal Plains event.

Through Summit Racing’s support of the EV program, each IHRA member track will have the opportunity to crown one EV Summit SuperSeries track champion and send that competitor to the Summit World Finals in October to compete for the IHRA World Championship.

“We are very excited to offer our IHRA member track family another opportunity to bring new business to our facilities,” said IHRA Vice President Skooter Peaco. “The IHRA rulebook has contained EV rules for several years now, but with Summit’s support we can formally build a platform for these vehicles to compete for a championship this season.”

IHRA officials have had communication with officials from the National Electric Drag Racing Association and will be consulting with them on safety issues and other EV specific items as this EV category grows within the IHRA Summit SuperSeries.

Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports and Events Manager Jim Greenleaf sees this as a natural progression for the program that is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary season.

“The greatest thing about the Summit SuperSeries is that we have been able to expand and grow the program in both size and class structure throughout the 20 years we have been partnering with IHRA,” said Greenleaf. “What once was a program that provided unprecedented opportunity for 16 sportsman bracket racers when this originally started has expanded into a true head-to-head, best of the best championship for nearly 250 local racers representing every IHRA member track. Class expansion has come in 2012 with the addition of the Junior class and again in 2019 to include the Sportsman class and again this year as we welcome EV competitors into the program.”

All IHRA member track’s Summit SuperSeries EV champion’s will receive an invitation to the Summit World Finals where they will compete within the Sportsman category this season. EV competitors will run each other as much as possible during each round of Sportsman eliminations. If 32 or more EV competitors show up to compete at the Summit World Finals, they will run as their own independent class.

"We’re ready to support the EV market by leading the way in selection, service, and technical resources. No matter what the powerplant, we will continue to help racers push the limits of power and performance through a huge selection of quality parts from respected brands" said Greenleaf.

“We know this will be a slow build up for this category, but there is no denying that the manufacturers are all increasing their footprint in the EV market, and we want IHRA member tracks to be the first to put the welcome mat out for these competitors this year,” said Peaco.

The Summit SuperSeries program rules have been updated and are posted here. To register for the Summit SuperSeries you must join the points program at your local IHRA facility then complete the IHRA membership form found here.

Questions on how to become a member of the IHRA can be answered by calling (561) 337-3446 or email membership@ihra.com.

That involves listening to the racers. Janowiak mentioned a recent upgrade to the veteran-owned Ubly, Michigan facility which recently renewed its sanctioning agreement with the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA).

“We treat people well and have a good relationship with our racers,” said Janowiak, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam. “We poured some concrete two years ago and that’s helped tremendously. We just keep improving.”

They’ve obviously been doing things right for a long time. Ubly Dragway, which features an 1/8-mile drag strip, was named the IHRA Division 5 Track of the Year in 2017. It’s a family operation with son Nick helping with track prep and announcing. Another son, Bryan, operates the timing system.

The IHRA partnership is important as it states on the Ubly Dragway website, “We follow International Hot Rod Association regulations to ensure that everyone is safe and that no one races unless the track conditions are right for it.”

As a promoter, Janowiak works with fellow IHRA tracks US 131 and Mid-Michigan, as well as Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio trying not to schedule big events on the same weekend.

They provide a comfortable place for free camping in a fun, safe atmosphere and even have racing apparel like hoodies, sweatshirts and t-shirts for sale.

The bracket program is a major highlight with Ubly Dragway a strong supporter of the IHRA Summit SuperSeries, the largest and most prestigious championship in all of bracket racing. In 2014, Ubly racer Mark Pressey captured the Mod ET title at the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals in Memphis.

Darrell Ciaravino (Top), Rich Perdue (Mod) and Danny Glover (Sportsman) were Ubly representatives at the 2020 IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals.

Ubly Dragway has its own huge bottom-bulb, no delay boxes bracket race scheduled for June 24-27 with $20,000 in payouts to the race winners. It is highlighted by a Saturday, June 26 race that pays $10,000 to the winner and $2,500 to the runner-up.

For more information including a schedule of events, click here for the track’s website or visit the Ubly Dragway Facebook page.

To become an IHRA member, click here for the IHRA membership page or call (561) 337-3446.

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Hilo Drag Strip, a 1/4-mile drag strip Southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, has been in operation since 1978. Now, the Hawaii facility has renewed its commitment to the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) through a new sanctioning agreement.

Formerly known as Pana‘ewa Drag Strip, the first ever race at the facility was the eighth annual Island Memorial Day Race in 1978.

In addition to the drag strip, there are motocross, kart and oval racing tracks. Operated by the County of Hawaii, the facility has gone through a major upgrade in recent years with over $5 million in renovations.

New bleachers were installed as well as improvements to the oval track and work on the track’s timing system. Other upgrades include the drag strip being repaved, work on the restrooms and making the facility more friendly for the disabled.

Showing how much the track means to the community, around 60 volunteers worked to mow overgrown grass and clean up the grounds to hurry up the renovation work.

“It speaks volumes of the tremendous work done to Hilo Drag Strip,” IHRA Division Director Frank Kohutek said. “There is truly a great passion for drag racing on the islands and it is great to see such a commitment to the racers. We are pleased to have Hilo as an International Hot Rod Association member track.”

Click here to visit the Hilo Drag Strip Facebook page.

To become an IHRA member, click here for the IHRA membership page or call (561) 337-3446.