25 Reasons to Be Excited About Drag Racing: No. 10 – Match Racing is Alive and Well
Decades after the legendary match races between Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and the late Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen, single-day events featuring match racing are still very much a part of the drag racing entertainment landscape. The key word there is “entertainment,” as track owners across the country embrace the idea that providing a concise, captivating show for the fans in the stands – whether those stands are creaking wooden bleachers or a stadium-style venue – is a vital endeavor when it comes to the longevity of their respective tracks and the sport as a whole.
[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #190, the State of Drag Issue, in September/ October of 2024.]
One of the track owners known for his knack for entertaining is Bill Bader Jr., whose Summit Motorsports Park celebrated the 47th running of the Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire on August 3. This year’s lineup included NHRA Funny Cars driven by Jack Beckman, Austin Prock, Ron Capps, and Dale Creasy Jr.; NHRA Top Fuel dragsters driven by Brittany Force, Antron Brown, Clay Millican, and TJ Zizzo; a four-car, 1,000-foot NHRA Pro Mod Shootout; jet cars; wheelstanders; and for the first time, NHRA Top Alcohol Dragsters and Funny Cars competing in a Lucas Oil Series regional race. Of course, the Bader family’s signature fireworks show closed out the night.
“We recognize that we’re in the entertainment business,” Bader said in a 2023 interview with DI’s Kayla Zadel. “My favorite moments are when you know you got [the fans] – when they’re ultra-responsive, when they’re stomping their feet, when they’re cheering, when they’re booing – they’re hanging on your every word.”
Night Under Fire is far from the only entertainment-focused match racing event. Another legendary example is Cordova Dragway’s World Series of Drag Racing, this year celebrating its 70th edition with Top Fuel, Funny Car, Fuel Altereds, the Ozark Mountain Super Shifters, the Chicago Wise Guys, and much more on August 23-24.
Earlier in the summer, Virginia Motorsports Park held its Night of Fire with support from the Professional Bull Riders Association as the title sponsor. Also featuring the Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars, PDRA’s all-star race, VMP’s Night of Fire was headlined by Scott Palmer and Alex Laughlin facing off in matching PBR Top Fuel dragsters, while country recording artist Tyler Farr played a post-race concert.
A few weeks later, the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series raced in front of a capacity crowd as a part of U.S. 131 Motorsports Park’s 23rd Northern Nationals. What started as the track’s IHRA national event years ago has turned into a nitro-fueled spectacle with Top Fuel dragsters, outlaw Funny Cars, front-engine Top Fuel dragsters, jet cars, and more.
Match racing isn’t just an American pursuit. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada’s RAD Torque Raceway recently held its Rocky Mountain Nationals, which included competition classes like Nostalgia Funny Car and Pro Mod, but it also featured a slew of exhibitions like Fuel Altereds, outlaw radial cars, jet cars, Harley stunt shows, and monster truck rides.
Further east, just across the Canadian border outside Buffalo, New York, Lancaster Motorplex held Nitro Night headlined by the Paton Racing Top Fuel dragsters driven by Todd Paton and 2023 World Series of Pro Mod champion Spencer Hyde. A couple weeks later, the Paton dragsters returned to Canada’s Grand Bend Motorplex for the Canadian Nationals, this time with Matt Sackman making his Top Fuel debut against a nitro Funny Car and Paton facing Dan Mercier.
These are just a handful of the bigger match-racing-focused events on the calendar this year. Small tracks across the country have also dabbled in match races, with numerous Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings stars booking match races between NPK events. So, whether it’s a big-show Funny Car or a high-powered “street car” made famous by reality TV, tracks are keeping the sport’s match racing traditions alive.
“I think what sports is quickly recognizing is that we are in the entertainment business, not in the business of, in the case of drag racing, running cars up and down the track,” says Bader. “I feel like we are missing the ball by not having an infusion of entertainment to go along with who’s winning and who’s losing, how it’s presented, how it’s packaged. Fans want to engage – they want to cheer for their favorite driver, and they want to stomp their feet. People want to be drawn into and ultimately be made part of the show.”
This story was originally published on November 8, 2024.
The post 25 Reasons to Be Excited About Drag Racing: No. 10 – Match Racing is Alive and Well first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
