National Trail Raceway
Encyclopedia
National Trail Raceway is a quarter-mile dragstrip
located between Hebron
and Kirkersville
, Ohio, USA
, off of U.S. Route 40
. The race track is located about 30 minutes east of Columbus, Ohio
. It is known to local residents as National Trails'.
The NHRA's national event known as the Springnationals bounced around among three different sites from 1965-1971. Wally Parks
, founder and head of the NHRA at the time, decided to move the Springnationals to National Trail Raceway in 1972, based on the popularity of drag racing in central Ohio. According to National Trail Raceway's website, "...the race drew more than 40,000 spectators and 600 cars. On both Saturday and Sunday, the (admittance) gates had to be closed while cars were still sitting on Route 40 waiting to get in to the event as the grounds were already full."
In 1976, Shirley Muldowney
became the first female to ever win a national event in the Top Fuel Dragster category. In 1982, the first ever all-female professional final took place between Shirley and Lucille Lee.
For most of the Springnationals' history, the event was run in the month of June, often on or around Fathers Day weekend. But, due to Ohio's sometimes unpredictable weather, some feel this is why the performances of the race cars were usually not as quick or as fast as at other NHRA national events. The unpredictable weather often made for unpredictable track conditions. Thus, a number of crew chiefs would often have trouble knowing how to properly tune and prepare the race cars to run well. This led to many upsets during eliminations. In fact, several drivers scored their first, and sometimes only, national event win during the Springnationals at National Trail.
Because the track was built between two roads, U.S. Route 40 and Refugee Road, National Trail Raceway was known to have one of the shortest (post-finish line) shut down areas of any event on the NHRA national event schedule. In the early 1980s, the NHRA and National Trail Raceway used catch-nets on Springnationals weekends to help stop some race cars that couldn't slow down enough to safely turn off the end of the race track. But, in 1984, Top Fuel Dragster driver Doug Kerhulas had a problem stopping his race car by the end of the shut down area and drove his car into the catch-net, as drivers were instructed to do. Though the catch-nets did stop his race car from going onto Refugee Road, the sudden stop caused by the nets also nearly killed him. So, in 1986, the nets were replaced by sand pits. Ironically, Funny Car racer Gary Phillips couldn’t slow down in time and drove his car into the sand pits. But he was carrying so much speed, his car still went through the sand pits, across Refugee Road, and into farmer Herb White's front yard. The race car did not hit any vehicles and was able to miss the farmer's house.
The NHRA and National Trail Raceway eventually worked out a deal with the Ohio State Highway Patrol
to close down that area of Refugee Road during Springnationals weekends. This allowed National Trail to connect the end of the shut down area to Refugee Road, giving drivers a little more room, if needed, to stop their race cars safely. And they worked out a deal with Herb White to move the sand pit to the side of his front yard, just in case.
The NHRA purchased the track from the Rader family in 1996. National Trail became one of the few tracks in the country to be owned directly by the NHRA. Shortly thereafter, Pontiac
began sponsoring the national event held at NTR, and changed the name to the Pontiac Excitement Nationals and eventually the Pontiac Performance Nationals. The NHRA event also got moved from mid-June to mid-May. In 2006, possibly due to cooler weather conditions and better track conditions, Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher set a new NHRA national speed record of 336.15 mph.
As of 2010, though the NHRA still owns the facility, they no longer hold a national event at NTR. However, other drag racing series', such as the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and the NMRA hold events at NTR. NTR also holds events such as the Buick Nationals, the Mopar Nationals, and the Night of Thunder, which features jet-cars and wheelstanders.
NTR has also hosted the NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion
and Super Chevy Shows' in the past.
Dragstrip
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 tracks...
located between Hebron
Hebron, Ohio
Hebron is a village in Licking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,034 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hebron is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....
and Kirkersville
Kirkersville, Ohio
Kirkersville is a village in Licking County, Ohio, United States, along the South Fork of the Licking River. The population was 520 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Kirkersville is located at ....
, Ohio, USA
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, off of U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40 is an east–west United States highway. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, U.S. 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the original 1920s U.S. Highways, and its first termini were San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey...
. The race track is located about 30 minutes east of Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. It is known to local residents as National Trails'.
History
Clark Rader, Sr., along with sons Ben and Clark, Jr., broke ground on the facility in 1963, and completed the construction in 1964. At the time, U.S. Route 40 was known as the National Road and/or the National Trail, which is why they called it National Trail Raceway. It was the fifth largest racing facility of its kind in the U.S. at the time.The NHRA's national event known as the Springnationals bounced around among three different sites from 1965-1971. Wally Parks
Wally Parks
Wallace Gordon Parks was instrumental in establishing drag racing as a legitimate amateur and professional motorsport. He was the Founder, President, and the Chairman of the Board of the National Hot Rod Association, better known as NHRA...
, founder and head of the NHRA at the time, decided to move the Springnationals to National Trail Raceway in 1972, based on the popularity of drag racing in central Ohio. According to National Trail Raceway's website, "...the race drew more than 40,000 spectators and 600 cars. On both Saturday and Sunday, the (admittance) gates had to be closed while cars were still sitting on Route 40 waiting to get in to the event as the grounds were already full."
In 1976, Shirley Muldowney
Shirley Muldowney
Shirley Muldowney , also known professionally as "Cha Cha" Muldowney and the "First Lady of Drag Racing", is a pioneer in professional auto racing. She was the first woman to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association to drive a top fuel dragster...
became the first female to ever win a national event in the Top Fuel Dragster category. In 1982, the first ever all-female professional final took place between Shirley and Lucille Lee.
For most of the Springnationals' history, the event was run in the month of June, often on or around Fathers Day weekend. But, due to Ohio's sometimes unpredictable weather, some feel this is why the performances of the race cars were usually not as quick or as fast as at other NHRA national events. The unpredictable weather often made for unpredictable track conditions. Thus, a number of crew chiefs would often have trouble knowing how to properly tune and prepare the race cars to run well. This led to many upsets during eliminations. In fact, several drivers scored their first, and sometimes only, national event win during the Springnationals at National Trail.
Because the track was built between two roads, U.S. Route 40 and Refugee Road, National Trail Raceway was known to have one of the shortest (post-finish line) shut down areas of any event on the NHRA national event schedule. In the early 1980s, the NHRA and National Trail Raceway used catch-nets on Springnationals weekends to help stop some race cars that couldn't slow down enough to safely turn off the end of the race track. But, in 1984, Top Fuel Dragster driver Doug Kerhulas had a problem stopping his race car by the end of the shut down area and drove his car into the catch-net, as drivers were instructed to do. Though the catch-nets did stop his race car from going onto Refugee Road, the sudden stop caused by the nets also nearly killed him. So, in 1986, the nets were replaced by sand pits. Ironically, Funny Car racer Gary Phillips couldn’t slow down in time and drove his car into the sand pits. But he was carrying so much speed, his car still went through the sand pits, across Refugee Road, and into farmer Herb White's front yard. The race car did not hit any vehicles and was able to miss the farmer's house.
The NHRA and National Trail Raceway eventually worked out a deal with the Ohio State Highway Patrol
Ohio State Highway Patrol
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety and is the official highway patrol agency of Ohio. The several missions of the Patrol include providing roadway patrol, emergency response to all public lands, the investigation of crimes which occur on state...
to close down that area of Refugee Road during Springnationals weekends. This allowed National Trail to connect the end of the shut down area to Refugee Road, giving drivers a little more room, if needed, to stop their race cars safely. And they worked out a deal with Herb White to move the sand pit to the side of his front yard, just in case.
The NHRA purchased the track from the Rader family in 1996. National Trail became one of the few tracks in the country to be owned directly by the NHRA. Shortly thereafter, Pontiac
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
began sponsoring the national event held at NTR, and changed the name to the Pontiac Excitement Nationals and eventually the Pontiac Performance Nationals. The NHRA event also got moved from mid-June to mid-May. In 2006, possibly due to cooler weather conditions and better track conditions, Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher set a new NHRA national speed record of 336.15 mph.
As of 2010, though the NHRA still owns the facility, they no longer hold a national event at NTR. However, other drag racing series', such as the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and the NMRA hold events at NTR. NTR also holds events such as the Buick Nationals, the Mopar Nationals, and the Night of Thunder, which features jet-cars and wheelstanders.
NTR has also hosted the NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion
National Hot Rod Reunion
The National Hot Rod Reunion is a gathering of nostalgia drag racers, street rodders and automotive enthusiasts based on the California Hot Rod Reunion. The first four years of the National Hot Rod Reunion were held in Bowling Green, Kentucky...
and Super Chevy Shows' in the past.