Drag strip test n tune only?

[64plymouth]

I live in North Central Wisconsin. We have four drag strips in the state and Wisconsin international raceway is the closest to me. I have never been a very active drag race racer. At best I would go four or five times a year. I never made it to.WIR last year. But was planning on going this year. So I looked up their schedule and they don’t have a bracket program anymore just testing tunes on Friday night from 5 PM to 10 PM. I know the track was for sale a few years ago. I’m just thinking this is the beginning of the end for WIR. Does anyone else’s tracks just do testing tunes?

 

[R413]

Many tracks that have road racing are dumping the bracket racing and focusing on that. Must be more profit in that racing.

The end is near, yes. With the value of land and the suburbs reaching out to where the tracks are. When these tracks were built is was out in the toolies.

 

[Curiousyellow71]

A lot of schedules haven't been released yet.

 

[493 Mike]

Oh well, back to street racing.
Mike

 

[furious70]

How far are you from Union Grove?

 

[64plymouth]

How far are you from Union Grove?

225 miles 3-1/2 hours Rock Falls is 175 miles. I still have option's. I’m just a want to be racer so I will just keep going to WIR.

 

[ykf7b0]

In Tennessee, it seems to be a carousel with tracks closing and opening but the best news has been that IHRA has bought and is refurbishing the former NHRA track formerly known as Memphis Motorsports Park and plans a reopening set for late 2026. The smaller drag strips nearer to me seem to be on limited schedules instead of races every weekend weather permitting.

 

[threewood]

We have nearby track that puts out a cryptic schedule on Facebook of all places. I'm not on Facebook so info about races is sketchy. They do have test and tune but figuring out when is difficult as they do it in conjunction with racing. They do have a couple bracket races a year.

 

[Olwhite63]

My local track (Thunder Valley, Marion SD) has gone to a mostly T-n-T program as well as no time & grudge on Friday nights. Car count is quite large for that but we also have a regular bracket program that runs Saturdays and Sundays. Track prep is not great on Fridays so be warned... those "no prep" racers tend to show up on Fridays so that's what you have to deal with.

If you're just an occasional Mopar racer that wants to compete, we have an all Mopar class that runs once a month - it's trophy only but fun as hell.

Our car count continues to grow, very healthy track.

 

[Hemirunner]

How far are you from Union Grove?

That’s a great track and always draws huge crowds

 

[64plymouth]

My local track (Thunder Valley, Marion SD) has gone to a mostly T-n-T program as well as no time & grudge on Friday nights. Car count is quite large for that but we also have a regular bracket program that runs Saturdays and Sundays. Track prep is not great on Fridays so be warned... those "no prep" racers tend to show up on Fridays so that's what you have to deal with.

If you're just an occasional Mopar racer that wants to compete, we have an all Mopar class that runs once a month - it's trophy only but fun as hell.

Our car count continues to grow, very healthy track.

WIR started the Friday night deal 10 years ago or so. Wasn’t every Friday but geared towards grudge and little prep and TnT. They still had there Saturday bracket program. I didn’t go at all last year but noticed on schedule more Friday nights and less Saturday’s. I know car count on fridays was pretty good I was lucky if I got 3-4 passes in a night. Not sure what car count was like in Saturday’s. The mopar race at thunder valley sounds cool but just to far for me to travel

 

[64plymouth]

That’s a great track and always draws huge crowds

Yes it is. Crowds were bigger in the 80s-90s.The crowds are still pretty big. I try and go at-least once a year.

 

[64plymouth]

WIR started the Friday night deal 10 years ago or so. Wasn’t every Friday but geared towards grudge and little prep and TnT. They still had there Saturday bracket program. I didn’t go at all last year but noticed on schedule more Friday nights and less Saturday’s. I know car count on fridays was pretty good I was lucky if I got 3-4 passes in a night. Not sure what car count was like in Saturday’s. The mopar race at thunder valley sounds cool but just to far for me to travel

 

[Budnicks]

Proximity to residential now is the killer, demise of most tracks
at least here it has been
urban or suburban sprawl
NOISE or even traffic in some cases

like the people that buy next to an airport & bitch about the noise
knowing they will be living next to a racetrack or airport
when the airport just like most tracks have been there
far longer than the residential developments

vicious cycle

we used to have 27 (IIRC) tracks here
we have like 5 (or maybe 6) active now,
1 of those is only 2 times a year
World finals & Winter Nationals at Pomona for 2 NHRA national events

urban/suburban sprawl has killed most of them off

land is more valuable & then big developers snatch them up
to build more housing or shopping centers

most all dragstrips have a test tune day,
but they need people to come, it's cheap(er) for racers to test & tune
helps support the tracks too
they have to pay for insurance, like 20%-30% of the gate
they have to pay an ambulance & 2 crew
safety safari type fire/rescue crew too
2 reg. tower people
tech crew or a guy/gal
& 2 safety personnel &/or 1-2 security/gate too for the day
some even have concessions open too, multiple people
then the clean up crew after it's all done
(many are reg employees doing multiple tasks/jobs)
it ain't cheap

 

[padam]

Most of the tracks in Ohio that have Test and Tune nights will combine it with a gamblers race (which seems to be a bracket race with 2 classes box or no-box.)

Th gamblers race brings in a lot more cars so you usually only get 2-4 test and tune passes. Quaker City will keep the TNT going as long as the gamblers race so you can get a lot more passes, usually at least 6, but by that time it’s 11 or 12 at night. Way past my bedtime.