SPORTS

Norwalk stands out as destination race for NHRA

Rob McCurdy
Reporter
  • Summit Motorsports Park is one of the attractions in northern Ohio.
  • Top Fuel%27s Larry Dixon said Bader family makes Summit NHRA Nationals special.
  • Courtney Force%2C Dave Connolly narrow focus in bid for Countdown spots.
  • Connolly%2C an Elyria native%2C is returning home this weekend.

NORWALK – For Larry Dixon, it's a business trip. For the rest of the family, it's a vacation.

The NHRA Top Fuel legend is competing this weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Norwalk's Summit Motorsports Park, but all the Dixons are enjoying what the North Coast has to offer: wife Allison, daughter Alanna and sons Donovan and Darien.

Kalahari's indoor water park, Cedar Point and Put-In-Bay all are part of the agenda during the holiday week.

"You end up making a long weekend. We enjoy that .... There's a lot to do here and we certainly enjoy it. Glad we're racing here," Dixon said.

Of the 24 races on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, he said this one stands out not only for the amenities of the location, but because of the racing facility and those who run it.

"When you get out on a track surface, they're all flat and they're all 1,000-foot, so there isn't a lot for you to adjust to from that standpoint. But when you come to town and (see) how they market, they pack it in," Dixon said of the Bader family, owners of the drag strip. "We're racing, but you want to put a show on for people and you want to entertain people at the same time. They work their tails off to have a great facility for the racers, but for the fans as well. When you come to an event like this, it makes you feel good."

Dixon said he wished they could duplicate the Bader experience 23 more times.

"Obviously what they're doing is working," he said. "It's a family-run business. They're all-in. This has to work. I don't want to speak for them, but you have to make it work."

FORCING THE ISSUE: If the Countdown to the Championship started today, Courtney Force would have no shot at a Funny Car title. The daughter of drag racing legend John Force sits 11th in the points with the top 10 making the Countdown.

Norwalk is the kickoff to the final push to make the NHRA's version of the postseason with just six events left before it starts.

"It's definitely micro-focus," Force said of her mindset as opposed to a big-picture outlook. "You're taking it one step at a time. You try not to look too far ahead because right now we've got to take it one race at a time and pick up those points in qualifying to inch our way back into the top 10.

"We're not too far off, I believe a round-and-a-half or two rounds out, so we can definitely make up those points in qualifying if we can get our car there. It definitely makes you appreciate those round wins. We've really got to take it one pass down the race track at a time."

Top Fuel racer Dave Connolly finds himself in a similar predicament, sitting 12th in the standings.

"There is a sense of urgency looking at the points, but at the end of the day if we start running better and driving better, the round wins are going to come and the points are going to come," Connolly said. "I try not to look too far down the road. It's pretty simple, you go up there and do your job every round. If we do that, the points are going to come."

ONE TEAM: Force, her father and Robert Hight are the three Funny Car drivers for John Force Racing, while sister Brittany wheels a Top Fuel Dragster.

"We do the best to learn from each other in qualifying and share that and work off of it," Courtney said of the team dynamic. "It's harder on race day when we have to compete against each other. Obviously we all want to get to the final round and get to the winner's circle."

HOMECOMING: Connolly is expecting a large turnout Sunday to see him. He is an Elyria native and grew up watching as well as competing at Norwalk.

High school coaches and teachers, all his family and many friends are planning on attending, he said, but his approach will be the same as it is at the other 23 stops on the schedule.

"We still have a 1,000 feet of black asphalt that we have to tend to and manage each time down the track," Connolly said.

rmccurdy@gannett.com

419-521-7241

Twitter: @McMotorsports

Summit Motorsports Park NHRA Track Records

Top Fuel: 3.745 sec. by Shawn Langdon, July '14; 329.83 mph by Brittany Force, July '14.

Funny Car: 4.000 sec. by Del Worsham, July '14; 322.04 mph by John Force, July '14.

Pro Stock: 6.523 sec. and 212.63 mph by Erica Enders, July '14.

PS Motorcycle: 6.844 sec. by Eddie Krawiec, July '14; 196.93 mph by Hector Arana, July '14.

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Records

Top Fuel: 3.701 sec. by Antron Brown, Oct. '12, Reading, Pa.; 332.18 mph by Spencer Massey, April '12, Charlotte, N.C.

Funny Car: 3.965 sec. by John Force, Feb. '14, Pomona, Calif.; 325.06 mph by Courtney Force, May '15, Topeka, Kan.

Pro Stock: 6.455 sec. by Jason Line, March '15, Charlotte, N.C.; 215.55 mph by Erica Enders, May '14, Englishtown N.J.

PS Motorcycle: 6.728 sec. by Andrew Hines, Oct. '12, Reading, Pa.; 199.88 mph by Hector Arana Jr., April '15, Charlotte, N.C.