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NHRA not in Ohio this year

NORWALK — The National Hot Rod Association will resume its 2020 season without Summit Motorsports Park on the schedule.

The popular drag racing facility in Ohio was officially shut down for the season Wednesday, another casualty of the COVID-19 guidelines.

“I was well aware that we had already lost 83 percent of our revenue for the year, and we wouldn’t be able to make the money we need to make to successfully sustain operations if we opened,” Summit Motorsports Park president Bill Bader Jr. said in a release. “In fact, we would lose money, and I can’t responsibly take that financial risk.

“So I decided that I owed it to Summit Motorsports Park racers, race fans, sponsors and supporters to cancel this season, and start planning to make the 2021 season the most magnificent and monumental yet.”

The NHRA event at the Norwalk drag racing facility was scheduled for June 25-28, but will not be held this year.

“The majority of my team — whom, like you, I consider to be family — is laid off, so please be patient as I work to regroup and plan a most remarkable rebound that will show racers, race fans, sponsors and supporters why we’re America’s Racetrack,” Bader said.

Other events in Chicago; Richmond, Virginia; Epping, New Hampshire; and Sonoma, California, as well as spring events in Las Vegas and Charlotte, North Carolina, originally on the calendar have been canceled.

The revised 2020 NHRA schedule will consist of 19 total events — two of which were completed before the season was suspended during the coronavirus pandemic.

The NHRA will resume its season in July with back-to-back events at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis with limited spectators allowed.

The events will be run on July 11-12 and July 18-19 and admission offers will be extended to NHRA members and 2020 U.S. Nationals ticket holders.

“Because we are an outdoor sport, we feel comfortable opening these Indianapolis events to a limited number of fans who are the lifeblood of our sport and following the guidance of the state of Indiana to resume racing,” said NHRA president Glen Cromwell.

The season will conclude with the championship finale November 13-15 at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. The revised schedule announced Wednesday is subject to change due to COVID-19.

Sixteen of the events on the revised schedule will be condensed to two-day competition schedules for the Mello Yello drag racing series classes due to economic and logistical factors. It will include one day of two-round qualifications on Saturday and final eliminations on Sunday. The Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series classes will begin racing on Friday.

The NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta was moved to August 28-30.

The revised 2020 schedule:

July 11-12–NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing at Lucas Oil Raceway, Indianapolis

July 18-19–NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing at Lucas Oil Raceway, Indianapolis

July 31-Aug. 2–Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals, Seattle

Aug. 7-9–Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals, Denver

Aug. 14-16–Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Brainerd, Minnesota

Aug. 21-23–Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals, Topeka, Kansas

Aug. 28-30–NHRA Southern Nationals, Atlanta

Sept. 3-6–Denso Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis

Sept. 11-13–Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals, Reading, Pennsylvania

Sept. 18-20–NGK Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Charlotte

Sept. 25-27–Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, Gainesville, Florida

Oct. 2-4–AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, St. Louis

Oct. 9-11–NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol, Tennessee

Oct. 16-18–AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals, Dallas

Oct. 23-25–Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals, Houston

Oct. 30-Nov. 1–Dodge NHRA Nationals, Las Vegas

Nov. 13-15–Auto Club NHRA Finals, Pomona.

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