Summit Motorsports Park, formerly Norwalk Raceway Park and Norwalk Dragway, is a drag racing facility located at 1300 State Route 18 near Norwalk, Ohio. It has been a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) sanctioned facility since 2007 and annually hosts the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals an NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Event and the Cavalcade of Stars, an NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Regional Event. As well as the national events, the facility holds regular local competition throughout the season.
History Norwalk Dragway opened to the public in 1963 but lay dormant for much of the first ten years of its existence. Goodyear briefly used the track for tire testing up to 1973 when the track was sold to a joint venture between Wayne Sergeant and Bill Bader. Sergeant pulled out of the deal the following year and Bader continued as the sole owner. The track was reopened on April 28, 1974.
In 1981, Norwalk hosted the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) World Nationals for the first time. It continued to host this event up to the 2006 season and had become the IHRA's flagship drag racing facility by this time.
In 2007, Ohio-based automotive parts company Summit Racing Equipment purchased the naming rights to the facility. The Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals, held at National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio between 1972 and 2006, found its new home at Summit Motorsports Park in 2007. In preparation for the facility's NHRA debut, millions of dollars were spent in upgrades and renovations.
In 2008, the last NHRA national event to run the nitromethane classes to 1320' was held here. Since this race, nitromethane classes have only been contested to 1000' to allow for more braking distance at national events.
In 2020, track owner Bill Bader initially refused to shut down the track as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the track was eventually shuttered for the entire 2020 season by government authorities, with only one event held -- the Norwalk High School graduation ceremony.
NHRA National Event Winners Year Top Fuel Funny Car Pro Stock Pro Stock Motorcycle2007 Tony Schumacher Mike Ashley Dave Connolly Andrew Hines2008 Doug Herbert Tony Pedregon Greg Anderson Hector Arana2009 Larry Dixon Jack Beckman Jason Line Andrew Hines2010 Larry Dixon Tim Wilkerson Greg Anderson Matt Smith2011 Del Worsham Mike Neff Vincent Nobile Eddie Krawiec2012 Spencer Massey Mike Neff Vincent Nobile Andrew Hines2013 Khalid alBalooshi Johnny Gray Mike Edwards Matt Smith2014 Antron Brown John Force Erica Enders-Stevens Andrew Hines2015 Doug Kalitta Jack Beckman Greg Anderson Karen Stoffer2016 Shawn Langdon Ron Capps Jason Line Eddie Krawiec2017 Steve Torrence Jack Beckman Bo Butner L.E. Tonglet2018 Blake Alexander Matt Hagan Tanner Gray Eddie Krawiec2019 Steve Torrence Bob Tasca III Chris McGaha Andrew Hines2020 Event Cancelled Because COVID-192021 Steve Torrence Cruz Pedregon Erica Enders Matt Smith2022 Mike Salinas Robert Hight Erica Enders Angelle Sampey2023 Leah Pruett Blake Alexander Matt Hartford Hector Arana Jr.2024 Antron Brown Bob Tasca III Kenny Delco Gaige Herrera2025 Justin Ashley Austin Prock Cory Reed John Hall2026 Maddi Gordon Ron Capps Aaron Stanfield Richard Gadson
Current NHRA Track Records CategoryE.T.SpeedDriverEventRefTop Fuel 3.666 Brittany Force 2022 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Maddi Gordon 2026 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Funny Car 3.853 Austin Prock 2024 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Austin Prock 2026 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Pro Stock 6.523 Erica Enders 2014 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Erica Enders 2014 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Pro Stock Motorcycle 6.627 Gaige Herrera 2024 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Matt Smith 2021 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals
References
External links Summit Motorsports Park official website