To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the September 11-14 event will be held in Charlotte, N.C., at the new “Dragway At Lowe's Motor Speedway,” which is currently being built by Speedway Motorsports Inc. As a result of recently announced modifications to its Countdown to the Championship, the new NHRA Carolinas Nationals will begin the post-season playoff schedule.
SMI Chairman and CEO Bruton Smith announced the move, saying, “What a fabulous way to open the doors at what will be the world's premier drag racing facility. We've entertained more than 1.75 million fans at NHRA events at our tracks, and we expect nothing but tremendous things when the Carolinas Nationals comes to Charlotte.” The quarter-mile strip will join Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile superspeedway and 4/10ths-mile dirt track. Preliminary grading is underway, and construction on the grandstands will begin in early February. The dragway will be located on 125 acres of property across U.S. Highway 29 from the superspeedway, adjacent to The Dirt Track. The track, pit areas and midway will cover 46.5 acres, or two million square feet. Engineers estimate construction will require moving 750,000 cubic yards of dirt; placing 65,000 tons of stone and laying down 50,000 tons of asphalt.
NHRA Funny Car star Ron Capps will join us at 4 p.m. ET this afternoon to talk about the new track.
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