Time for Night Under Fire!

It's almost August 11th, so that means one of my favorite motorsports events of the year is only two days away. The race I'm talking about is the Night Under Fire at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. If you're not familiar with this speed-fest, let me fill you in.

NUF is one of SMP's premiere events that attracts throngs of fans and racers annually. Way back when it was Norwalk Dragway, the track started Night Under Fire with a couple jet cars and a few local fast cars, along with basic racing. 1994 was the first year that they brought John Force in to the mix to attract more fans. Local Funny Car racer Dean Skuza was the other Nitro Funny Car. Over the years, they've added more Funny Cars and other exhibition vehicles.

One of those attractions is Bob Motz and his legendary Jet Kenworth semi-truck. Originally, he was brought in to make a pass or two in the truck; nothing more. One year, he decided to park the truck closer to the big head-of-staging sign that's behind the burnout box. He started the truck, locked the brakes, and let the jet fuel flow into the jet engine, burning the sign until it was nothing more than a frame of orange embers. Track president and co-owner Bill Bader Jr. was not pleased, but later realized how much the fans enjoyed it. The rest, they say, is history, as it's a part of the NUF show annually. I think there were maybe two instances where the sign was not burned down.

Over the years, the Bader's have brought in several attractions to mix it up and make it an amazing event, year after year. In 2006, Ashley Force made a few passes in her Mattel A/Fuel car. In 2007, Bill Reichert (A/Fuel) and Jeff Bohr (Blown Alcohol) competed in a few match races during the event. One year, the Bar's Leaks Supercharged Thunder group was part of the show. This year, there will be four jet dragsters, two wheelstanders, and Larry McBride's Top Fuel Motorcycle. Elaine Larsen, Jill Canuso, Ernie Bogue, and Lou Pereira will make up the Jet Dragster field; Danny O'Day and Richard Hutchins will be the wheelstanders.

Along with the jets and wheelstanders, there will be an 8-car Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car field. The entry list doesn't look much different than it would in the 70's. Dale Pulde or James Day in the War Eagle, the Dick Harrell tribute car driven by Lee Paul Jennings, Ronnie Young in the Blue Max car, the Jungle Jim car driven by Jon Capps, Mike Savage's Candies & Hughes flopper, Brian Stewart in Tom Hoover's Showtime car, Doc Halladay in the Telastar, and the one and only Frank Hawley behind the wheel of the Chi Town Hustler! This is the first time that these legendary cars and drivers have been all together at a track in this area, so I'm really looking forward to this part of the show.

There's a program that's been absent at Norwalk this year, but it's coming back this weekend for the largest single day drag racer in the world. I'm talking about the Outlaw Dragster and Outlaw Door Wars program. It's basically like the NHRA's Top Dragster/Top Sportsman class, but they run the 1/8th mile heads-up, instead of the quarter mile on a dial-in. Last year, Troy Stone in the wicked Vintage Trailers dragster won. I'm not sure if the door cars ran, or who won if they did. This year, there will be four dragsters and eight door cars, I believe. You can quote me; Troy Stone is going to win Outlaw Dragster again.

The amount of cars for the modern-day Nitro Funny Car portion of the show is a little short this year, but it'll still be awesome. Robert Hight, Jeff Arend, and Ohio favorite Jim Head will be the drivers in Fuel Funny Car, along with some guy named John Force. Although they're tuned down a bit because the race isn't for points, the Nitro cars are almost always the highlight of the night. The amazing fireworks show that follows the Funny Cars is also a must-see.

Once the funny cars and fireworks are over, the real race begins. This is one of Norwalk's regular Saturday points races, one that brings in over 600 sportsman racers from all across the eastern U.S. and Canada. The sportsman points race begins after "the show" and is run until completion; usually around 12 the next day!

You can see why I and so many other Ohio race fans are drawn to Night Under Fire every year. I know I'm ready, and the racers certainly are. They've already lined up to get a pit spot, and the actual on-track racing doesn't start for another day and a half! One way or another, I'll be posting a complete event wrap-up from Night Under Fire, either on this blog or Top Alcohol News. Thanks for reading!