Earlier today rumors began circulating that Bristol Dragway’s surface had been somehow compromised, and that next weekend’s NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals would be either cancelled or re-scheduled.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  The race will take place as scheduled, and if the new concrete pad performs up to predictions, you can expect record-setting elapsed times and speeds.

Five weeks ago the track replaced the 700-foot long launching pad with new concrete, but a 21-day curing period had to be extended due to weather conditions.  The result was that two bracket races did have to be cancelled, and no cars turned tires on the track prior to yesterday, May 8th.  However, those test sessions produced the results the track was seeking, and even NHRA observers on the scene said the track was good to go for the national event.

According to Bristol Dragway president Jeff Byrd, advance ticket sales for the event are heading through the roof.  It’s possible that there’ll be a sellout for all three days of the race, with Byrd stating that “We’ve got standing room only tickets ready with the very real possibility that we could sell those out too.  This event has grown each year since NHRA returned to Bristol in 2001 and our goal has always been to sell out all three days and I like our chances of doing that next week.”  Some tickets do remain available, so we suggest you call the Bristol ticket office at 423-989-6900, or log on to www.bristoltix.com to make sure you’ve got a place to sit, although at most NHRA POWERade Series events few fans do so!  Sit, that is!