The Countdown Is On!

Race #2 in the @NHRA "Countdown To The Championship takes place at the Texas Motorplex, the first of the So-Called super palaces of speed. The Texas Motorplex was the first all-concrete stadium-style drag racing facility ever constructed. Built in 1986, The Texas Motorplex has been the place of many drag racing milestones and world record performances. The Billy Meyer-owned facility hosts a number of racing and car show events between March and November each year and also features the Champions Club – an 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m²) facility – that serves fully catered events throughout the year.

“My thinking back then was simple,” Meyer said. “I thought we had a big league sport, but we played in minor league parks. It would be like the Dallas Cowboys playing in a high school stadium. So I had a facility designed with racer safety, sponsors, media and fans in mind. We wanted to invite more fans, race safely on the track and be able to involve the corporate world with our sport.”

One of the unique aspects of the MotorPlex was added in 2004,  starting line balcony seating in front of the tower suites, giving fans one of the most unbelievable views in drag racing.

“Drag racing is unique in that the atmosphere is considerably different than any other sport,” Meyer said. “It operates off multiple senses – smell, sounds, vibrations; a lot of different senses come out versus other sports. People like to see crashes and see things on the edge, but one of the reasons why drag racing unique is because the fatality rate is so incredibly low. People like to watch something that looks dangerous with lots of scary moments, but they also want to see people walk away.”

The Texas MotorPlex has given fans of The NHRA some of the most unforgettable moments over the years. And here are some of those moments:

Nov. 1985: Billy Meyer signs an agreement to host an NHRA event the following September, before ground was broken on the facility.

Jan. 1986: Ground breaks for the Texas Motorplex – designed to be the first post tension, all-concrete, quarter-mile facility specifically created for drag racing.

Sept. 25, 1986: Darrell Gwynn runs 5.280 to set Top Fuel E.T. record with the first national event pass on the track.

April 1997: The Texas Motorplex becomes the first non-NHRA-owned track to host two national events.

1997: The Texas Motorplex opens the Divisional 4 Hall of Fame, becoming the only track to host a hall of fame.

1997: The Texas Motorplex becomes the first facility to build a permanent hospitality structure to host fans in a VIP atmosphere; originally known as The Top Eliminator Club and now known as the Champions Club.

April 9, 1988: Eddie Hill turns in the first four-second quarter mile pass – a 4.990 run.

Oct. 19, 1997: Cory McClenathan makes the first pass in the 320 mph-range – a 321.77 run.

Oct. 24, 1998: Gary Scelzi, John Force, Warren Johnson and Larry Kopp lead the quickest qualifying field in NHRA history.

Oct. 23, 1999: En route to his first, NHRA championship, Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher earns his first national event victory.

Oct. 23, 1999: John Force clinched his ninth NHRA Funny Car championship by defeating Tommy Johnson Jr. in the quickest side-by-side race in Funny Car history. (At that time)

Sept. 23, 2004: The Texas Motorplex becomes the first NHRA track in the country to have starting line balcony seating in the tower suites.

Sept. 26, 2004: Greg Anderson clinches his second consecutive NHRA Pro Stock title at the Texas Motorplex. Anderson clinched the title faster than any other driver in NHRA history.

The track has also given fans some jaw-dropping ET's and record speeds:

Top Fuel: 3.784 seconds by Brandon Bernstein (Sept. 2010); 324.05 mph (521.51 km/h) by Spencer Massey (Sept. 2011).

Funny Car: 4.062 seconds by Matt Hagan (Sept. 2010); 309.63 mph (498.30 km/h) by Jack Beckman (Sept. 2011).

Pro Stock: 6.553 seconds by Jason Line (Sept. 2011); 211.20 mph (339.89 km/h) by Jason Line (Sept. 2011).

Pro Stock Motorcycle: 6.828 seconds by Hector Arana Jr. (Sept. 2011); 196.10 mph (315.59 km/h) by Eddie Krawiec (Sept. 2011).

The Texas Motorplex has been a part of the heritage along with the growth of the sport of drag racing, which wasn't lost on the former funny car driver:

“It’s exciting to be part of the growth of the sport and be connected to a special time in the sport’s history,” Meyer said. “Since the Motorplex was built, the quality of the facilities has greatly improved and it’s nice to be part of that and help the progression of building bigger and nicer places for the sport.”

And as Race #2 in the Countdown gets underway this weekend, be sure to see more history made at the Motorplex. The track that started the concrete craze in drag racing

Article Sources: Wikipedia