Brainerd International Raceway just announced that the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals will be postponed. Track owner Christi Copham is quoted as saying “BIR’s situation is ~ complicated”. She said “Our first and foremost concern is the health and safety of our fans, vendors, staff and race teams”. The full press release is below.
BRAINERD, Minn. – Brainerd International Raceway announced today that the 39th Annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals that was scheduled for Aug. 13-16 will be postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic-related reasons. A new date has not been set.
The NHRA resumed its racing schedule last weekend at the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals in Indianapolis. With Indiana’s state guidelines, the NHRA was able to host a limited number of fans. BIR’s situation is more complicated, especially with on-site camping and a layout that makes social distancing difficult, BIR Owner Kristi Copham said.
“Our first and foremost concern is the health and safety of our fans, vendors, staff and race teams,” she said. “We’re looking at this from every angle imaginable to figure out a way to put on a safe show for our fans, who deserve their annual dose of NHRA racing. I’m on the phone almost daily with state and county officials who have been generous with their time in working with us to figure out how we can host Nationals this season, which is so important to the regional economy and our fans.”
BIR is working with the NHRA to find a new weekend in September, which will buy the track more time to work through the logistics of hosting a Nationals event while still meeting state and county restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve been fielding an increasing number of questions from fans lately, so we didn’t want to delay this decision any longer than we had to,” Copham said. “Fans have been very patient with us and we really appreciate that. They also understand that we’ve been working our tails off trying to find a way to put on Nationals, and hopefully that work will pay off in September.”
Fans are still able to buy tickets for Nationals. They will get full credit for the tickets regardless if BIR finds a new date this season to host Nationals or if the event is cancelled this year. The credits will then be good for next year’s event. Refunds are available by calling the Ticket Office.
For more details, visit www.BrainerdRaceway.com. Now in its 52nd season, BIR is one of North America’s largest racetracks, featuring a world-class quarter-mile drag strip, two road courses, 300 acres for rustic camping, 164 full-service RV sites and 12 on-site condos. BIR is about 120 miles north of the Twin Cities. For more information, call 1-866-444-4455.