Drag Illustrated Issue 139, December 2018 | Page 52
D.I. COLUMNIST
On the Road
with Van Abernethy
S
ince most of my early-
1990s film pics from Norwalk
Raceway Park are currently
misplaced amongst other boxes of
archives up in the attic, I was thank-
ful for the opportunity to borrow
this great shot of Bill Kuhlmann
from Bill’s son, Barry, who has an
extensive collection of photos from
every era of drag racing. This photo
really captures the essence of what
the drag strip looked like when I
first laid eyes on the place back in
1992.
This superb facility (now called
Summit Motorsports Park) is lo-
cated near an Amish community in
northern Ohio. “Norwalk,”
as it’s simply but affection-
ately known, is regarded as
one of the finest facilities
in the country, and is a fa-
vorite stop for many racers
and fans. I visited the track
this past summer and had
a great chat with Drag
Illustrated’s Editor-in-
Chief, Nate Van Wagnen,
who grew up in this area
and holds Summit Motor-
sports Park in the highest
regards. Nate knows all the
great eateries in town, so on
Saturday night we went to
this Mexican joint where we
swapped favorite Norwalk
stories over the glorious
sounds of sizzling fajitas.
Nate and I both had some
memorable first experiences
at Norwalk, but mercy, those adven-
tures turned out to be on opposite
ends of the spectrum!
For Nate, Norwalk represents the
place where drag racing started for
him as a young boy when he came
here with his dad to check out the
Funny Car Fox Hunt, which fea-
tured alky floppers, jet cars, a slew
of bracket entries, plus “Benny the
Bomb” was on hand to blow himself
up, which is always well-received.
Amazingly, this was the first drag
race that Nate ever attended in his
life, and he was admittedly hooked
from that day forward. “I was blown
away with everything – the sounds,
the smells, the fanfare – and I never
got over it!” Nate explains. I nodded
in agreement, as I cautiously tapped
my fajita plate to see if it was still
500 degrees.
Then I proceeded
to share my inaugural
Norwalk experience with
Nate, which was equally
as memorable, but for
much different reasons.
My first trip here hap-
pened in 1992 for an
IHRA national event, and honestly,
it didn’t start out quite as pleasant
as Nate’s first visit, mainly because
track owner Bill Bader Sr. threw me
off the starting line in stern fashion!
It wasn’t particularly funny at the
time, but I truly cherish the memory
all these years later. my local newspaper. Mr.
Bader gave me a spirited
pat on the back and said,
“Well then, I guess you’re
OK!” Nate laughed at the
thought of me getting
escorted off the starting
line, especially since I tell
the story so passionately!
Amazingly, this wasn’t the last
time I was momentarily in hot
water with the authorities of Nor-
walk. Fast-forward to 2006, when
late one Saturday night I was leav-
ing the track after IHRA qualify-
ing had ended. Within 60 seconds
of pulling out of the gate I saw the
You see, in 1992 I was still quite
young, therefore Mr. Bader thought
I had snuck onto the starting line
to gain restricted area access from
which to enjoy the action. I pleaded
my case – even flashed my official
IHRA-issued starting line creden-
tials – but he insisted I had to go!
So, with my fancy camera swing-
ing wildly from my scrawny neck I
stomped off in a huff, but I didn’t
stay gone for long, as I found the
nearest IHRA official and returned
to the scene so I could be properly
introduced. The IHRA official ex-
plained to Mr. Bader that despite
being conspicuously young, I was
actually a legitimate member of the
working press – a regular contribu-
tor to IHRA’s own publication, as
well as a drag racing columnist for gut-wrenching flicker of blue lights
in my rear-view mirror. I was des-
perately hoping it was Bill Bader
Sr. playing a prank on me for old
times’ sake, but instead, it was the
actual law! I had all my identifica-
tion in place as the shadowy figure
approached my vehicle. “Do you
know why I pulled you over?” in-
quired the officer. For once in my life,
I honestly didn’t have a clue and I
politely told him as much. It seems
I had blown right through a stop
sign without offering the slightest
tap of the brakes. Truth is, I never
saw the stop sign for a second, and
the officer freely admitted that many
people have ran through this same
stop sign because its position makes
it difficult to see. I was hopeful he
was going to extend a little mercy
my way, but he actually wrote me a
ticket instead!
Back home in NC I wondered
what might possibly be the worst
that could happened to a guy hun-
dreds of miles away if maybe, just
maybe, I didn’t pay this fine right
away. Would they just forget about
it? I wondered. About three months
later I got my answer when a second
letter arrived from the State of Ohio,
asking me to turn in my driver’s li-
cense! I couldn’t write a check and
mail it fast enough! As far as I know,
I’m currently in good standing with
the Buckeye State, which is a good
thing since I usually visit Norwalk
several times a year.
Even though I’ve had
my tense moments in and
around this sleepy town,
I’ve always considered
the facility to be a mod-
ern-day treasure. They’re
known for not only hosting
some amazing drag rac-
ing events, but they even
have their very own cloth-
ing line called the Quarter
Mile Clothing Company,
which can be purchased at
the track’s gift shop, and I
always bring home some
nice shirts and hats. A trip
to Norwalk would not be
complete without also vis-
iting Wild Bill’s Ice Cream
Saloon, where you can fa-
mously purchase a pound
of local Velvet ice cream
for the paltry sum of one dollar.
No matter what your first experi-
ence happens to be at Norwalk, it’s
sure to be memorable in one way or
another – at least that was the case
for Nate and myself!
On the way home from my
most recent visit, I chuckled at the
thoughts of what my final visit to
Norwalk might be like someday dur-
ing my retirement tour. If I hang
around this sport long enough, I
can almost imagine Bill Bader’s
great-grandson escorting me off the
starting line because he suspects I’m
senile and may have accidentally
wandered into a restricted area. If
that ever happens, I’ll know for cer-
tain that my career has come full
circle.
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52 | D r a g
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Issue 139