Drag racing fans are wondering where this came from.
Without warning, Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey announced it was stopping all drag racing, effective immediately. This is big deal in the world of drag racing. Englishtown has hosted the NHRA Summer Nationals for years and was due to host again in 2018. The Napp family, which has owned and operated the track for nearly 50 years, made the announcement in a press release.
Old Bridge Township Raceway statement
They said, in part, that this is a reorganization of business operations, and while the drag strip portion of the park will shut down, the majority of the facility will continue functioning as before. The park hosts motocross racing, monster truck shows, kart racing, and drifting, as well as concerts, festivals, and auto swap meets. Today's news appeared to catch the NHRA by surprise.
"NHRA drag racing events have been held at the track in Englishtown for almost 50 years," said NHRA president Glen Cromwell. "The Summer Nationals have played an important part in our heritage and we hope that fans in the area will try to make it to another one of our events."
While no official reason was given for the change, a source told jalopnik.com that the park had a very good offer to turn the drag racing portion into a fulltime storage facility for Insurance Auto Auctions.