Royal Purple Raceway has announced that it will suspend all drag racing activity until the end of the year to aid in relief efforts for the hurricane, which is the biggest recorded storm in the history of the USA.
The raceway, which hosts NHRA’s SpringNationals each year, will store cars, trucks, boats and construction equipment destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. Regular racing at the track will start up again in 2018.
“Some things transcend racing, and when you see half of our city underwater, you obviously have to prioritize your energies and resources,” said Vice President and General Manager Seth Angel. “Our focus and priority over the next few months will be on helping our community rebuild and get back on its feet. There are literally tens of thousands of vehicles all around Southeast Texas that are completely flooded out and inoperable. We have 400 acres here capable of storing a large quantity of vehicles and we collectively made the decision to do what we could to help.
“The destruction created by this storm can only be described as biblical. It will take quite a bit of time for things to return to normal and considering this city has done so much for the Angel family over the last three decades, we very much want to be part of the recovery.”
Royal Purple Raceway suffered only minor flooding during the storm, but many of the surrounding areas experienced much more severe damage. Homes, businesses and vehicles alike have been destroyed in countless numbers in Baytown alone.
Fans who have purchased tickets to canceled events (including all Friday Night Street races remaining in 2017, the Paul Walker Memorial Car Show (Sept. 9), LS Nationals (Sept. 23), Top Ten After Dark (Sept. 30), Import Face Off (Oct. 22), October Truck Madness (Oct. 29) and the Light the Sky Festival (Nov. 11)) need not fear; they will receive full refunds.
“We fully understand this is difficult news to hear for our loyal racers, fans, sponsors and event promoters; we are confident we are doing the right thing,” Angel said. “Additionally, Royal Purple Raceway is making a $10,000 commitment to the American Red Cross, and we encourage everyone to help them as well, if they are able.”
Royal Purple Raceway will release a detailed event schedule for next year sometime this fall.
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