With the imminent demise of the latest iteration of International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) racing, it was the group’s sportsman racers who really got the shaft. Always looking for the right place to compete and join with their racing families to swap stories and, occasionally parts, most sportsman had the option of working in IHRA, NHRA and PDRA as the recognizable sanctioning groups.
With Darryl Cuttell’s IHRA plans pretty much tossed out the window due, in part to his Darana Hybrid work on an Elon Musk-owned data center project in the Memphis, TN area that he claims he was never compensated for, both the schedule and the staff of IHRA got the shaft. The Musk companies, he said, owe him in excess of $500,000. This debt has pretty much incapacitated Cuttell and, in effect IHRA. People have been let go, races have been canceled and racers are still waiting for payouts from previous events.
The issues got to one of the best promoters and track owners in the business: Bill Bader Jr., who presides over northern Ohio’s Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk. Bader, whose track has a single NHRA National event in late June and its vaunted Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire (held this year the first weekend of August), is picking up the slack for sportsman racers, should IHRA be unable to hold its World Finals, scheduled October 22-24.
Bader gathered five of the commercial partners who have supported him, his family and his racetrack for years and has offered a $150,000 guaranteed purse for the event at Summit Motorsports Park.
“When uncertainty surrounding the event arose,” Bader said in a letter to sportsman racers that has been shared throughout social media as well as in traditional forms, “the racing community stepped up. Five industry-leading companies have committed to fully underwrite the $150,000 purse, ensuring the sportsman racers who work all season to qualify get the payout, prestige and championship stage they deserve.”
Naming four of the five participants: Summit Racing Equipment, BluePrint Engines, PJH TrackBite and Fuel Factory, Bader said, “Sportsman racing is the backbone of this entire sport. When times get tough, real partners step up to support the racers who keep staging lanes full,” he declared. “We promised a purse and an event that everyone could be proud of, and thanks to these incredible sponsors, that promise is realized.”
Bader also cautioned that his is a backup plan: “Please keep in mind this is an alternative, should the IHRA decide not to produce a World Finals.” He also noted that “Team Finals events are beginning to take shape with tracks stepping up to lead their respective regions.” Bader and his team expect to have more information in the coming weeks.