http://www.stltoday.com/sports/motor-sports/article_bc37b8d0-be43-5b30-8668-f8cc8c18edc0.html



Former professional race-car driver and St. Louis area land developer Curtis Francois is part of a group of investors that will lease Gateway International Raceway for one year.

The agreement, which is set to be formally announced today, will allow the Madison facility to come alive again — for at least one year with the return of the National Hot Rod Association.

The NHRA Midwest Nationals will take place on Oct. 5-7, 2012, and will be part of the "Countdown to the Championship." It will be the fourth of the six-race "Countdown," which will crown champions in the four professional categories — Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.

The group might not wait until October 2012, though, to get going — it might try to hold limited racing at Gateway this fall.

"We are currently working with state and local governments to put together a redevelopment plan that will allow us to purchase the facility and lay a firm financial foundation for the track," Francois said. "We've received incredible interest and support from the racing industry, state and local officials, local businesses and racing fans. We are very excited about the jobs this investment can create and the overall economic impact it can have on the region."

Francois, 47 of St. Louis County, is a former professional racer who has driven in the (NASCAR) Grand-Am (Rolex Sports Car Series), Indy Racing League (Firestone Indy Lites), Sports Car Club of America and International Motor Sports Association.

He has been a residential and commercial real estate developer since 1998, concentrating primarily on the developments in the Metro East area.

"In order to be a part of the 2012 season, we had to move quickly and negotiate a lease for the facility," Francois said. "We are excited to reach an agreement with the NHRA. This event is very important for the future viability of the track and illustrates the interest the industry has in revitalizing this wonderful entertainment venue. We look forward to a long partnership with the NHRA."

NHRA president Tom Compton is ready to return.

"We never wanted to leave Gateway," Compton said in a phone interview. "We're thrilled to be coming back. St. Louis is a great market. The group has been terrific to work with and they are good for Gateway."

Francois met with Compton and other NHRA officials over the weekend at the just-completed U.S. Nationals in Claremont, Ind. It was there where Francois finalized the return of drag racing to the St. Louis area.

The NHRA did not race at Gateway this season after Dover Motorsports Inc. closed the track in November 2010. Dover had been leasing the track since 1998. In March of this year, the Delaware company terminated its leases with three of the four majority owners.

Dover also owned 18 acres and relinquished that property to the lease owners in March.

What is unclear is whether the NASCAR Nationwide Series will return in 2012, although the prospects don't seem bright. The Nationwide and truck series schedules have not been finalized.

"All NASCAR sanctions are handled on a year-to-year basis and we will continue to evaluate potential race markets for all NASCAR series," a spokesman said.

In 2010, when Dover announced it would not seek 2011 dates for Gateway, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations Steve O'Donnell said it probably would be hard for Gateway to get back on NASCAR's radar.

"It's fairly challenging to get back on the schedule," he said at the time. "NASCAR is not in the business of pulling dates from someone. So once someone opts out, we fill those venues with what we feel like are going to do a good job and have done a good job. Once that schedule is full, it's quite difficult to get back on there."


Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/motor-spo...l#ixzz1XMp0yAP7

Woo Hooo!

http://www.nhra.com/story/2011/9/8/nhra-announces-2012-full-throttle-drag-racing-series-schedule/


NHRA announced its 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule today, highlighted by a return to Gateway Int'l Raceway near St. Louis, which expands the schedule to 23 races.

“We are excited to return to the St. Louis area, as we have a very strong fan base in the region, and they have always supported NHRA Drag Racing,” said Tom Compton, president, NHRA.

A new operator at Gateway Int'l Raceway has made the addition to the 2012 schedule possible. The multipurpose motorsports facility, located in Madison, Ill., just across the river from St. Louis, played host to an NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event for 14 years, from 1997 through 2010. The NHRA Midwest Nationals, Oct. 5-7, will become part of the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship and will feature all four Professional categories: Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Another significant change to the 2012 schedule is the return of the 28th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals to a winter date, Feb. 17-19, making it the second event on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule and the week following the season opener, the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Feb. 9-12.

The 43rd annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, March 8-11, will include a special 20th anniversary celebration of Kenny Bernstein becoming the first driver to break the 300-mph barrier in NHRA history. The accomplishment, still considered one of the greatest performance feats in NHRA history, will be celebrated throughout the weekend.

After the East Coast opener in Gainesville, the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will head back west for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 30-April 1, and then crisscross the nation again for the third annual VisitMyrtleBeach.com NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, a spectacle unlike any other in motorsports, at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte April 13-15.

The 25th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals will take place April 27-29 at Royal Purple Raceway near Houston, followed by the 32nd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, May 4-6 at Atlanta Dragway. After a week off, the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns to action with the NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka, May 18-20.

The month of June begins with the 43rd annual NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, May 31-June 3. Following a weekend off, the teams will prepare for the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers, June 15-17 at Bristol Dragway, followed by the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago, June 28-July 1.

What has been positioned to become the NHRA’s ultimate Fourth of July celebration for many years to come, the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk has been moved to July 5-8. As a result, and going forward, the event will be billed as a Fourth of July extravaganza, as it will be held on or around the Independence Day holiday.

As in 2011, the famous Western Swing will begin with the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Denver, July 20-22, followed by the 25th annual FRAM/Autolite NHRA Nationals, July 27-29 in Sonoma, and conclude with the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, Aug. 3-5. The 31st annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd will be held Aug. 16-19.

The final race of the regular season and the event where the fields will be set for the six-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship is the tradition-rich Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, Labor Day weekend, Aug. 29-Sept. 3. The nearly weeklong event, the longest-running and most prestigious NHRA event on the circuit, will take place at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis and celebrate its 58th anniversary.

The first of the six races that make up the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship is the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, Sept. 14-16 at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, followed by the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex, Sept. 20-23, and the 28th annual Uni-Select Auto Plus NHRA Nationals, Sept. 27-30 at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading.

The teams will gradually head to the west for the final three races of the season, the first stop at Gateway Int'l Raceway in St. Louis, Oct. 5-7. The circuit heads to Las Vegas for the 12th annual NHRA Nevada Nationals, Oct. 25-28, and will be followed by the season finale, the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Nov. 8-11.

The Pro Stock Motorcycle class will compete in a 16-race schedule, with six of those races in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship.

ESPN2 and ESPN2HD, a part of the ESPN network, the worldwide leader in sports, will again provide exclusive television coverage, on a same-day basis, of all NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events featuring action from qualifying rounds on Saturday and Sunday’s race.

So what kind of news is this for Bracket racers? I saw no mention of anything but Pro races

OK so we can WATCH !

I read elsewhere they are working on getting a regular sportsman program up and running asap.....

Rickster

it will get up running this year

68 killerbee , sorry I wasn't trying to be a smarta$$ ! I know what you meant

With the car counts at the tracks I have been to this year; it would be better if they didnt open it till next year. You definitely dont want the first thing they see to be a low car count that makes them think that the brackets are not a viable option. I am hoping things improve for folks this winter and more cars come back out of the garages.

On the flip side of that; there exists the possibility that there is some steam from the news that the track is opening again and alot of cars would show up because of that.

I'm thinking a little squirt of cash this year could be used to catch up on upkeep.

I'm posative there will be a huge turn out, Like me many fellow local racers did not want to travel to race, 1/8 mile tracks. Yes we have been spoiled by Gateway. We will be taking the car off the stands and getting ready. See you there Guys.

It would be great if they could get Rich Schaefer, or someone like him to manage it. I thought he did a good job. Not too many track managers would come over to pump your fuel and complain about the price of it for you too. He's from this area, I wonder if he wants to leave sunny Fl. and come home?

glad you felt good about him .
My personal experiences weren't to good with the emails and phone conversations we had .Most managers their thought the racers had the plague and wouldn't drive around the pits .
Maybe it was my personal charm and cander with them .
New team ,new owners new outlook .

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now all we have to do is get MONSTER MOPAR WEEKEND back where it belongs!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know what the answers are but I believe a few minor changes in day to day ops, some how move the racers along faster in staging lanes, oil down clean ups, but the starting line crew I think was very good. I swear I was just entertaining selling my car but not now.

having been a tech guy there for several years-yes there are several things that can speed up things-on clean up-dont use synthetic oil in your car-it will take 3-4 times longer to clean up-dont use antifreeze in cooling system-if you break something-pull to the frickin side,dont continue down center-try to fix all fluid leaks,regardless of how minor-if you are double entered,get in line in front and hurry back-make sure all your clothes are in your car when called-make sure all safety items are up to date-belts being #1 on list-this goes for any track not just gir-hope to see you all there soon

That all could be a factor but I have been to other tracks, Norwok, Route 66, etc.. seems like races moved smoothly, clean up was quick, I have been in staging lanes over a hour at Gateway ???
One thing before I forget is maybe they could run slick T/T say on Friday night most slick cars/drivers have much money in their cars/engines they need to make over 2 runs a night to get data to make adjustments and check results from data loggers, stop running street cars, Bikes, Jr.Dragsters all the same night