Route 66 Raceway today announced its full event schedule for the 2017 season alongside the complete list of events offered by the Dirt Oval at Route 66 ensuring that both venues at Route 66 Raceway will offer exhilarating racing in all forms for fans to enjoy. Both facilities will feature new events as well as longstanding action that will cater to a wide array of racing enthusiasts. Notably, the NHRA Nationals returns for its 20th running at the famed dragstrip in Joliet, Ill., and will welcome a star-studded line-up of current and former champions to help celebrate this historic milestone event.
“We witnessed an incredibly successful and historic year for Route 66 Raceway in 2016, highlighted by ideal summer weather, exciting racing action, unique access that only Route 66 Raceway can deliver, and the celebration of a special milestone – the historic 50th Anniversary of Funny Car,” said Scott Paddock, President of Route 66 Raceway. “We look to build on that momentum in 2017 by once again delivering supreme racing paired with an unmatched guest experience.”
The season opens with the first of three Test & Tunes presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts on April 15 where any person is provided the opportunity to enter the World’s Premier Drag Racing Facility to put their vehicles to an extreme test. Then on April 23, the first of eight Rockett Brand Racing Fuel ET Bracket Series races will premier. Beginning on May 12, Test & Tunes will morph into Race Your Ride events. Junior Dragsters make their appearance on the dragstrip on May 20 in the first of five competitions for the season.
Hailed as the most innovative import series in the U.S., Import Face-Off returns May 7 to Joliet bringing much more than a race and car show. Import fans will spend an entire day enjoying various activities that follow current market trends such as quarter-mile drag racing, a car, truck and bike show, sound-system contests, burnout contests, DJs, vendors and more.
On June 2-4, the raceway welcomes the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. The event will showcase the very best of sportsman racing including future stars in classes where many of the pro racers we know today began their careers. The Four Seasons Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing Burndown at Sundown! will take the track on Saturday evening beneath the lights. Fans can expect to watch as jet-propelled, fire-breathing cars rocket to speeds approaching 300 miles per hour.
Burndown at Sundown! and the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series serve as a precursor for the fastest form of motorsports to take the track. Fans will feel a full-body sensory experience as Funny Cars and Nitro-powered Dragsters accelerate from 0 to 320 mph in under four seconds. Route 66 Raceway will welcome the sport’s current stars like John Force, Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown and Alexis Dejoria along with notable former champions who will aid in the celebration of a historic anniversary milestone event. The 20th Annual NHRA Route 66 Nationals begin on July 6 with qualifying under the lights on Friday night on fire and All-Star Saturday. Thus, fans will experience the best speeds under the sun and stars. Final eliminations will occur on Championship Sunday, July 9, as qualifiers battle their way to podium.
Both the National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA) and the National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) roll into Route 66 Raceway July 27-30 for the 12th Annual Nitto Tire Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing. This is the only event in which the NMRA and NMCA go head-to-head in a competition for ultimate bragging rights. In addition to the drag racing, the event will feature a car show, swap meet, manufacturer’s midway and more.
The Route 66 Classic returns August 19 to pay homage to the early days of drag racing and hot rod culture. Fans attending the Route 66 Classic take a trip down memory lane as the event features nostalgia match racing including funny cars, pro stocks and a Classic Car Corral. In addition, counties will clash on the quarter-mile during the annual Will County vs. Grundy County Grudge Matches. Various city and county officials will hit the track to benefit charity and determine the recipient county of the Grudge Match Cup.
Route 66 Raceway will host a Swap Meet for the ninth time on October 1. Buyers and sellers from all over the Midwest are invited to exchange items and display their cars in a Show ‘n Shine.
To close out the season, Route 66 Raceway will host a “Trunk-or-Treat” fundraiser for its nonprofit foundation Racing Advocates for Community Enrichment (R.A.C.E.) on Saturday, October 21. Families with children are encouraged to attend with costumed kids and candy in tow. Cars will set up along the quarter-mile for a trick-or-treating excursion that won’t be forgotten.
In addition to Route 66 Raceway’s action-packed schedule, the Dirt Oval at Route 66 will feature a full line-up of events that are guaranteed to intrigue any racing aficionado. A newly renovated dirt track will welcome the return of Team Demo Association for five displays of destruction as teams’ battle to be the first to complete five laps. The facility will also welcome new events such as the fastest race cars on dirt: the World of Outlaws Late Models and Sprint Cars, and Chi-Town Showdown.
Tickets for the 2017 events at Route 66 Raceway are on sale now and will be available by visiting www.Route66Raceway.com or by calling (888) 629-RACE.
For email reminders regarding the 2017 Route 66 Raceway schedule, click here.
The 2017 schedule of events at Route 66 Raceway is as follows:
Date Event
March 25-26 ETI
April 15 Test & Tune presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #1
April 22 Test & Tune presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #2
April 23 Rockett Brand Racing Fuel ET Bracket Series #1
April 29 Test & Tune presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #3
April 30 Rockett Brand Racing Fuel ET Bracket Series #2
May 5 Race Your Ride presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #1
May 7 Import Faceoff at Route 66 Raceway
May 12 Race Your Ride presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #2
May 13 Rockett Brand Racing Fuel ET Bracket Series #3
May 19 Race Your Ride presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #3
May 20 Rockett Brand Racing Fuel ET Bracket Series #4
Junior Dragsters #1
June 2-4 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series
June 3 Four Seasons Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing Burndown at Sundown!
June 9 Race Your Ride presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #4
June 10 Rockett Brand Racing Fuel ET Bracket Series #5
Junior Dragsters #2
June 16 Race Your Ride presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #5
July 6-9 NHRA Route 66 Nationals
July 15 Race Your Ride presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #6
July 16 Rockett Brand Racing Fuel ET Bracket Series #6
Junior Dragsters #3
July 21 Race Your Ride presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #7
July 27-30 NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing
August 4 Race Your Ride presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #8
August 6 Rockett Brand Racing Fuel ET Bracket Series #7
Junior Dragsters #4
August 19 Route 66 Classic
Junior Dragsters #5
August 20 Rockett Brand Racing Fuel ET Bracket Series #8
August 25 Race Your Ride presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #9
September 8 Race Your Ride presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #10
September 22 Race Your Ride presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #11
September 29 Race Your Ride presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts #12
October 1 Route 66 Raceway Swap Meet
October 21 R.A.C.E. Trunk-or-Treat
*This schedule is subject to change at the discretion of Route 66 Raceway, its affiliates and partners.
The 2017 schedule of events at the Dirt Oval at Route 66 is as follows:
Date Event
April 13 Open Practice
April 20 Open Practice
April 27 Throw Down Thursday
May 27 Team Demo Association Round 1 – Military Night
June 24 Team Demo Association Round 2 – Super Hero Night
June 27 -28 World of Outlaws
July 22 Team Demo Association Round 3 – Five O at the Dirty O
August 5 Monster Mayhem
August 26 Team Demo Association Round 4 – Scout Night
September 2 The Dirty O’s Redneck Jamboree
September 13 Chicagoland’s Dirty 30 at the Dirt Oval at Route 66
September 23 Team Demo Association Round 5 – Racin’ for Boobs
October 7 Eve of Haunted Destruction
October 13-14 Chi-Town Showdown
Route 66 Raceway PR
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