National Trail Raceway facts for kids
National Trail Raceway is a special place where super-fast cars race! It's a quarter-mile long track, also known as a dragstrip, located in Ohio, USA. People often call it 'National Trails'. It's about 30 minutes east of a big city called Columbus.
| National Trails | |
|---|---|
John Force doing at burnout at the NTR
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| Location | Union Township, Licking County, near Hebron, Ohio, USA |
| Time zone | UTC−5 |
| Coordinates | 39°57′29.15″N 82°32′46.82″W / 39.9580972°N 82.5463389°W |
| Owner | Big Ambitions LLC |
| Operator | Big Ambitions Racing LLC |
| Address | 2650 National Road SW Hebron, OH 43025 |
| Broke ground | 1963 |
| Opened | 1964 |
| Major events | Night of Thunder Mopar Nationals JEGS SPEEDWeek Summer Fling Hillbilly Nationals Demolition Drag Race Magical Lights of Winter |
| Drag Strip | |
| Surface | Concrete/Asphalt |
| Length | .402 km (.25 mi) |
| Race lap record | 4.47 seconds at 336 m.p.h. (Tony Schumacher, Hadman, 2006, Top Fuel Dragster) |
| Website | https://nationaltrailraceway.com/ |
Contents
The Story of National Trail Raceway
Building a Race Track
In 1963, a family named Rader, led by Clark Rader, Sr., started building this exciting race track. It was finished in 1964. The nearby road was called the National Road or National Trail. That's how the raceway got its name! When it opened, it was one of the biggest race tracks in the United States.
Big Races Come to Town
The NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) is a big group that organizes drag races. Their special event, the Springnationals, moved to National Trail Raceway in 1972. This was because drag racing was very popular in Ohio. The race was a huge hit! More than 40,000 people came to watch, and the gates had to close because the track was so full.
Trailblazing Women in Racing
National Trail Raceway has seen some amazing moments. In 1976, Shirley Muldowney made history here. She became the first woman to win a national event in the fastest car category, called Top Fuel Dragster. Later, in 1982, Shirley raced against Lucille Lee in the first-ever all-female professional final.
Tricky Weather and Fast Cars
For many years, the Springnationals race happened in June. But Ohio weather can be a bit unpredictable. This sometimes made the track conditions tricky for the race cars. It was hard for the "crew chiefs" (the people who prepare the cars) to make the cars run their fastest. This led to many surprising wins at National Trail!
Making the Track Safer
Because the track was built between two roads, it had a shorter "shut down area." This is the space after the finish line where cars slow down. In the early 1980s, special catch-nets were used to help stop cars. But in 1984, a driver named Doug Kerhulas had a scary crash with a net.
So, in 1986, the nets were replaced with sand pits. These pits were designed to slow cars down safely. One time, a car went through the sand pit and into a farmer's yard! Luckily, no one was hurt. After that, the NHRA worked with the police to close the nearby road during races. This gave drivers more room to stop their super-fast cars.
New Owners and Exciting Events
The NHRA bought the track from the Rader family in 1996. For a while, a car company called Pontiac sponsored the big national event. The race was moved to May, and in 2006, Tony Schumacher set a new speed record of 336.15 miles per hour! After 2006, the national event moved to a different track.
Even without the big national event, National Trail Raceway still hosts many exciting races. These include the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and the Mopar Nationals. They also have fun events like the Night of Thunder, which features amazing jet-cars.
In 2011, the track also became home to the Ohio High School Athletic Association state cross country running championships.
Recent Changes at the Raceway
Over the years, the ownership of National Trail Raceway has changed a few times. In 2017, Shelby Development, LLC bought the track. Then, in 2019, Big Ambitions, LLC purchased it, with Jay Livingston as the owner. As of April 2025, the International Hot Rod Association became the new owner, but Jay Livingston continues to manage the track.
National Trail Raceway is also part of the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA). This group organizes exciting 1/8-mile drag races for special "outlaw door-slammer" cars.
