Historic Etown closes it's doors to drag racing effective immediately

In news the was broken by our colleague Brian Lohnes at Bangshift.com, it is in fact true that the historic Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, better known as Etown, has ceased all drag racing operations. 

As stated, last night Brian Lohnes from Bangshift.com damn near broke the internet when they dropped the bomb about Etown closing. And that is for good reason, Etown is one of the most historic tracks in the country. 

For so many on the east coast, Etown was the track to go to for years. Etown has been hosting the NHRA national event for years as well, which has been a must attend. It has also been a staple for NHRA pro mods as part of their schedule of the last few years. For the doorslammer crowd, there were so many epic events at Etown, but maybe none bigger than Dave Hance's yearly Shakedown at Etown event. 

This closing will leave a lot of things in the air, including what the NHRA will do to replace that weekend on their schedule. Another issue will be that this is part of the RPM Real Pro Mod Schedule. As they only race 12x a year, I will make an assumption now that they will have to replace Etown with another location for Pro Mod. 

Below is the statement that was released early this morning by the ownership at Etown:

Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, the Napp family owned and operated business
announced today a reorganization of the company’s business operations. To achieve this
goal, Raceway Park will no longer conduct quarter mile or eighth mile drag racing events
effective immediately. Raceway Park will retain and use the “stadium” portion of the
facility including the VIP hospitality tower and grandstands and continue most of its
operations including the spring and fall auto swap meets, numerous car shows, both
motocross racing and practice, kart racing, as well as drifting, a full schedule of road
course activities, mud runs, monster truck shows, musical concerts, & festival events and
more. The long standing Old Bridge Township Airport, owned and operated by Raceway
Park will also continue to operate as normal.
The new reorganization reflects the company’s plan moving forward beginning in 2018
while allowing Raceway Park to still continue to operate as it has in the past with the
exception of drag racing.
The Napp family wishes to express their most sincere gratitude to the NHRA, and the
many thousands of racers and fans, without whom would have never allowed Raceway
Park to become the iconic and nationally recognized drag racing facility it has over the
past five decades. The Napp family would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the
employees that have served our drag racing customers so well over the previous years. It
is with a great sadness that the Napp family is discontinuing drag racing, however the
family looks forward to continuing to provide the best outdoor events in this new era of
Raceway Park.
About Raceway Park
Raceway Park has been a family owned and operated business since its opening on
July 4th 1965. For the past fifty two years the Napp family has focused on presenting
the very best in fast family fun that includes NHRA sanctioned drag racing events,
AMA sanctioned motocross racing, motocross practice, auto swap meets, auto
shows, top rated drifting events, competition karting events, alternative motorsport
and lifestyle events, athletic endurance events, history making concerts and music
festivals and much more.

It is too early to say what will happen with the national event, and as soon as NHRA decides we will let you know. 

Keep in mind, this is a great reminder of how much the need to support your local track matters. There are no tracks immune to closing down. The land is just as valuable is not more valuable as something other than a race track, so be careful when bashing and not supporting.