Middle Tennessee Dragway, an 1/8th mile strip in Buffalo Valley, Tenn., has never had a problem drawing cars to its points meets. Last season track owner Gary Huddelston estimated he drew at least 100 cars to his Friday points races and 75 to his Saturday trophy events. Now that he has signed a three-year sanctioning agreement with IHRA he expects his numbers to go up.

The family-owned track has been in operation for 42 years, offering its racers a touch of “southern hospitality” in a picturesque setting. It features concrete to the 330’ mark and asphalt the rest of the way through the shutdown area. Middle Tennessee Dragway also features an abundance of paved parking, clean restrooms, LED “Crosstalk” at the starting line and is well-lit with updated lighting. Huddleston also has installed new aluminum bleachers for the 2008 racing season.

“IHRA wanted us to make some improvements so we worked hard on getting our track ready for IHRA sanction,” Huddleston said. “We’re very proud of how the facility looks and can’t wait to get things started in 2008. we’re really fired up…we haven’t been sanctioned for a few years and really wanted to get back into the IHRA family.”

Phil Gingerich, IHRA director of track services, it pleased to have Middle Tennessee Dragway back in the IHRA fold.

“We at IHRA are excited the track is back,” Gingerich said. “The facility has a lot of history and is located in prime IHRA territory. Gary Huddleston and his family have been steadily updating the track to current standards. They are very excited about the Summit SuperSeries program and look forward to the bracket finals. The track sits in a very picturesque setting and is easily accessible off I-40 between Nashville and Knoxville.”

Middle Tennessee Dragway has a history of success at the bracket finals, winning the team championship in both 1996 and 2000. Middle Tennessee Dragway has a strong local program with plenty of talented racers and should be expected to make some noise in the bracket finals again, as well as put some serious contenders in the Summit SuperSeries.

“We really like the IHRA and I think our local racers are going to like the Summit SuperSeries and the weekly contingency money available,” Huddleston said. “We had two guys win the main event in the past at the bracket finals, so who knows how far they can go in the Summit SuperSeries. We ran our points meets on Friday this year and our trophy races on Saturday. We’re going to switch that around this year and run our points meets on Saturday. We’re anxious to get started.”