“We’ve gone in and completely remodeled this place from one end to the other,” Jones said. “The racers have been pleased with what we’ve done. A lot of the racers came to me and wanted us to go IHRA. We waited until this year to make that decision, but now we’re really looking forward to it.”
The decision gives River Road’s racers an opportunity to compete in the IHRA Summit SuperSeries, the most prestigious national championship in bracket racing. The program offered more than $275,000 in payouts and prizes in 2023. Drivers, who are IHRA member racers, have the chance to qualify for the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals presented by Strange Engineering through the track’s points program.
River Road Raceway competitors also will have a chance to go both as a unit and individuals to race at the IHRA Summit Team Finals.
The 1/8-mile drag strip is in a nice rural setting, but conveniently located off Interstate 155. They consistently draw racers from four states as the Northwest Tennessee track is close to the Missouri, Arkansas and Kentucky borders. It’s only 75 miles from Memphis, although there are other tracks in relatively close proximity.
Jones does his best to work with those other venues and not schedule events on top of each other. Racers appreciate how Jones works so hard at the facility and how he does his best to attract local sponsors to guarantee purses when possible.
It’s helped to create a strong following, particularly in the No Box and Sportsman classes. They’ve been a little more up and down on the Top (Box) class, but things appear to be looking up. There are also plans to start a Motorcycle program this year.
The work on the facility is far from done as Jones plans to extend the shutdown area and add more parking this year. Among the other amenities, there’s a concession stand in the pits which serves fajitas, pork chop plates and even features a fish fry on some nights.
River Road Raceway traditionally runs on Friday and Saturday nights, although there are some Thursday night test-and-tunes scheduled in 2024. There are other big events planned beyond the IHRA bracket program.
“We have some guaranteed $10,000 small-tire races,” Jones said. “We’ve added another old-school class with a factory firewall, 18 inches of frame out front and no tube chassis. We have the rules are posted. We have three of Matt Spencer’s 6Sixty Street events. We usually pack the house with those races, and we have some $10,000 guaranteed No Box races.”
Click here for the track’s Facebook page to check out all the exciting news at this venue. For the racers, make sure you’re eligible to compete for IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Championships by becoming an IHRA member. You can click here or call IHRA membership coordinator Heather Roth at 85-JOIN-IHRA.
