Fans from Near and Far Enjoying 42nd Annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at BIR

The 42nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals got underway Thursday at Brainerd International Raceway. With the 2024 NHRA season approaching the playoffs, racing fans travel from all over the country to see the drivers burn some rubber on the biggest stage.

The cars are the number one attraction, but BIR offers far more than that for the NHRA Nationals.

“We’ve got multiple vendors, probably 20 vendors,” said Jim Gerlich, Brainerd International Raceway CFO. “The pit area that you can access, there’s ATV mud pitting that you can go enjoy. There are helicopter rides, [the] fireworks show will be Saturday evening, just everything for anyone.”

And there’s also the zoo, a space for fans to get together and camp that has been a staple at BIR for over 30 years.

“[It’s an] open area, about 300 acres where people come and enjoy the weekend,” Gerlich explained. “We have people starting to line up at the end of the gate opening here three weeks in advance and they get here early. We open camping up Monday and go till [the following] Monday.”

You can also find the racers taking time out of their busy schedules to visit the zoo themselves and get some much-needed face time in with the many fans in attendance.

“I see thousands of fans every day at the racetracks, thousands of autographs, but it takes one time that you aren’t in that best mood and you spend that certain amount of time. And it could be something that impacts a little kid,” stated Ron Capps, the NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Supra Funny Car driver. “And I don’t want to ever do that. You’ve got to remember that the fans are the reasons we’re out here.”

And the BIR pitstop for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals is not only important to the Brainerd Lakes community, but also for the racers, as it leads right into the back half of their season with a trip to Indianapolis looming at the end of August.

“If you go around, you talk to Tony Stewart, you talk to John Force, his team. Anybody will tell you the Brainerd race is where you better have your act together as a team,” admitted Capps. “You not only have to have your team fired on eight cylinders, but this is also a race surface that could hold any record. And quite frankly, when you get cloud cover, like we’re going to see a little bit this weekend, you’re probably going to see track records fall and you could see a world record fall.”

The Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals will be underway through Sunday afternoon. Fans can still purchase a ticket for the event at Brainerd International Raceway’s main entrance.