If there is a track that dominates the early season drag racing headlines more than Bradenton Motorsports Park we’re unaware of what that place is. Seriously. With an insanely good surface, the killer Florida weather and a reputation of being able to cater to the needs of racers from the professional and sportsman ranks, Bradenton Motorsports Park pretty well owns the sport from the depths of winter into the early spring.

Their massive Snowbird Nationals event which has been running for decades, their US Street Nationals race that has been clipping along for years, the season openers for NMRA and NMCA, and the list goes on. After Tanner Gray’s successful pro stock test a week or two ago we expected a brief layoff on the drag racing news from Florida but instead they’ve dropped a big one.

Bradenton Motorsports Park is now an NHRA member track. We caught up with Alan Chervitz who operates the facility and he told us that the switch was made for some practical reasons. He said, “BMP does a tremendous amount of winter testing and this makes it much easier for competitors seeking NHRA licensing.” Chervitz continued, “This is a great matchup between the elite NHRA organization and the Florida track known for record-setting passes and great organization.”

The switch follows a flurry of tracks around North America making the same change. Ozzy Moya brought his facilities in Florida and Georgia to NHRA sanction months ago, Castrol Raceway in Edmonton has switched, Galot Motorsports Park is under NHRA sanction, and there are apparently other locations in play as well.

Bradenton was part of the proposed 2017 IHRA schedule so there will be adjustments made there we’re guessing. See, the silly season doesn’t just apply to racers anymore!

Click here to visit the Bradenton Motorsports Park website