Back in July, Brainerd International Raceway got pummeled with a freak little supercell thunderstorm. Actually, it was not so little. It folded a section of grandstands up like an accordion, mangled buildings, knocked down tons of trees and really did a number on the facility that was looking forward to hosting an NHRA event in mid-August as it has done for so many years. While the optimist in me was sure that they could have the place race ready by the time the circus was supposed to arrive in town, the realist was thinking that they would have a tall order on their hands. As it turns out the commitment, gumption, and work ethic of people from Minnesota should never be doubted because the track is letting the world know that they are ready and will be even more so when the rigs start rolling in about a week or two from now.

Brainerd is an important tour stop as it is the last race before Indy and one of the last chances that desperate racers have to crack the top 10 before the NHRA Countdown to One is locked into place. Being outside the top 10 at this point in the season almost seals your fate in terms of only being able to play the role of spoiler for others going forward. The place is always nice, it is always fast, and it is home to the famed “Zoo” which is likely the most wild camping facility on the entire NHRA tour. What happens in there, stays in there and that’s just the way it goes.

We found a news story that was coupled with a video interview given by track owner Jed Copham. In it he talks about some of the positive points that actually came out of the mess like the ability to get some new stands and even change the layout of some areas of the facility a little. There’s footage of the “unintentional” new parking areas that were created by the storm as well.

Finally, the best part of the story is the huge outpouring of help that the track got during the critical first week  of the fix. While volunteer help has given way to paid professionals at this point, the quick response from racers and members of the community likely saved Jed Copham’s race at BIR. That initial push got a lot of the heavy lifting done so that the professionals could do what they do.

I’ll be there on the announcing staff and if you are a BangShifter that is heading to the race say hello! Click the image below for the video and the full story of this awesome drag strip save!

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW FOR VIDEO AND THE FULL STORY FROM BIR –