The no prep action going on for New Year at Maple Grove was awesome and Grippo was there to get all the photos. This is our final gallery of photos, but we’ve got a link to the rest below if you missed any.
(Words and Photos by Joe Grippo) I hate the cold weather. That probably sounds pretty ridiculous coming from a lifelong resident of the Northeast region of the United States, but as I get older the winters are getting to me. The warmer ¾ quarters of the year are more my speed. 80 degrees, Drag Racing, Car Shows, Swap Meets…that’s for me. So, when Maple Grove Raceway announced their Winter Series my first thought was, “OH YEAH, LET’S GO!”. My second thought was…I need to buy some hand warmers. Drag Racing is the only thing that could get me outside in January.
The Grove’s Winter Series carries the tagline “When the Temp Drops, the Prep Stops!”. Expanding on the successful No Prep races of the previous few winters, for 2025 track owner Kyle Koretsky, general manager Shane Sweigart and promoter Kyle Beswick have expanded the series to four events with two No Prep Daily Driver bracket races and two full on crazy grudge style no preps. As in years past New Years at the Grove went down right after Christmas but got pushed back a week due to rain. Didn’t matter to the assembled hardcore racers and fans though. The high temperature on race day January 4th was around 28 degrees and the sun was nowhere to found. It was so cold; my camera was freezing up. A delay in shutter reaction and a zoom with a mind of its own forced me to miss some action but I got some stuff, albeit not my best work. Even the normally rock-steady reliable Maple Grove Christmas Tree said enough is enough, forcing the event to be finished by a flashlight start. Street style.
With frigid temps and snow on the ground, wheels up launches were the norm thanks to each racers having their choice of self-applied traction concoctions to burn out through. Down track was a different story, with lots of skating around and lane swapping. A few close calls and a few mishaps happened, but hey, No Prep…amirite? Like normal drag racing, the cream did rise to the top though, with several of the fastest cars getting down course with semi-straight runs, if not probably a bit white-knuckled. Check out the Kasper Team’s Fox bodies, that insane Chevette and small tire class winning Bad Grandpa wagon! If you dig carnage, we had it. Exploding rear ends and transmissions caused a few huge messes but the Maple Grove track crew handled it expertly and got the action back rolling quick as possible. The breakage pushed us into the early evening darkness, with even lower temperatures. It was wild to watch these dudes running down that frozen track into the darkness with just their headlights showing the way. I asked one guy if he had any trepidation about making a pass, he replied, “…We run on darker streets than this in South Jersey and New York!”. I deleted his expletives.
The next Winter Series event is another Daily Driver race on January 25, this is for regular street cars as the name implies. It is a bracket race with a dial-in cap of 9.00 for the 1/8 and no burn outs. It’s a blast and has a solid payout…Deep Staging is abundant! Then up next is the Ice Breaker No Prep on February 25th, look through the gallery to see more of what to expect at the Ice Breaker! See you there!
Check out Maple Grove Raceway’s Socials or click below for all the info:
https://www.maplegroveraceway.com/
CLICK HERE IF YOU MISSED THE PREVIOUS GALLERY OR THE VIDEO
