Big weekend of Team Finals action in Michigan and Texas this weekend
NORWALK, Ohio (September 11, 2012) – It may be an understatement, but the Wright family sure does love its drag racing.
World
championships, divisional championships and dozens of wins, Glenn
Wright and his son Kamron have made a positive impact on the sport and
rank today as two of the most accomplished drag racers in the state of
Texas. So with so much success behind the wheel, what could possibly be
left to do for the dynamic racing family out of Odessa?
Own a drag strip, of course.
And
in the fall of 2011 Glenn officially acquired the former Penwell
Raceway located just west of Odessa and in 2012 reopened it under the
name Caprock Motorplex. During the offseason the Wright family went to
work turning the hollow shell of a facility into a working drag strip
and will see all of that hard work finally pay off this weekend when
Caprock Motorplex hosts the inaugural Division 7 Gun Slingers Summit
Team Finals presented by AMSOIL and Moser Engineering.
"This
is the very first year for Division 7 and we are very excited to host
the first Team Finals," Wright said. "Division 7 will compliment
Division 4 very nicely and as many people know we are very passionate
about our division. This will be a great opportunity, not only for me
and for the track, but for new racers and tracks to be a part of the
experience. We are going to have a good, fun race this weekend and I am
very much looking forward to it."
Wright, owner of the new Caprock Motorplex, is the defending IHRA Top Sportsman champion
But
it hasn't been an easy road. The past year has been filled with the
near impossible task of racing fulltime in IHRA's Division 4 while also
rebuilding the facility. Wright admits that it all happened a little
faster than he expected, but that the experience and growth he has seen
already in the first year has made the journey worth every step.
"We
bought the track in auction in November, took possession in February
and our first race was in March," Wright said. "It really wasn't fair
that we had so little time to get the track up and going, but that is
what we were up against. We had nothing to start with. We installed 100
percent of everything from the timing to the concessions. If it is
there, we installed it. Because of that we know the system inside and
out and if there is ever a problem we know how to fix it.
"Once
we got on the track all of the hard work started to pay off. Our car
counts were very good this year culminating with our big Labor Day race
where we drew 250 entries from California, Oklahoma, Utah, Arizona, east
Texas and elsewhere. Thanks to that success we are now the top facility
in the area and we hope to become known as one of the best destinations
in the state."
Wright
was also instrumental in bringing the brand new Gun Slingers division
to life to compete in the IHRA's Summit SuperSeries program and,
hopefully in the near future, the Summit Pro-Am Tour as well. For now
IHRA is pleased to unveil yet another brand new division when Caprock
hosts its very first Summit Team Finals this weekend.
The
Division 7 Summit Team Finals will kick off on Thursday with a test and
tune followed by three full days of racing Friday through Sunday.
Nearly 2,000 miles away the Division 3 Summit Team Finals will also get
underway this weekend at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan. Both
races will feature teams of racers from regional IHRA tracks culminating
with the crowning of divisional Summit SuperSeries representatives who
will advance to the Summit World Finals in October to compete for the
Summit SuperSeries World Championships at Memphis International Raceway.
Wright,
the defending world champion in IHRA's Top Sportsman class, and his son
Kamron, a three-time divisional champion, will both join three lucky
racers from the Division 7 Team Finals this weekend at the Summit World
Finals.
And
while Wright is certainly excited to be both hosting such a big event
and once again representing his own division at the World Finals, he
admits that there is one thing he is more proud of than any other after
this year.
Wright looks forward to hosting the inaugural D7 Summit Team Finals this weekend
"We
have gained some notoriety as one of the best biting track in the
country and I am very proud of that fact," Wright said. "A few years ago
I got my kids involved in track prep so we would have some advantage in
our racing endeavors not knowing that it would ever be put to use
prepping a real track. So when I bought the track the kids came to me
and said 'we got this' and the track has been flawless ever since.
"We
have drawn some very fast cars from all over the country for our events
and while some of them were skeptical, many of them now consider this
their favorite track. We have a great tech and a great track and we
really only draw fast cars and put on some great racing.
"That
is going to translate well this weekend when we host all of these great
racers in the new division. We want to give them the best race
possible."
From
divisional champions, to world champions and now hosting one of the
most prestigious sportsman competitions in the country, the Wright
family has done it all in drag racing. But don't think for a second that
they will be slowing down anytime soon.
"Are
you kidding me? This is what we live for. We love to race and we love
to win and that is exactly what we are going to keep doing," Wright
said. "We have made a lot of friends and accomplished a lot in this
sport, but we aren't done yet. Not even close."
