ULTIMATE SATURDAY NIGHTS RETURN TO TEXAS MOTORPLEX

ENNIS, Texas (Jan. 16, 2013) – Grudge racing and open street legal racing returns to select Saturday nights at Texas Motorplex in 2013, starting May 18.

Ultimate Satruday Nights feature the best in street racing, grudge matches and more. Gates open and racing starts at 8 p.m. and racing will go until 2 a.m. one Saturday each month starting in May and continuing through November.

Ultimate Saturday Nights will open with a five-event series in 2013: May 18, June 15, July 20, August 17, October 5 and November 16. It’s just $15 to race and $10 to watch.

All NHRA safety rules will be in effect and Ultimate Street Nights are open to any make and model – whether the car is street legal or a race car.

Check www.texasmotorplex.com for more details, special offers and announcements regarding unique appearance and more.

Texas Motorplex was the first all-concrete stadium-style drag racing facility ever constructed. Built in 1986, Texas Motorplex has been the place of many drag racing milestones and world record performances. The Billy Meyer-owned facility hosts a number of racing and car show events between March and November each year and also features the Champion’s Club – an 11,000 square-foot facility – that serves fully catered events throughout the year.

 

PRE-REGISTRATION FOR LUCAS OIL DIVISIONAL EVENT OPENS WITH DEEP DISCOUNT FOR RACERS AND CREW

ENNIS, Texas (Jan. 17, 2013) – Registration for the 2013 NHRA Lucas Oil Divisional event at Texas Motorplex, April 18-21, is now open. Discounts for racers and crewmembers are now available, saving up to $25 for a car and driver entry.

This year’s Lucas Oil event will again feature the Old School Showdown on Saturday, April 20. The Texas Motorplex Old School Showdown at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event features a Division 4 event with regional racers battling for valuable divisional and national championship points as well as a chance at a share of the year-end purse of more than $560,000.  Categories include Sportsman MC, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas and Super Street.

WHERE:        Texas Motorplex, Ennis, Texas. Track is located on Hwy. 287, two miles west of Ennis, between Interstates 35 and 45.  From Dallas, take I-45 to Hwy. 287 west to the track, or take I-35E to Hwy. 287 east to the track.  From Fort Worth, take Hwy. 287 east to Waxahachie toward the track.

WHEN:          Friday through Sunday, April 19-21, 2013

All pre-registration discounts end on April 1, 2013. Go online to register or call (972) 878-2641 to register over the phone. Texas Motorplex was the first all-concrete stadium-style drag racing facility ever constructed. Built in 1986, Texas Motorplex has been the place of many drag racing milestones and world record performances. The Billy Meyer-owned facility hosts a number of racing and car show events between March and November each year and also features the Champion’s Club – an 11,000 square-foot facility – that serves fully catered events throughout the year.

CHAMPION’S CLUB NOW AVAILABLE FOR 2013 EVENT RENTALS

ENNIS, Texas (Jan. 15, 2013) – Whether you are planning a family affair, corporate function, gourmet dinner, Texas BBQ, class reunion, or a full scale elaborate affair, Texas Motorplex Catering will make your event distinctive and memorable. The Champion’s Club Event Center is located on the property of the world famous Texas Motorplex at 7500 W. HW 287, Ennis, TX 75119. Our versatile special event location offers a 9,600 square foot banquet/meeting hall able to accommodate groups up to 450.

Whether you want to host a team-building meeting in one of the VIP suites overlooking the Texas Motorplex race track or a gala fit for hundreds of your closest friends, our professional and courteous staff can help design your specialty event.

Champion’s Club has hosted sit-down catered affairs for more than 400 people as well as more intimate gatherings with cocktails or just meetings with cookies and coffee. We provide the space, catering and dedicated staff for you and your guests.

VIP suites are available for groups of up to 50 people and can be provided free of charge when combined with catering and a track rental date. Host your next corporate team-building event at the Motorplex complete with street racing, dinner and more.

Fill out the form below and a dedicated events staff member will call you with more information. Or just call us anytime during regular business hours at: (972) 878-2641.

Event Rental Inquiry Form

1. Contact Name(required)
2. Phone(required)
3. Email(valid email required)
4. Preferred Method of Contact Phone Email (required)
5. Preferred eventl date:(required)
6. Is this date flexible?
7. Yes No
8. Is this a one-day or multi-day rental? One-Day Multi-Day (required)
9. What kinds of event would you like to hold?(required)
10. Would you like to rent a VIP suite or Champion’s Club Events Center? VIP suite Champion's Club (required)
11. How many guests do you expect?(required)
12. Will there be live music?
13. Yes No
14. Would you like the bar to be staffed?
15. Yes No
16. Would you like information on adding on a street racing package so your guests can race?
17. Yes No

 

cforms contact form by delicious:days

 

A few facts about booking your next event at Texas Motorplex: 

Do I have to race to book an event?
Absolutely not! It’s your decision to combine your event with a scheduled race, create your own private track rental or book on a non-race day. We are open to just about anything and it’s your choice!

Is there a catering company on site to service our food and drink needs?
Absolutely! Our Events Catering staff can design any menu regardless of the number of people or the size of your budget. We specialize in creating customs menus for cocktails and appetizer gatherings, buffet dinners or served sit-down affairs.

The Ennis Health Department permit is required for all catered events. A kitchen usage fee and kitchen cleaning deposit is required if kitchen is utilized by anyone other than the Motorplex Events staff.

Is there a full bar?
Absolutely! And we stock the bar with the finest beer and spirits and host it with a courteous staff.  No alcohol allowed outside of the designated event area, however. Officers will be scheduled to be on premise before any alcohol can be served and will remain on premise until all customers exits the facility following the event. Champion’s Club Event Center staff is not responsible for guests drinking in the parking lot. Anyone caught consuming alcohol in the parking lot will be subject to a ticket by patrolling officers.  The bar will close at least 30 minutes before the conclusion of the event, or by 11:30 p.m. No one under the age of 21 is allowed to consume alcohol in this facility. The Champion’s Club Event Center staff shall have final discretion over all issues regarding alcohol events.

Can we decorate the event area as we like?
Yes! You can decorate how you like once discussing the plans with the events staff. We encourage our clients to show their unique style for each event, but nothing may be hung, attached to, or suspended from and part of the building without consent of the Champion’s Club Event staff.

Do I need a deposit to hold my event date?
Dates may be held with a courtesy hold for one week. A deposit and signed rental agreement is required to definitely reserve exact date and time after one week. The balance is due 10 business days prior to the first day of your event. Events booked within 14 days of event date require a non-refundable payment equal to the total rental fee with the signed rental agreement.

What is your cancellation policy?
Notification of the cancellation of an event must be received no later than 45 days prior to the event date to receive refund of down payment. All cancellations must be in writing. If date is changed, the cancellation policy become null and void and down payment will be retained if event cancels.

Can we use the parking lot for anything other than parking cars?
Yes, with permission. The parking lot may not be used for commercial exhibits, displays, promotions, etc. without written consent of the Champion’s Club Event Center. Customer will also leave the parking lot area clean and all trash removed. Any damage to the landscaping in and around the parking lot will be replaced at the cost of the customer.

 

More information: 

Smoking Policy: The building is a smoke free center. Outside smoking is permitted in designated areas only.

Exit Doors: A clearance on both sides with no physical obstruction must be maintained at all time.

JFR EXPANDS EFFORT WITH CASTROL EDGE TOP FUEL DRAGSTER

YORBA LINDA, Calif. – John Force Racing, Inc., NHRA drag racing’s most successful Funny Car team, announced Thursday an historic expansion that for the first time will give it a presence in a professional racing category other than the one in which it has been dominant for almost a quarter century.

While the team again will campaign four fuel cars, one will be noticeably different from the others.  After winning a record 217 NHRA Funny Car races and 17

Winston, Powerade and Full Throttle Funny Car championships, JFR this year for the first time in its 35-year NHRA history will field a Top Fuel dragster.

Powered by the potent Ford BOSS 500 nitro engine developed by JFR in collaboration with Ford Racing, the Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster will be driven by rookie Brittany Force and maintained by crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli and assistant crew chief Eric Lane.

Antonelli, who guided Ashley Force Hood to the Auto Club of Southern California’s Road to the Future Award (Rookie-of-the-Year) in 2007 and tuned Force to victory in last year’s inaugural Traxxas Nitro Shootout, gets his first assignment in Top Fuel as mentor to another of Force’s racing daughters.

Lane, 39, moves to Top Fuel after 12 seasons with the Auto Club Ford Mustang Funny Car, the last four as assistant crew chief to Jimmy Prock.

“I’m excited because I’ve only ever worked on Funny Cars,” Antonelli said.  “Just in the testing we’ve done so far, it appears you can be quite a bit more aggressive with a dragster.

“It’s an exciting opportunity and I’m honored that Brittany would want me to be her crew chief and that John trusts me with her,” said the man who celebrated 10 series championships as the Team Leader on Force’s crew from 1995 through 2006.

Meanwhile, Force is looking forward to the new season for multiple reasons, the least of which is not the fact that Mike Neff will be back calling the shots on his Castrol GTX Mustang, just as he did when Force won his last championship in 2010.

The 134-time tour winner also believes that reducing the Funny Car inventory will make his team better overall.

“With four cars, you’re always running into each other,” said the 134-time tour winner.  “I think we’ll be a better with three cars.  Courtney and Neff ran great last year and we’ve worked really hard to make sure we have three Fords that can run for the Mello Yello championship this year.”

Indeed, JFR President Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club Ford, and 24-year-old Courtney Force, second year driver of the Traxxas Ford, also are looking forward to the new season.

Hight, the 2009 series champion and the biggest winner in the Funny Car category over his eight seasons (27 wins), will try to keep alive a trio of streaks in a car on which his crew chief will be assisted this year by veteran Danny DeGennaro.

A 43-year-old former world class marksman, Hight has won at least two races in every one of his eight pro season, has started No. 1 at least once every year and has led the Funny Car points every year, an performance without precedent.

As for Courtney, she just hopes to maintain the momentum generated in her Rookie-of-the-Year season in the Traxxas Ford.

“I’m really looking forward to the new season,” said the spokeswoman for Ford’s Driving Skills for Life initiative.  “Hopefully, we can just pick up where we left off.  We finished in the fifth spot and I really couldn’t have asked for a better first year.  I still plan to focus on the basics of driving but, at the same time, I’m looking forward to pushing myself, learning new things and improving my driving skills.

“Having my sister Brittany out there racing in the Top Fuel category for the first time is just going to make the 2013 season that much more exciting.  I know she is really pumped up and ready to race.  I can’t wait to kick off the season at Pomona.”

Force also is excited, especially about his return to Castrol GTX colors after several years promoting other Castrol brands including Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE, Castrol EDGE, Castrol SYNTEC, Castrol START UP and others.

“We started with the Castrol GTX brand and after 26 years, they’re still with us,” said the 63-year-old racing icon.  “I’ve still got some racing in me and this year is special because I have Robert and two of my girls racing with me.  When you’re a dad, you want your kids to be involved in the things you do and to have all four of my girls working in the business is really something that’s hard to believe.

“Ashley’s running John Force entertainment and Adria, my oldest, who’s married to Robert, has always handled the financials as CFO of John Force Racing, Inc.”

-www.johnforceracing.com-

 

Team Castrol Top Fuel summary (1987-1995)

Gary Ormsby, Castrol GTX dragster, 1987-1991, 19 final rounds, 11 No. 1 qualifiers, 13 wins, last on Sept. 16, 1990 over Gene Snow at Reading, Pa.
Pat Austin, Castrol GTX dragster, 1991-1995, 8 final rounds, 3 No. 1 qualifiers, 5 wins, last on May 22, 1994 over Don Prudhomme at Englishtown, N.J.
Castrol Top Fuel totals: 27 final rounds, 14 No. 1 qualifiers, 18 wins, one championship

 Team Castrol Top Fuel stats:

Last race: Oct. 29, 1995, Pat Austin, Castrol GTX dragster, at Pomona, Calif.
Last round win: Oct. 1, 1995, Pat Austin, Castrol GTX dragster, over Blaine Johnson at Topeka, Kansas
Last semifinal: Oct. 1, 1995, Pat Austin, Castrol GTX dragster, lost to Mike Dunn at Topeka, Kansas
Last final round appearance: July 30, 1995, Pat Austin, Castrol GTX dragster, lost to Mike Dunn at Sonoma, Calif.
Last NHRA tour victory: May 22, 1994, Pat Austin, Castrol GTX dragster, over Don Prudhomme at Englishtown, N.J.
Last No. 1 qualifier: August 9, 1992, Pat Austin, Castrol GTX dragster, at Seattle, Wash.
Last series championship: 1989, Gary Ormsby, Castrol GTX dragster, over Joe Amato by 77 points.
Last national ET record: Jan. 31, 1992, Pat Austin, Castrol GTX dragster, at Pomona, Calif. (4.893)
Last national speed record: April 25, 1993, Pat Austin, Castrol GTX dragster, at Atlanta, Ga. (303.64 mph)

John Force Racing Team Stats:

Funny Car races: 599
Funny Car final rounds: 370
Funny Car rounds won: 2,115
Funny Car victories: 217
Funny Car No. 1 starts: 246
Funny Car Championships: 17
Races in other pro categories: 0

JOHNSON WINS AT TEXAS MOTORPLEX EN ROUTE TO FIRST EVER NHRA PRO STOCK WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

ENNIS, Texas (Jan. 9, 2013) – Before the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series kicks off next month in Pomona, Calif., it’s only fitting that we honor the champions who crossed the country and thrilled Texas Motorplex fans in September before going on to claim the top honors in the quickest and fastest form of motorsport.

Johnson gave Dodge its first racing series title in nearly 20 years when he claimed the NHRA Pro Stock championship. Dodge hadn’t claimed a title in 18 years and Johnson’s became the fifth overall racing series title for Dodge.

Johnson drove his Team Mopar Dodge Avenger to personal records in victories and top qualifying position. Johnson, 52, earned seven wins in 11 final round appearances while earning a category-leading 10 top qualifying honors.

Johnson beat Erica Enders in the final, collecting the first of three Countdown victories en route to his first championship and a $250,000 payout for the title.

Texas Motorplex was the first all-concrete stadium-style drag racing facility ever constructed. Built in 1986, Texas Motorplex has been the place of many drag racing milestones and world record performances. The Billy Meyer-owned facility hosts a number of racing and car show events between March and November each year and also features the Champion’s Club – an 11,000 square-foot facility – that serves fully catered events throughout the year.