Located in the distant shadows of Mount Rainier, Pacific Raceways is a legendary motorsports facility that opened as a family business in 1960. Dan Fiorito Sr. owned a local road construction company and along with his sons built the track to provide a controlled place for locals to safely have fun racing.
The inaugural event was stagged over the Fourth of July weekend the same year and B/Modified driver Dick Kalivoda set NHRA national record with an 11.78-second elapsed time. From then on, drag racing has been an integral part of Northwest’s racing heritage and now the track is a significant part of the NHRA’s famed Western Swing along with Sonoma (California) and Bandimere (Colorado).
In the 1970s, the track was besieged with racers and began hosting Bill Doner’s infamous 64 Funny Cars, an event that featured the top drivers from across the United States. Pacific Raceways also hosted the NHRA Fall Nationals for several seasons and is now the promoter for the Northwest Nationals, which is part of NHRA’s Full Throttle professional drag racing series.
In addition to its rich drag racing history, Pacific Raceways manages a unique 2.25 mile nine-turn road course with an elevation change of 110 feet. In 1969, Mario Andretti won the Dan Gurney 200 at Pacific Raceways enroute to his first USAC National Championship title. The road course is also home to a performance driving school and routinely hosts vintage motorsport events.
Tony Schumacher Wins Nitro Top Fuel at Pacific Raceways
Tony Schumacher held off a red-hot points leader Brittany Force at the 13th of 22 races on Sunday with a 3.997-second ET final round pass. Schumacher outlasted Scott Palmer, Shawn Langdon, and Justin Ashley on a very hot (140 degrees) Seattle track that tested everyone’s ability to pedal a car from the tree to the finish line. Force advanced to her fifth final round this season and the 33rd of her career with wins against Jim Maroney, Josh Hart, and Leah Pruett.
Schumacher claimed his first NHRA victory since the 2020 season by beating points-leader Force at the Flav-R-Pac (her team’s sponsor) NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways. It was Schumacher’s fifth victory at the event and his 86th national win. A gift for the team's new owners coming just one week after Joe and Cathi Maynard purchased majority ownership. Regardless of the heatwave, Force was very fast setting a new Top Fuel track speed record on Sunday with a 332.43 mph pass during eliminations.
Robert Hight Keeps Winning at Flav-R-Pac NHRA Nationals
Robert Hight arrived at the Kent facility with one win and one semifinal finish in the first two rounds of the NHRA Western Swing. To keep the ball rolling, he made the quickest run in each round of Sunday’s eliminations knocking off defending world champ Ron Capps, Alexis DeJoria, and John Force to reach the Final. J.R. Todd advanced to his first final round of the 2022 season, knocking off Blake Alexander and number one qualifier Bob Tasca III.
Amid the torrid Northwest heat, it was Todd’s 41st career NHRA Finals. However, Hight would win Funny Car for the sixth time in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing series after posting a 3.975 ET at 319.98 mph. Driving the 11,000-horsepower Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro, Hight led wire-to-wire against Todd enroute to his second career victory at Pacific Raceways. It was also Hight’s 59th career victory and gives the John Force Racing driver a 228-point lead over Matt Hagan for the 2022 world championship.
UP COMING:
Menards NHRA Nationals Presented by PetArmor
NHRA teams have two weeks off before heading to the House of Speed at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas for the 33rd annual Menards NHRA Nationals on August 12-14. Race fans are guaranteed a thrilling event with all four NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Pro classes and Pro Mod in the lineup.
