Route 66 Raceway was built on a 250-acre parcel in 1998 as a quarter-mile dragstrip and 3/8 mile dirt oval racetrack. A year later an additional 930 acres of land adjacent to the facility to build Chicagoland Speedway which is owned and operated by NASCAR.
The asphalt dragstrip features a four-story complex of suites with 40 rows of fully backed grandstand seats and a total capacity of 30,000 drag racing fans. Route 66 Dragway hosted the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series from 1998 to 2019 with the NHRA event postponed now due to COVID restrictions.
The third of ten events for the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Type A Motorsports and powered by PGT Trucking raced over the weekend at Route 66 Raceway in combination with the Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance.
Jose Gonzalez Tops NHRA Pro Mod at Chicago
Purpose-built Pro Mod race cars are the fastest NHRA class with working doors. The limitless combinations of engines and drive trains allow nitrous cars to use high octane racing fuel while supercharged and turbo cars run on methanol. With more than 3,000 horsepower under the hood, these doorslammers travel the quarter mile in less than six seconds at speeds in excess of 250 mph and is highlighted by a broad spectrum of traditional and late-model muscle cars.
The Chicago-area Pro Mod event was powered by PGT Trucking and featured a pair of recent Pro Mod world champions in the Final. Jose Gonzalez eliminated Doug Winters, Billy Banaka and Sidnei Frigo while Kris Thorne knocked off Kevin Rivenbark, points leader Justin Bond and Manny Buginga. Gonzalez nailed a .024 RT with a 5.769 ET and held off a quicker Thorne with a 5.767 elapsed time. It was the first win of the season for the driver of the Q80 Racing Chevrolet Camaro.
photo courtesy NHRA
UP COMING:
NHRA New England Nationals
The FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Type A Motorsports returns to action June 2-4 with the 10th annual NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway in Epping, NH. It marks the first appearance at the track for the NHRA Pro Mod category.
