The historic track located in Albany, Indiana held its first race on Easter Sunday 1960 and has been going strong in the years since. The 1/8-mile drag strip, which recently signed a multi-year renewal with the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), still has characteristics of days gone by.
“There’s not a lot of tracks left from that era,” Scott Daniels said. “We still have grass between the lanes and it has a nostalgic feel.”
It has a rich history as well with former IHRA President Ted Jones a previous owner of the facility. The Daniels have owned the track the last nine years. As all track owners can attest, there have been some trials and tribulations, but nothing compared to the rewards, especially the relationships with their fellow racers.
In many ways, it’s an idyllic community where there is a ton of mutual respect.
“We have a great group of racers. My wife and I have made it where it’s a family-friendly place to be and we love to see the families come out and enjoy the facility,” Scott Daniels said. “The facility, we can pit on two sides. Everybody can stay the night before and they can stay the night after. We just ask the last one out to lock the gate.
“In nine years, I’ve only had the gate left unlocked one time and that was because a racer had broken down and left his rig inside. The last person leaving thought someone was still in there, so they didn’t lock the gate.”
Muncie Dragway hosts its share of big races and even its own bracket series called the Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales Budget Bash Series where the Box and No Box champions run off at the end of the season for a 24-foot enclosed trailer as the grand prize. The runner-up receives a complete 383 short block.
Of course, Muncie Dragway is a huge supporter of the IHRA Summit SuperSeries program. In 2019, Muncie Dragway won the IHRA Division 5 (Thunder) Summit Team Finals with drivers Wes May and Steve Riggins meeting in the Top (Box) final. In addition, their tight-knit group of racers won the best team spirit award.
In 2020, Muncie Dragway had two individual champions — Dustin Jones (Mod) and Dominic White (Junior Dragster) — at the IHRA Division 5 Summit Team Finals, while Shane Daugherty (Top) and Gary Blankenship (Street) each made it to the final round.
The track was well represented at the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals with Jeff Kirkpatrick (Top), Marty McKinney (Mod), Rick Shreves (Sportsman) and Jack Kern (Junior Dragster) earning their way to Memphis through the track’s point standings.
Scott Daniels explained why the IHRA and the Summit SuperSeries have been such a great fit for Muncie Dragway.
“We decided to switch to IHRA a few years ago because it’s geared more for the Sportsman racer,” Daniels said. “That’s what we are. We’re not a national-event facility and are not going to be a national-event facility. We want more of what caters to us. IHRA has a great plan of action and they take care of the racers. The Team Finals are awesome and the World Finals at Memphis puts the icing on the cake.”
For more information about Muncie Dragway, click here to visit the track’s website.
To become an IHRA member, click here or call 561-337-3446.
.
