Glenn Butcher Set to Make IHRA Pro Nitrous Debut

When Glenn Butcher returns to Dragway 42 this weekend in West Salem, Ohio, for the IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series, it’ll be a homecoming of sorts. Piloting his highly recognizable red-with-flames ’69 Camaro, Butcher will make his IHRA Pro Nitrous debut at the track where his career began.

Butcher resides just down the road in Doylestown, Ohio, 30 minutes east of Dragway 42. He’s always considered it to be his home track, and plans on having a strong contingent of family and friends cheering him on.

“It’s really incredible to think about where I’m at,” says Butcher. “The first time I went down that track, I was in my mom’s 1985 Caravan – red with wood paneling down the side. Then I won Elite Top Sportsman in PDRA’s one and only trip to Dragway 42, and now to see IHRA come back and have the opportunity to run Pro Nitrous is breathtaking. It’s an exciting opportunity.”

Butcher has a storied history in the Top Sportsman class, where he is the reigning PDRA world champion. He’s also won events in IHRA, PDRA, NHRA, and the Midwest Drag Racing Series, dating back to the 1990s.  

“My first race with IHRA would’ve been around 1993,” Butcher recalls. “That was my home – we went to 22 races a year in Top Sportsman. I never won a championship in IHRA, but I seemed to always be in the top 10. Those early days were probably the greatest racing of my lifetime. Showing up to Norwalk with 100 cars trying to qualify for 48 spots…over half the field goes home. You’re trying to make career-best laps just to qualify. Those were definitely highlights of my racing career.”

Despite his pedigree as a top-tier Top Sportsman racer, Butcher decided to show out for his hometown crowd and compete in the always tough Pro Nitrous class at this weekend’s event.  

“I was looking at it in multiple ways,” says Butcher. “I’ve always wanted to run Pro Mod, and still have some aspirations to continue running it. I just enjoy bracket racing so much. But this being at my home track with friends and family, I thought it was the right time to make the leap over. My car’s been very consistent – we’ve been really fast. It just felt like the right time, the right place, the right everything to do it.”

Although he has a new car currently being built, Butcher will race at Dragway 42 in his current Top Sportsman Camaro. While he admits it probably won’t be the quickest nitrous car on the property, he believes his experience in cutting good lights in the bracket racing world will give him enough of an edge to be competitive.

“We’ve been 3.73 to 3.78 this year (in Top Sportsman),” Butcher says. “I don’t know that we can get in the 60’s or anything like that, but we should be a low 3.70’s player.”

Regardless of how the weekend plays out, Butcher says he can’t wait to finally check out the revitalized IHRA and return to the site of his very first event – and hopefully take home some cash in the process.

“It’s super exciting,” says Butcher. “I haven’t been able to attend one yet because of prior commitments, but I knew there was no way I was going to miss Dragway 42. This track was the first IHRA race I ever went to. To see it come back and be able to race it, especially in Pro Nitrous, is pretty exciting. Everyone I’ve talked to has had nothing but great things to say about it. I like seeing the energy that everyone around it has, and I’m looking forward to experiencing it myself. I’m excited to see what the future holds."

Photos by: Robert Richard