Potholes, plungers, parking problems plague Pacific Raceways' party

By Susan Wade
Photos by Ron Lewis

KENT, Wash. -- Drivers have whined about the bump in the left lane at Seattle. So this time, the right lane had a chuckhole that got a patch and a promise the day before qualifying began for the NHRA Lucas Oil Northwest Nationals.

In 2000, Top Fuelers Tony Schumacher, Cory McClenathan and Joe Amato red-lighted in the first two rounds because the sun was in their eyes. Track-renovation plans call for reversing the starting and finish lines to take that persistent problem out of the equation. So this time, it rained, forcing the last three elimination rounds to spill over to Monday.

Promoter Jason Fiorito and General Manager Jay Livingston spent untold hours and money working to install new restrooms throughout the grounds. So this time, some toilets still overflowed. (That might account for Funny Car driver Dean Skuza's description of the rain delay: "It's like a big feces sandwich. We all have to take a big bite, but some of us adjust faster than others.")

Fiorito and Livingston worked tirelessly to get the word out about the facility changing its name from Seattle International Raceway to the original Pacific Raceways. They and the NHRA mounted an extensive ad campaign to lure the crowd out for the July 26-28 event, the sanctioning body's 15th annual visit to the Northwest. Livingston even directed incoming traffic to try to make every spectator's first impression perfect. So what happened? They ended up shutting the gates during Saturday afternoon qualifying because of inadequate parking.

NHRA President Tom Compton, who reportedly made an appearance at the track but left town before final eliminations began Sunday, expressed embarrassment. He said he wanted to apologize to the fans for any inconvenience -- a scenario NHRA wanted to avoid.

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Sanctioning-body spokesman Jerry Archambeault said, "We should be better planners. . . . .We weren't prepared." He said, "Things were getting out of control around 2-ish" in the afternoon. "The facility can accommodate everybody. It was just a parking issue. We went for a home run but hit a grand slam."

Some fans parked their cars along the road leading to the track entrance, nearly a mile back to Highway 18 and beyond and walked into the facility.

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