Summit Motorsports Park
Tuskegee Airmen Tribute Car at Dick Miller Racing Buick, Olds, Cadillac Race/Show Nationals
Michael Joseph was just eight years old when he began saving money to buy a car in ’68, and four years later, he had 
decided he wanted that car to be a ’69 Buick Electra 225.
With his dad’s help, he bought a previously-owned one from a dealership near his Brooklyn, New York home in ’78, and immediately fell in love with its 430 cubic-inch engine and Crystal Blue paint. He took pride in boasting that it was “the biggest V8 Buick made up to ’69,” and while driving to classes at Vaughn College of Aeronautic Engineering, Aviation and Technology in Queens, New York, he began kicking around the idea of turning the car into a rolling tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen and their wartime contributions.
Pompadours, Poodle Skirts ad Plenty of Hot Rods at Blue Suede Cruise
While music of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s plays in the background, drivers will put a shine on their 1972 and earlier 
street rods before pointing them down track as part of the 15th Annual Wanda AkzoNobel Blue Suede Cruise, Friday through Sunday, July 15-17, 2016 at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
The event heavy on old school cool also will feature a manufacturers’ midway showcasing products from Trick Flow Specialties, Don Tester Ford, Wanda AkzoNobel and other companies, as well as seminars, a vintage fashion show and Women’s World shopping.
An incredible list of door prizes includes a 1926-1927 Street Rod body by ScottRods Custom HotRods and Fiberglass. It’s wearing a custom blue flake paint job and radiator surround, and will receive a floor and windshield after the new owner takes delivery of it.
See 39th Annual Kelly Services Night Under Fire from Fully-Stocked Suite
With its fire-breathing cars and fireworks, the annual Kelly Services Night Under Fire is one of Summit Motorsports 
Park’s most popular offerings, and through a special promotion, fans can be at the center of the action for this year’s event on Aug. 13, 2016.
Titled the Summit, it includes private elevator rides to a climate-controlled suite with floor-to-ceiling glass windows for optimal viewing of the event which boasts Funny Car drivers John Force, Robert Hight, Del Worsham, Tim Wilkerson, Cruz Pedregon, Bob Bode, Jr., Dale Creasy, Jr. and Jack Wyatt, plus Bob Motz and his jet engine-powered truck, Sarah Edwards and her Queen of Diamonds II jet engine-powered dragster, Rich Hanna and his Gojo jet engine-powered Firebird Funny Car, Ken Hall and his Xlerator jet engine-powered Firebird Funny Car, Scotty Heat and his 50 Cal jet engine-powered dragster, Jim Brewer and his Peacemaker wheelstander and more.
Bill Bader, Jr. Uses Marketing Expertise to form Energize, LLC
Bill Bader, Jr., president of the popular Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, is launching a new motorsports 
marketing company, Energize, LLC.
With the slogan “Powering a Brighter Tomorrow,” it offers market research, feasibility studies, business development, idea generation, direction on effectively introducing products and events to various markets and customer service enrichment and more.
Bader, Jr., who learned his craft from his father, former track operator Bill Bader, Sr., is known for producing multi-day destination events, a marketing method largely responsible for drawing an annual average of 500,000 visitors to his 225 acre dragstrip.
Cory Roth Ready for Trick Flow Specialties Fun Ford Reloaded at Summit Motorsports Park
With certain clarity, Cory Roth can recall how he spent much of his childhood at Summit Motorsports Park and other 
race tracks watching his dad, Al, bracket-race his ’67 Mustang and ’61 Falcon, and how he was allowed to stay up late to help work on the cars.
The lessons he learned helped him down the road, as he climbed into his own race car, a stunning red ’87 Mustang, to tackle Street Stock and Street Bandit in Fun Ford Weekend and Hot Street in the National Mustang Racers Association. He put his name on the map in both series by running to high eight-second elapsed-times via a naturally aspirated small-block Ford that he and his dad built and backed with a G-Force 5-speed, and before long, he earned multiple wins and the ’99 Street Stock championship.
$1 to Race, $20,000 to Win at Trick Flow Specialties Fun Ford Reloaded
With hundreds of Mustangs, Mavericks, Thunderbirds, Torinos and other fast and famous Fords on track and on 
display each year, Summit Motorsports Park was a hot spot for the Fun Ford Weekend series until it ended several years ago, but a new event has emerged for the blue oval brotherhood in the form of Trick Flow Specialties Fun Ford Reloaded.
It boasts Fast Ford, Quick Ford, Street Ford, Nostalgia Ford and True Street categories, July 8-10, 2016 at Summit Motorsports Park, with a special Frantic Four and Quick 16 adding fuel to the go-fast fire. There also will be a swap-meet, Don Tester Ford Car Show, manufacturers’ midway, car corral and games for children.
39th Annual Kelly Services Night Under Fire Tickets Selling Quickly
With crazy-fast cars, combustion and colorful fireworks, the 39th Annual Kelly Services Night Under Fire on Aug. 13, 
2016 at Summit Motorsports Park promises to be bigger and better than ever, and as a result, tickets are selling quickly.
The fan-favorite event is a tradition at America’s Race Track, and this year will feature popular and chock-full of personality Funny Car drivers John Force, Robert Hight, Del Worsham, Tim Wilkerson, Cruz Pedregon, Bob Bode, Jr., Dale Creasy, Jr. and Jack Wyatt, who will pound pavement at well over 300 mph in side-by-side passes while duking it out to the finish line.
Flames will fly from the back of Bob Motz’s jet engine-powered truck as he bumps it into the beams and then blasts down track in what is to be his last performance at the park. Also bringing the heat will be Sarah Edwards and her Queen of Diamonds II jet engine-powered dragster, Rich Hanna and his Gojo jet engine-powered Firebird Funny Car, Ken Hall and his Xlerator jet engine-powered Firebird Funny Car and Scotty Heat and his 50 Cal jet engine-powered dragster.
Summit Motorsports Park Receives Best Special Event Award
In recognition of the thousands of fans who annually attend the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at 
Summit Motorsports Park to experience 330-plus mph cars, fireworks and more, the Greater Ohio Showmen’s Association bestowed upon Summit Motorsports Park its first Best Special Event award.
Greater Ohio Showmen’s Association trustee Jeff Otterbacher presented Summit Motorsports Park president Bill Bader, Jr. with a specially-designed plaque during this year’s event, which was June 23-26, 2016 at Summit Motorsports Park and culminated with Funny Car driver Ron Capps, Top Fuel driver Shawn Langdon, Pro Stock driver Jason Line, Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Eddie Krawiec and Pro Mod driver Billy Glidden in the winner’s circle.
“Last year, when the president of our association, Jo Ellen Albanese, was working as a food vendor at Summit Motorsports Park, she couldn’t help but notice how well the Baders run their business, how helpful the team members are and how clean the park is,” said Otterbacher. “Kevin Pope, who also works as a food vendor at Summit Motorsports Park, realized we didn’t have an award for Best Special Event, and we decided it would be fitting to give the first one to Summit Motorsports Park.”
BIGFOOT, Fun and Free Admission Featured for Super Summit
While last year’s Super Summit at Summit Motorsports Park featured plenty of adrenaline-pumping, action-packed 
activities, this year’s event promises to pack even more punch.
In addition to cruise-ins, drag-strip fun-runs and autocross, the event will boast the Summit Racing Equipment-sponsored BIGFOOT Monster Truck and its driver, Larry Swim, who will take part in a captivating car-crush and talk with fans about everything from high horsepower to high jumps in his truck equipped with long-travel shocks and “zoomie” style headers that make it loud and proud.
Also on site will be BIGFOOT #5, which rolls on super-size tires that measure 120X48X60 and weigh a whopping 2,400 pounds each, and the Super Summit event truck.
Hullinger Honored as Cavalcade of Stars Grand Marshal
NHRA North Central Division 3 director Jay Hullinger was named grand marshal during pre-race ceremonies at the 
10th Annual Cavalcade of Stars presented by Budweiser at Summit Motorsports Park on May 22, 2016.
During an impassioned speech delivered on the starting line just before drivers fired their engines for first round of eliminations, Summit Motorsports Park president Bill Bader, Jr. spoke of his longtime friendship with Hullinger, and how he has had a profound impact on members of the racing community on personal and professional levels.
He went on to talk about how Hullinger was introduced to the sport as a child, as his family operated Bunker Hill Drag Strip in Bunker Hill, Indiana, and how he literally – not figuratively – spent his mornings, afternoons and evenings there as he and his family actually lived on-site.
