Last October, Bill Bader, Jr., the president of Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, and his top-notch team presented the inaugural Shakedown at the Summit after taking the reins of the event previously known as Shakedown at E’Town at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey from its former promoter and legendary Pro Mod and Drag Radial driver Dave Hance.

Despite the fact that the renowned and respected race was at a different location with different organizers, drivers from across the country and outside of the country brought their hard-launching, wheel-pulling, high-speed cars to run in full fields in a first-to-the-finish-line-wins format.

Even though rain forced an early end, it was deemed a personal and professional success by Bader, Jr. and his team, who were recognized by drivers and fans for repeated efforts to dry the track surface.

Even more eagerly anticipated, this year’s event, the Summit Racing Equipment Shakedown at the Summit presented by Mickey Thompson Tires, is set for October 3-5, 2014.

Eight classes are featured, including Pro-Line Racing Outlaw Pro Mod presented by Resolution Racing Services and G-Force Race Cars, Top Sportsman presented by Induction Solutions, Outlaw 10.5 presented by LaFontaine Performance Center, Precision Turbo and Stainless Works Outlaw Limited Street, Wiseco Performance Products X275 presented by TRZ Motorsports, Pro Street presented by Callies Performance Products, Team Z Motorsports Ultra Street presented by SpeedWire Systems and Top Fuel Harley.

Bader, Jr. recently discussed putting Summit Motorsports Park’s stamp on the event, which boasts a guaranteed purse among the classes of $119,800 as well as brass knuckles and cigars in a wooden display box for each winner.

DRAGZINE: Was there any reluctance on your part to assume responsibilities for this event from Dave Hance, or were you all-in?

Bill Bader, Jr.: As soon as Summit Motorsports Park track manager Kurt Johnson told me in November of 2012 that it looked as though the event in Englishtown might be discontinued, we began discussing the prospect of not letting an event with so much popularity and history go away, and whether it would be feasible for us to move it here to Summit Motorsports Park. That same afternoon, we had a plan in place, so no, there was no reluctance.

DRAGZINE: After the plan was in place, you reached out to Dave Hance.

Bill Bader, Jr.: Yes, and he was on the floor at a trade show at the time. We had a nice talk, and he said ‘Bill, if you want it, it’s yours. Take it,’ and when I asked about compensation, he declined and told me to see to it that the event grows. He gave us the green light and we registered the name Shakedown and took it over with his blessing, and then we got our ducks in a row, announced that we would be hosting it and by the time we got to PRI the following month, we were selling sponsorships for the 2013 event. Dave was very gracious, supportive and I suspect somewhat excited to see something that he had built for ten years be able to continue. To him, that was more important than owning it or being involved with running it. He’s very unselfish and a real gentleman to work with.

DRAGZINE: What made you think this event would be a good fit for Summit Motorsports Park?

Bill Bader, Jr.: We’re strong in bracket racing and entertainment, so this would be a new segment of the market for us and a new flavor in the ice cream chest, and that’s why I was confident it would be successful. I think this event has huge potential because it’s different than anything we’re already doing, and it’s a good opportunity for us. I’m very protective of it.

DRAGZINE: Did you tweak any classes or rules, or did you go with what had been in place?

Bill Bader, Jr.: For the first year, we basically took the core program which Dave had refined over ten years and went forward with that as the baseline, while slightly massaging certain classes because of the fact that a year had passed and things are constantly changing, whether it’s weights or whatever. While 8.50 is strong in certain parts of the country, like the East Coast, it’s not as strong here, so this year, it was replaced with Ultra Street, which is a hot new class. Motorcycles had been in Shakedown in the past, and we have a good rapport with that community, so this year, we have Top Fuel Harley. Pro Import is not returning.

DRAGZINE: Shakedown at the Summit saw full fields in most classes in its first year, and grandstands were packed with fans. How was it able to be such a draw in such infancy?

Bill Bader, Jr.: Everyone knew that Shakedown under Dave’s guidance was a great event, and I think Summit Motorsports Park is held in high regard, so when put together, I think people were curious and felt that it had potential to be something really cool. It was a tremendous success, and we had positive feedback from racers, but there’s no such thing as a perfect event, and there’s always room for improvement. Any time anyone who is self-aware or a perfectionist produces an event, they’re going to see a million things wrong, whether it’s being more efficient with getting people credentialed and parked or refinements in scheduling.

DRAGZINE: Does this event have its own stamp yet, or, has it made the transition from being a Dave Hance event to being a Summit Motorsports Park event?

Bill Bader, Jr.: I think it will always be Dave Hance’s event. He created it, and he raised it for ten years, and I’m fine with that. It’s like giving birth to a son and watching him grow up and go out into the world. He’s still your son. Because of the rain on Saturday at last year’s event, we still haven’t run a bona fide three-day event, so we need nice weather this year and we need to hit it out of the ballpark. But we presented well and we won people over with our unrelenting pursuit of getting the event in despite the rain, and testimony to that is the fact that we ran Pro Mod until it rained at 2:30 in the morning on Saturday and we had 5,000 or 6,000 people watching, and we can put that into the plus column, but you’re only as good as your last event. Chapter two in the story happens in a few weeks.

DRAGZINE: What will keep this event fresh and relevant?

Bill Bader, Jr.: Rather than holding this event ten times a year, it’s held once a year, like the Cavalcade of Stars, the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals and the Blue Suede Cruise at Summit Motorsports Park, and like the Super Bowl and the NBA Finals. My dad (Bill Bader, Sr.) always said ‘The circus only comes to town once a year,’ and his point is that you can only go to the well so many times before people don’t care anymore.

DRAGZINE: Two strong events close a successful race season at Summit Motorsports Park, as this event is followed just a few weeks later by the Quick Fuel Technology Halloween Classic presented by Harland Sharp.

Bill Bader, Jr.: The time of year scares the hell out of me because of weather, but there’s also potential for good air and mine shaft-type weather, in which the cars can fly. I’m very excited about it.

Go-to information: The park’s Linders Lot will open at 8 a.m. Oct. 2, with participant registration and parking beginning at 9 a.m., tech 9 a.m.-9 p.m., participant testing 12-9 p.m. and grounds secured 9 p.m. On Friday, Oct. 3, gates and tech will open at 8 a.m., with camping and motorhome move-in beginning at 10 a.m., qualifying 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. and grounds secured at 8 p.m. On Saturday, Oct. 4, gates and tech will open at 8 a.m., followed by qualifying at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. and grounds secured at 8:45 p.m. and on Sunday, Oct. 5, gates will open at 8 a.m. with eliminations for classes with a thirty-two car field set to begin at 10 a.m., pre-race ceremony at 11:40 a.m., eliminations for all classes at 12 p.m. and grounds secured at 6 p.m. Driver entries cost $200 and crewmember entries costs $50. Spectator admission costs $20 for one day, $30 for two days and $50 for three days. Free for children ages 12 and younger. Pit-access parking costs $50 and general admission parking is free. The participant testing on Oct. 2 costs $100. Summit Motorsports Park is at 1300 State Route 18, Norwalk, Ohio. For more information, visit www.summitmotorsportspark.com or call 419-668-5555.

Photos by Mary Lendzion