“A train wreck.”
That seemed to be the common phrase used by those in attendance to describe the 63rd annual World Series of Drag Racing, or rather, the race taken from it’s rightful home in Cordova, Illinois, transplanted to Memphis, Tennessee, and sold as the World Series of Drag Racing.
But, it shouldn’t really surprise anyone.
The World Series has been an institution in the sport of drag racing, a once-a-year event that has stood the test of time in a way that few others have, even at a time when the NHRA’s big show — the U.S. Nationals that it traditionally precedes by one week in late August — has seen its attendance and participation decline. The World Series has long represented all that is great about drag racing — thousands of fans jammed the timeless Cordova Dragway Park (it’s been renamed the Cordova International Raceway, but we’ll stick to its former name for tradition’s sake), nestled in the cornfields of middle-of-nowhere northern Illinois. They didn’t care if the Force’s and Schumacher’s were there, if records would fall, or if they were greeted with state-of-the-art seating and amenities. They were there to see a great show, and they always got one. And were they ever loyal.
But it’s documented success wasn’t enough, as the IHRA’s new parent company, IRGSE, which now owns both Cordova and Memphis, announced earlier this year that the tradition-rich race would be moved to Memphis, citing greater growth opportunity due to the proximity of the larger Memphis market. But what seems great on paper doesn’t always translate to the real world, and as so many foretold, it didn’t.
And as expected, right on cue, no one showed up. This, despite the presence of a lot of great racers — Clay Millican, Tim Wilkerson, and Erica Enders, just to name a few — who would have played to a packed house in Cordova. Instead, they were greeted with merely a few hundred fans, at best.
Will IRGSE admit their error and move the World Series back where it belongs next year? Or better yet, will the fans even support them if it does return? Let’s hope so, because drag racing needs more events like the World Series — the one that, in our books, has still only been held 62 times.