Brainerd International Raceway is a road course, and

dragstrip A dragstrip is a facility for conducting automobile and motorcycle acceleration events such as drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to ...

racing complex northwest of the city of

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluence wit ...

. The complex has a dragstrip, and overlapping and road courses. The complex also includes a

kart track Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...

. The raceway hosts the National Hot Rod Association's Lucas Oil Nationals. It is a popular racetrack for the Trans Am Series. The spectator

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile th ...

of the circuit is 20,000.

History

Opened in July 1968 as Donnybrooke Speedway, there were no safety barriers, run-out areas, grandstands or even restrooms. George Montgomery and Bud Stall cleared the racetrack through a wooded area on the south side of

North Long Lake At 6,000 acres (24 km²), North Long Lake is one of the larger lakes in the Brainerd Lakes Area of the U.S. state of Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. ...

. It was SCCA's first venue in the region. It was also an NHRA-sanctioned track, with the first official event there an NHRA race, at the opening; Top Fuel Dragster was won by Doc Halladay. With the help of St Paul sports promoter Dennis Scanlan, it hosted a 2-heat USAC Indy Car race in 1969. The heats were won by Gordon Johncock and Dan Gurney. Donnybrooke, played host to CanAm races in 1970, 1971, and 1972. These races were won by, respectively, Denny Hulme, Peter Revson, and François Cevert. In 1973 Jerry Hansen bought the track and renamed it Brainerd International Raceway. In the 1970s, the Donnybrooke track began holding

Funny Car Funny Car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. Funny cars are characterized by having tilt-up fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a custom-fabricated chassis, giving them an appea ...

events, in particular the

Crown Auto Funny Car Championships A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, and in time, NHRA was convinced to stage a national event at Brainerd: in 1982, Shirley Muldowney (in Top Fuel Dragster), Frank Hawley (Top Fuel Funny Car), and Lee Shepherd ( Pro Stock) were the headline winners at the first Quaker State North Star NHRA Nationals. In Pro Stock, Bob Glidden won at Brainerd in 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1992. The Brainerd strip became known as "one of the quickest and fastest in the world". It was completely resurfaced in 2003. In 2005,

Tony Schumacher Tony Schumacher may refer to: * Tony Schumacher (drag racer) (born 1969), American drag racer * Tony Schumacher (kayaker) (born 1976), Australian sprint canoeist * Tony Schumacher (German author) (1848–1931), German children books author * Ton ...

turned in a speed of , "the fastest quarter-mile time ever", and in 2016 and 2017, national NHRA records in Funny Car were set there. Kenny Bernstein won at Brainerd five times, 1983 and 1987 (in Top Fuel Funny Car) and in 1991, 1996, and 2002 (in Top Fuel Dragster)). In the summer of 2006, Jed and Kristi Copham of Forest Lake, Minnesota, became the new owners of Brainerd International Raceway. The track hosted two NASCAR K&N Pro Series West events between 2012 and 2013. The track also hosted one NASCAR Midwest Series race in 2004. Brainerd International Raceway was damaged during a severe thunderstorm that struck portions of Minnesota on July 12, 2015.

Track Information

Brainerd International Raceway consists of 2 road tracks and 1 drag strip.

Donnybrooke Road Course

Brainerd International Raceway maintains the original name of the now 50-year-old course. The course is used for automotive and motorcycle racing. The Donnybrooke Road Course has 10 turns and is considered wide – the main straight is wide. There is essentially no elevation change. BIR is a high-speed course; vehicles can reach speeds of nearly and take the slowest corners around . There are wide runoff areas at most of the corners, which makes BIR's road course extremely safe. This configuration uses the dragstrip as part of the course.

Competition Road Course

The 2009 racing season was the first for the course which was completed in the 2008 summer. Turn 1 on the Competition Road Course is the same as Turn 1 on the three-mile road course. Turn 1 is a narrow but very high-speed banked right-hand 60-degree turn, which is intended be taken flat out by all vehicles. Turns 1 through 8 of the original road course are used for the new circuit. At Turn 8, a 240-degree right-hand Clover Leaf transitions drivers from the old course to the new stretch of asphalt that winds its way back across the infield, eventually tying back into the original circuit just before Turn 1, avoiding the dragstrip. In all, the Competition Road Course features 13 turns and very little elevation change.

Dragstrip

The dragstrip dates back to 1969, when Donnybrooke converted the mile-long straightaway on its road course to a drag strip and hosted an NHRA Divisional Points Race. In 1977, BIR hosted the Crown Auto Funny Car Championships and the Crown Auto Winston Points Championship. It was reconstructed in 2005, adding a concrete launch pad and new asphalt for the remaining 600 feet was installed.

, set the world record for top fuel dragsters with a run in 2005. This speed and time are recorded at the end of a standing start quarter mile acceleration race, before the NHRA shortened top fuel and funny car races to the current since 2008.

Lap records

The fastest official race lap records at the Brainerd International Raceway for different classes are listed as:

References

External links

brainerdraceway.com
Official website
Circuit Photos
Aerial Photos
Trackpedia guide to Brainerd including videos with telemetry and track notes
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Crow Wing County, Minnesota Motorsport venues in Minnesota NHRA Division 5 drag racing venues Superbike World Championship circuits IMSA GT Championship circuits NASCAR tracks Tourist attractions in Crow Wing County, Minnesota Brainerd, Minnesota Road courses in the United States Drag racing venues 1968 establishments in Minnesota Sports venues completed in 1968