Thunderhill Raceway - One Lady's Passion

The JRA Kids club, established for the promotion of children's involvement in motorsports, sponsors events at the track, including a swap meet, bicycle races during intermissions, a Fantasy Auto Racing League and kids doing broadcasting online. In conjunction with a swap meet in March, Naumann instituted the First Annual El Zorro Enduro 200. One of the cars entered in the Enduro was built by FFA students at Midlothian High School with $500 donated by the JRA Kids club. The grandstands at the track include a JRA Clubhouse.

Another change in 2007 was affiliation as an American Speed Association (ASA) member track. "We were a Level II track last year," Naumann says. "We'd never been nationally sanctioned before. It's prestigious. The A-Line Super Stocks this year are Level I and can run for a national championship."

Carey Stapp, the track's 2007 Super Stock champion, moved up to TSRS this year and feels management of the track has improved with Naumann in charge. "She cares about the racers and does everything she can to make it right for them," says Stapp. "She makes the racers want to put in the extra effort to come out every week."

What is the track like to race on? "A lot of people say there's only one groove at Thunderhill," Stapp says. "There is an outside groove, but if it rains the week before, the outside groove is gone. It was better when we raced every week, but if the track sits for a while it gets finicky."

"It's not a two-lane racetrack," Naumann admits. "Although about four times (in the last race) I noticed them three wide. It's not an easy track to learn but once they learn it, they love it. I never would have built it like that."

The track, in some ways, may be more forgiving than a lot of tracks since the only wall is on the front straight. Embankments surround the rest of the track. A driver losing it in three out of four turns won't hit any walls.

While the All State Texas Racefest in April featuring the NASCAR Camping World Series West and TSRS almost filled the grandstands to capacity of around 3,500, attendance at most weekly shows is only about a quarter of that.

"My goal is to put butts in the grandstand," Naumann says. "Once I get them there, they'll come back. Those drivers put on a heck of a show."

She lowered general admission prices at the track this year, as the price of an adult ticket went from $15 to $10 and for teens ages 13 to 18 the price dropped from $10 to $8.

ASA A-Line Super Stocks, Thunder Stocks, and Grand Stocks

Camping World Series West, Texas Pro Modifieds, Texas Pro Trucks, Texas Super Racing Series, Texas Pro Sedans, Texas Dwarfs, Lone Star Legends and Bandoleros, Allison Legacys, NASKARTS