$200,000 Investment in Seattle NHRA Race Might Be Just Tip of Iceberg

• Pacific Raceways owner/president Jason Fiorito exploring ways the facility’s Pacific Innovation Center could become hub for racing technology of future.

• Racing under the lights Friday night at Pacific Raceways near Seattle is more than just a fan-favorite move—it represents next-level cooperation with the NHRA.

• A visit to last month’s Formula E event at Portland, Ore., energized Fiorito, boosted his curiosity about ‘greener’ racing.

News that the July 19-21 35th edition of the NHRA Northwest Nationals will feature Friday night qualifying under the lights for the first time represents a bold gamble for the suburban Seattle venue.

But for facility president Jason Fiorito, the $200,000 investment in added lighting means so much more than giving fans the thrilling flames-shooting-from-the-headers optic. It marks a successful cooperative venture with the NHRA and the Professional Racers and Owners Organization (PRO) to attract more fans.

Moreover, it is a key step in a fresh, aggressive approach Pacific Raceways is taking to grow drag racing and act on Fiorito’s keen interest in playing a role in developing hydrogen fuel technology.

This Friday-night effort, which comes at a time when the NHRA community is experimenting with trimming the show from three days to two to cut costs and improve the customer experience, Fiorito said, “We're going a little bit the opposite direction. We're adding a qualifying session, adding lights to put on what we hope will be a phenomenal show at night.

“We're making the decision to increase our expenses and put on a longer and what we hope will be a better show to attract more spectators. We have to do all we can to put on the best show for the fans to make it worthwhile for PRO and their sponsors and create an experience both for in-person and on TV that we hope will really play well. So we're taking some risk here, for sure,” he said.

“The NHRA and Pacific Raceways are sharing that risk, but we feel like adding to the show is a better play in our market, and we're probably the best to judge what will and won't play in our market. And other folks are better situated to make those decisions in theirs. So I'd never questioned what somebody else is doing in terms of what's best for their market and their fans. We're all business people and we have to do what's best in our own little niches in the country.”

Fiorito said he has not “specifically sat down with PRO or NHRA to contemplate a two-day event. We're a very, very long pull [long distance to travel to]. We know that our market is an important one, but it's also much different in geographic location and maybe in population base and demographics, as well. That’s not to say that we're any better than anybody else, just different.

"Knowing what I know about PRO and their desire to have four qualifying sessions up here, my guess is that they would hesitate to support a move like that, so I don't know that that conversation would gain a lot of traction in our market. But we're always willing to entertain any ideas that keeps the sport healthy and profitable. I just don't know if that would play in our market as well as it's playing in other markets.”

The NHRA is splitting the $200,000 cost to bring in added lighting. “and the additional staffing that it takes.” While that figure is staggering and perhaps counter-intuitive considering the current trend, Fiorito said he’s encouraged by the whole process.

“I've been frustrated at certain points with the national event, but I have appreciated the interaction with PRO and NHRA. I'm not shy when it comes to complaining about things, but this is an opportunity to give folks props. I also want to be equally vocal that the NHRA and PRO, in an attempt to not only maintain but build this market, have both been phenomenal in negotiating a scenario where we can invest $200,000 in an event while other people are tightening the belts. They've been really a great group to work with.

The electrification and “greening” of American auto racing is an area in which Pacific Raceways could play a major role one day.

“With our Pacific Innovation Center, that's starting to gain traction here,” he said, emphasizing that “motorsports drives innovation and technology in mobility and sustainability. “EV racing hasn't really gained a lot of traction yet, but we may be one of the markets where that could play well.

"We have a very environmentally conscious fan base that focuses on innovation and technology. So we're starting to try to acknowledge that motorsports, including the NHRA is developing battery technology. I'm excited about hydrogen fuel technology. ”

He said he and the late Frank Tiegs, whose Washington State-based properties included frozen-food giant Flav-R-Pac (sponsor of the Seattle race) had discussions about net-zero carbon alternatives to the internal-combustion-engine status quo.

And Fiorito’s position, he said, was that “Water vapor coming out of the exhaust pipes of a 10,000- horsepower internal combustion engine that still shakes the ground, makes a lot of noise, but produces water vapor as exhaust... I'm really excited about that. I think hydrogen fuel and hydrogen fuel cell technology is going to eclipse battery and technology as we move forward as a sustainable yet sellable racing series.

"I think there's a lot of advancement being made in hydrogen fuel right now about which we're really excited. I would be really supportive of that technology being developed in the Pacific Northwest—and on our grounds.”

Fiorito attended last month’s ABB FIA Formula E Portland E-Prix just three hours away, in a bit of a scouting mission.

He said he has been “in discussions with Pape machinery, who has a subsidiary, Pacific Clean Fuels, that is developing a lot of hydrogen technology in conjunction with John Deere equipment in over-the-highway truck scenario. So I think major mobility and racing have the ability to intersect. And if that happens at Pacific Raceway Pacific Innovation Center... Their environmental sustainability is first and foremost on our fan-base's minds and the local corporations’.

"I think we're going to make large strides in growing motorsports—where in other parts of the country, they're tightening their belts."

For the immediate future, two qualifying sessions will take place both Friday and Saturday, with eliminations scheduled for Sunday. After the Northwest Nationals, just three more races remain before the NHRA starts its six-race Countdown to the Championship.