Racing helps Super Nats draw 20,000 to Salem

By Don Shilling

Motorcycles, semi trucks and even snowmobiles pulled up to the starting line.

SALEM — The Super Nats aren’t just for watching anymore.

The big draw for the Steel Valley Super Nationals is racing, and it’s not just souped-up cars.

Motorcycles, semi trucks, vans and even snowmobiles sped down the track to the delight of about 20,000 people who attended the three-day event that ended Sunday at the Quaker City Raceway just north of Salem.

Corey Ward, a promoter from Austintown, bought the event in 2005 and moved it from the Canfield Fairgrounds, where there was only a car show.

“Adding racing gives it a whole new dimension,” Ward said.

About 700 people signed up to race in addition to the people who brought cars to exhibit.

No elimination rounds took place. At random, vehicles lined up against vehicles of the same variety just so they could see how fast they could go.

The race between the semi trucks was a surprise, even to one of the drivers, Bill Burns.

Burns brought some friends and a Ford Mustang to race, but Ward persuaded him to put his truck on the line against an Air Force truck that had hauled a military display to the racetrack.

“It was just a little show for the people,” said Burns, who is from Connecticut but rents a house in Austintown because he does trucking work locally.

For the complete story, see Monday's Vindicator or Vindy.com