In a day and age where track closures seem to make headlines far too often, the Drag Racing Community was in need of the news of Bradenton Motorsports Park (BMP) beginning the project of renovations to improve the track for racers and fans alike. When Victor Alvarez bought BMP four years ago, he had big dreams of turning it into one of the best facilities in the country for year-round drag racing of every kind. Flash forward four years, throw a global pandemic into the mix, and Victor's goal is still quickly becoming a reality.

When asked "Why now?" a very quick "why not?" was thrown back. "When I bought the track in April of 2018, one of the first things I wanted to do was put new bleachers in, and to do an all concrete surface, so these are things I've been working towards and things I've been dreaming of doing," said Alvarez.

"There was no real reason not to. All of our events do really well and I think the sport goes through highs and lows, but it's doing very well right now. There is so much going on from No Prep stuff, to Pro Mod, radial stuff, street car stuff. It's all succeeding. If we continue to invest in the racers and the track, it will continue to grow. This has been four years in the making and once I got to a place where I knew I could pull it all off, nothing was going to change my mind or stop me."

The team broke ground Monday, June 13, 2022, and have been making serious headway each day since.

“When you're looking at a car from six feet away, you can't see all of the imperfections, but the owner knows all of the scratches and dents, and it was rough.” Alvarez continued. “It was an old surface and we beat her up. We test more than almost any track in the country. We’re open 7 days a week, months on end, so the surface gets abused by that. We go back and forth from radial prep to Pro Mod prep to Pro Stock test prep, and more. The surface needed attention. We probably could have gotten more time out of it, but the timing made sense."

BMP has been the spot for year-round racing of all kinds due to it’s location, and consistency of the facility. From street racing to Professional NHRA teams doing pre-season testing, the Doorslammer Nationals, and everything in between. Alvarez credits Track Operations Director, Wade Rich, and team with much of their success.

“We are able to be a step ahead of a lot of other tracks for many reasons,” boasted Alvarez. “People travel not only because you can test in Florida all year. They travel because of Wade, because of our team, the reputation that our track has, and we always try to be as accommodating as possible. Because of that, our surface means a lot more to us than I think most realize. In my ownership, all of the investments I've made, they come back in a sense that they are very appreciated by racers and fans. You don't get your money back overnight, but that's not what it's about. I'd like to be here for a very long time in this sport and hopefully own more tracks, so I'm going to keep on going all in.”

Photo: Track Owner, Victor Alvarez, leads team in major track renovations at Bradenton Motorsports Park. 

When it comes to specifics, there is a lot going to be worked on in the next few months.

“On top of getting some amazing new bleachers from Palm Beach, the entire surface is getting re-done. Concrete to 1000ft mark and asphalt from there, before now we were concrete to 200 ft. Not that it was not a good track, and you can attribute that to our staff and racetrack. Wade is arguably the best at what he does. I’m excited to see what the racers can do with an all-concrete surface. With my team and a great track surface, the sky is the limit.

Due to the track being able to run year-round, the summer tends to be a slower time due to rain, so they are using this time to make the updates before the fall and winter events pick back up. Renovations are scheduled to be complete this fall, but the main motivator to do this now and get it done quickly is the FL2k event October 6-9, 2022.

“We are estimating six to eight weeks on the track resurfacing and then we will start doing test sessions, bracket races and local programs. Our next big race and the biggest motivating factor for these changes is FL2k in October. That race brings in a lot of racers, fans, and we have a lot of really fast street cars, so that race, the Snowbirds and US Street Nationals are my biggest motivators to get this track to the best that it can be. I’ve had a vision since I took over to make this track a world class facility and we are making that into a reality. I want to be the track that everyone is talking about, the place where everybody wants to go. Slowly but surely, we will get there.

Photo: Bradenton Motorsports Park's new grandstands are just part of the renovations going on at the facility. 

The Drag Racing community has had some big blows lately with track closures all over the country. News is reported each week about the negative effects these closures and the economy are having on our sport. Sure, that is happening, but BMP is here to change the narrative and the mood of Drag Racing’s future.

“Frequent track closures are absolutely a motivating factor in making this track better,” said Victor. “I mean, we love drag racing. We love the people. We love the sport and all that comes with it, from vendors to sponsors and we are dedicated to this 100%. Doing this at a time where tracks are closing, gas is high, and I think it makes a statement. I am very proud of the track, the staff, and what we are doing here at BMP.”

To keep up with the renovations, visit Bradenton Motorsports Park Facebook and for more information on Bradenton Motorsports Park visit RaceBMP.com