Houston
Raceway Park, now known to many as Royal Purple Raceway, owned by the Angel
Brothers, opened its gates in 1988 as an NHRA (National Hot Rod Association)
racetrack. It was opened so people like myself would have a place locally to
drag race either their racecars or their street cars. Over the years it has
made Baytown a safe place with little to no street racing. Every Friday night
Royal Purple Raceway (RPR), has what they call "Legal Street Racing".
Ever since I was born I have been going out to the drag strip with my dad, and
since I was 9 years old I have been Drag Racing at Royal Purple Raceway,
throughout the years I have seen many people come to RPR to with either their
drag racing car or their street car. This place has made Baytown a safe place
to drive without too much worry of street racing because everyone knows on
Friday night they can go do it legally without taking the chance of getting a
ticket and its fun for the whole family and friends. It has also been a place
that NHRA has been to every year since the first year they opened the gates
back in 1988. In 2000, Houston Raceway park opened a 1/4 mile oval track for
dirt track cars to come and have fun, they often offer free admission for
spectators to come and support the racers on Saturday night events. I feel like
doing this not only brings people out to watch but also keeps people there
watching races instead of being out at a bar or club. Even though RPR does sell
beer most people are more worried about the races and less worried about getting
drunk. Royal Purple is Houston’s only major multi-purpose motorsports
venue, so it brings people from all over the greater Houston area together and
makes Houston and the surrounding area’s safe for drivers.
”Built
in 1988, the Park is situated on 500 acres on the eastern edge of the greater
Houston metropolitan area and is Houston's only major multi-purpose motorsports
venue. The dragstrip boost a three story tower building that incorporates 23
VIP suites, a media center, and race control facilities equipped with
state-of-the-art timing and scoring equipment. In 2000, Houston
Raceway Park opened a new world class high banked 1/4 mile dirt oval at the
facility. Royal Purple Raceway's spacious, paved pit area holds
approximately 400 racing rigs, with additional pit parking available on grass.
The spectator parking lots have a capacity of over 10,000 cars, along with a
special VIP parking area capable of holding an additional 600 vehicles. The
Park has a seating capacity of 30,000, with additional grandstand seating
brought in during major events to accommodate reserved seat requests. Royal
Purple Raceway has modern, permanent rest room facilities and concession
buildings, conveniently located near spectator seating on both sides of the
race track. Royal Purple Raceway enjoys an exclusive contract with the
National Hot Rod Association to host a Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
National Event within a 200 mile radius of the Houston metropolitan area. The
track is owned by the Angel Brothers of Baytown, Texas. The Angel Brothers, as
well as the entire track staff, have an extensive background in motorsports and
an unwavering commitment toward maintaining the highest standards of Texas
pride and professionalism in all areas of track operations and event production.”
You can find this information all at Royal Purples website www.royalpurpleraceway.com. I
have had the privilege of personally knowing the owners of the racetrack and
the staff. They are the first people to make sure you are having a good time at
their facility.
Royal Purple has been like a home-away-from-home
for me. I try to spend every weekend I can at the drag strip, being basically
raised at the drag strip I have had the honor of meeting and becoming friends
with some amazing people, we call it our “Racing Family”. For as long as I can
remember at least 100+ cars come out on ”Legal Street Racing” night. I have
been at a restaurant or at the grocery store and have heard people talking amongst
themselves asking, “Hey you gonna be able to make it to the track Friday so we
can race” and “I can’t wait to run my car down the track now that I have it all
put together”. Meaning that instead of testing it out on the street or IH-10,
everyone knows to take their car to Royal Purple for a safe, fun filled night
with friends and family. Racing there is NOT free but for a small fee of 20$ for
car and driver, 10$ for spectator, and children 12 and under are free, you can
make as many passes as you want from 6 p.m. until 12 a.m. "NO COPS...NO TICKETS!!!" is the
slogan for the Friday night legal street racing at Royal Purple. I have seen
street cars running from as slow as 21 seconds in the ¼ mile to a Nissan GTR running
9 seconds at 145 mph in the ¼ mile. People even stand on the side of the track
on the fence and bet on which car they think will win. Also the ages of people
racing also very from anywhere from 8 to 70+ years old. The oldest person I have
ever personally seen racing was an 87 year old man racing his street car at a
bracket race that Royal Purple had put on. My Grandpa will be 67 years old on
November 27th this year. He has 2 racecars just for him, a 2002 C-5
Corvette, all tube chassis, with a role cage and a 565 Big Block Chevy that
will run low 8 seconds in the ¼ mile, and a pro stock truck with another 565
Big Block Chevy that will run about the same as the corvette. I am 19 and have
a 2002 Mullis Dragster with a 585 Big Block Chevy motor that will run 7.40’s @
190 mph in the ¼ mile. None of these cars are street legal but my grandpa has
always told me “Racing is for the strip not for the street!” and I will
continue to live by that rule and promote it to everyone I know to make sure Baytown
and the surrounding areas continue to be a safe place to drive. Royal Purple
Raceway has been a great symbol of Baytown just by giving people a place to be
safe to race and have fun.
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