Another full day of forecasted cold weather led to the cancellation of Sunday eliminations at the 17th annual U.S. Street Nationals presented by Diamond Pistons at Bradenton Motorsports Park. The race will not be rescheduled, and the guaranteed payout funds will be distributed to all drivers left in competition.
“Long story short, by the time this track gets enough temperature in it to run you guys, we’ll be lucky if we get one round done,” said track owner Victor Alvarez at a driver’s meeting Sunday morning. “We’re going to call the race because we want everybody to go home in one piece and everybody be safe. All the payouts are guaranteed so we’ll split everything up.”
When Alvarez and his track prep team – which included Jimmy Bradshaw and Tyler Crossnoe – considered the track conditions and the possible outcomes, they determined it was best to make the call early enough to give teams time to pack up and get on the road.
“It’s just not the right thing to do to keep you guys here all day to get one round in – maybe,” Alvarez said. “It’s not the right thing to send you guys down a track that is ridiculously cold. We can’t get enough temperature in it.”
The Bradenton Motorsports Park team has been fighting weather all week, as two days of testing were washed away by rain. Cold temperatures on Saturday reduced the racing window to a little over six hours. Just one round of qualifying in all classes and six pairs of eliminations in M&M Transmission Pro Mod presented by Carmack Engineering were completed Saturday before the rest of the event was postponed to Sunday.
“You guys rely on us to make the right calls,” Alvarez continued in his speech. “Unfortunately, the right call is to call the race. We appreciate everyone who’s come and traveled from afar. We know everybody was really excited about this race. This isn’t how we wanted it to end, but unfortunately, it’s just how it has to end. I know not everybody is happy with that decision, but we hope you guys respect it. These [track officials] worked really hard to try to get it done, but it’s just not in the cards.”
Classes that weren’t able to start eliminations included Voss Wheelie Bars Pro Outlaw 632 presented by $hameless Racing, Proline Racing Pro 275 presented by FuelTech USA, Precision Shaft Technologies X275 presented by Mickey Thompson, Rife Sensors Limited Drag Radial presented by Motion Raceworks, TRZ Motorsports Ultra Street presented by Innovative Racecraft, and the 5.50 Index, 6.50 Index, and 7.50 Index classes.
Racers and fans can direct questions to the track by calling (941) 748-1320 or visiting www.RaceBMP.com.
This story was originally published on January 30, 2022. 
