World Series of Drag Racing is postponed

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    ROCK ISLAND COUNTY, Ill. (Quad-City Times) — Back in May, Dominic Blasco was adamant.

The 67th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts World Series of Drag Racing was going to happen on the weekend of Aug. 28-30.

Whatever he had to do, whoever he had to call, whichever strings he had to pull, there was no way the president and general manager of Cordova International Raceway was going to allow one of the oldest and most popular drag racing events in the country to be canceled this summer.

But even Blasco’s determination couldn’t overcome a global pandemic and the fears and concerns that surround it.

So it was with great sadness that Blasco announced Tuesday that the World Series will not come off as scheduled due to the persistent presence of COVID-19.

“It’s pretty simple …,” he said. “In Illinois, we only have 20% capacity. We’re not happy about it at all.”

Blasco said all along that there was no way the World Series could happen without fans, as some other athletic competitions have.

The event frequently attracts crowds of up to 15,000 people for its Saturday night session and that just wasn’t going to be feasible under the current restrictions laid down by the state of Illinois. He finally determined that even a small crowd wasn’t going to be enough to justify holding the iconic event.

“We are very disappointed that we will not hold the 67th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts World Series of Drag Racing this year but look forward to having ‘The Granddaddy of Them All’ bigger and better than ever Aug. 27-29, 2021,” Blasco said in the official news release issued by the track. “Keeping our community that includes our staff, racers, crew members and fans safe is our utmost priority while adhering to guidelines from local and state health officials. We thank our fans and sponsors for their support during this challenging time.”

Fans who already have purchased tickets can call the raceway at 309-654-2110 or email Teri Blasco at tblasco@racecir.com to receive a credit or to make other arrangements.

Other than 2016, when officials of IRG Sports + Entertainment moved the event to Memphis for one year, the World Series of Drag Racing has been held at Cordova on the last weekend in August every year since 1957.

When it returned to the track about three miles north of Cordova in 2017, it drew as large and enthusiastic crowds as ever.

That’s why Blasco tried so hard to keep this year’s event alive. He said in May he had sent letters to the governor and other state officials with all of it “falling on deaf ears.”

Cordova has hosted several weekly events this summer with a limited number of spectators and it announced Tuesday that it will host Bracket Bonanza races August 28-29, the same weekend the World Series was scheduled to be held.

“It’s just a big bracket race,” Blasco said. “And we do have some entertainment with that, but it’s got nothing to do with the World Series. It’s just a different venue.”

He said that like the weekly races, the bracket event can be held under the 20% limitations.

For now, Blasco said he and his staff are scrambling to handle details of the cancellation and haven’t really taken time to gauge the public reaction.

“I haven’t got that far,” he said. “I’ve been on the phone nonstop and so has my staff, to be able to stop and look and look at the comments. I’ve got a ton of calls to return. It’s too early to talk about the feelings of people, but I can tell you the feeling is disappointment.”

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