Raceway Park

==Background==
The drag strip is located roughly 35 miles east of Heinz Field in New Alexandria, Westmoreland County.
Pittsburgh Raceway Park has earned the "pro" designation by working out a five-year deal with the International Hot Rod Association, that, beginning in the May-June 2009 time frame, will bring a national show to the track annually.
==Insights==
* Onorato touts drag strip
: By Sam Ross Jr., TRIBUNE-REVIEW, March 7, 2008
"Pittsburgh is noted for its black and gold colors on all of its teams. We don't have a black and gold race team, so we're going to declare that this is our fourth team," Onorato said at a press conference held in an area behind the football stadium's press box. "Today, the Pittsburgh Raceway Park will officially be declared the fourth black and gold team for the Pittsburgh Region. When we talk about Pittsburgh, it's not just the city proper, it's actually Southwestern Pennsylvania."
"It's time," said Mike Tedesco, track owner. "Pittsburgh deserves a national event."
IHRA president Aaron Polburn had been thinking along those lines for a decade.
"Back in '98, when I was vice president, one of the original projects I had was to identify untapped markets," he said. "No. 1 on that list was Pittsburgh. It has been a dream of mine to get something done in this marketplace because it has all the right things from a marketing aspect and population. It's almost a perfect racing market."
Onorato put the anticipated five-year economic impact of the IHRA shows at $100 million.
Before that can be realized, Tedesco is pouring $3.5 million into track improvements. Plans for those upgrades, which include more seating, relocating the starting area and building a tower with VIP suites and press facilities, were prominently displayed on a table.
Tedesco also is reaching out to children and young adults through a variety of projects under the title Safe Streets Summit. The idea, which includes reading sessions with elementary students and racing competitions pitting school against school, is to introduce individuals to the idea of keeping fast driving off the public streets.
"We stress it's fun to go fast, but it has to be done in a safe environment," Tedesco said. "That's what the track's about."
Sam Ross Jr. can be reached at sross@tribweb.com or 724-838-5144. 
category:organizations