Michelle Lackey & Alaska Raceway Park
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Term
funny car
A funny car is a special race car used in drag racing that looks like a regular car but is built to go very fast in a straight line. It's made to be light and powerful to win races.
Car
Ford Fox Body
The Ford Fox Body is a type of Mustang car made a while ago that people like to change and make faster for racing.
Car
Ford F150S
The Ford F-150 is a big truck that many people use for work and fun because it can carry heavy things and go fast when needed. Some people like to change its engine to make it even stronger and faster. It's a very popular and trusted truck.
Term
427 stroker
A 427 stroker is a car engine that has been changed to be bigger and stronger, helping the car go faster and have more power.
Concept
Daytona
Daytona is a famous race track in Florida where big car races happen, like NASCAR and long endurance races.
Concept
PRI
PRI is a big event where people who work with race cars and performance parts meet and show off new stuff.
Concept
motorsports
Motorsports means races or competitions where people drive cars or bikes really fast to see who wins.
Concept
pit crew
In racing, a pit crew is a group of people who quickly fix and take care of the race car during the race, like changing tires or adding fuel.
Concept
racetrack
A racetrack is a special place where people race cars or other vehicles to see who is fastest. It’s like a big road made just for racing.
Concept
NASCAR track
A NASCAR track is a special race track where cars race in circles or ovals, and it's part of a big car racing series called NASCAR.
Concept
circle track
A circle track is a race track shaped like a big circle or oval where cars race around and around.
Car
Pontiac Firebird
The Pontiac Firebird is an old, powerful car that many people loved because it looked cool and could go fast. It was popular at race tracks and with people who like muscle cars. It’s a special car for many fans.
Concept
Pro Mods
Pro Mods are special race cars built to go very fast in drag races. They have lots of changes to their engines and bodies to help them win.
Concept
Jr Dragster
Jr Dragster is a type of race car for kids and teenagers to learn how to race safely on drag strips.
Concept
drag race
A drag race is when two cars race each other in a straight line to see which one is faster. It usually happens on a special track and is a quick, exciting race.
Term
visor
The visor is the clear part on a race helmet that covers the eyes. When the driver puts it down, it means they are ready to start racing.
Concept
SCCA
SCCA is a group that organizes car races and events for people who like to race cars, from beginners to pros.
Concept
oval track
An oval track is a race track shaped like a big oval where cars go around mostly turning left.
Concept
drifting
Drifting is when a driver makes the car slide sideways around corners on purpose, which looks cool and is a type of car racing.
Concept
drag racing
Drag racing is when two cars race side by side in a straight line to see which one can go faster in a short distance.
Car
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a cool, fast car that many people like because it looks sporty and drives well. It's often used for fun driving or even just as a regular car. People enjoy it because it’s exciting to drive.
Car
Chevrolet Chevelle
The Chevrolet Chevelle is an old muscle car that people liked because it was fast and looked great. Many car fans still enjoy racing and collecting them today. It’s known as a strong and fun car to drive.
Concept
Junior Dragster
Junior Dragster is a type of drag racing for kids where they race smaller cars that are safer and easier to drive. It helps them learn how to race.
Concept
EV class
The EV class is a group in drag racing where only electric cars race against each other. It shows how electric cars can be fast too.
Concept
dragsters
Dragsters are super-fast cars built just to race in a straight line for a short distance, like a drag race.
Concept
quarter mile
A quarter mile is a straight track about 1,300 feet long where cars race to see how fast they can go from a stop. It's a common way to race cars and see which is fastest.
Term
200 mile an hour club
The '200 mile an hour club' means a group of drivers who have gone really fast, reaching 200 miles per hour or more. It's like a special achievement for fast driving.
LIVE
let's go we're out here doing it we're doing the damn thing
whether or not that is exactly arp or the mountain behind it it's close and that is
definitely michelle lackey in that picture so uh dude how are you today i'm i'm having a
monday it's a monday but that's all right you got a fresh lineup though oh yeah the the wife
cut my hair on saturday and look at that good job every time we're back baby the most handsome pad
podcast is back yeah when uh it only lasts a couple days so gotta show it off while it lasts
see i usually have to grow into mine like i don't i don't like it the first day i get it cut
but like day six day seven that's when it really comes into its prime well uh that's what hats are
for hi i wear a hat 90 of my life so the me too i'm sporting a new one this week western colorado
dragway my boy chris northup hooked it up funny car chris look at that now a little care package
i already dirtied up my theobald hoodie yesterday so it's in the wash but uh thanks for that brother
those are slick oh heck yeah i gotta gotta give it to the people that give back to so that's right
looks like this weekend this week we're presented by uh nikey up in your up on your shoulder we're
presented by them hey that's the backpack of my four time back to back to back to back state
championship cheerleading oldest daughter lucy uh they came in second last weekend she was going for
the five pete and they came up just short but uh and she graduates into like a whole new league
next year um at high school so it was kind of the grand finale uh for cheer um but that was a lot of
fun and they and they decked them out with all the sweet gear and my checkbook can attest to that
because man there is no more expensive sport that you can get your kids involved in than cheer or
dance holy smokes they have the truth unbelievable go go go all the time ain't it but uh we're selling
cookies and cinnamon rolls and anything you can sell that new fundraiser every every week man it was
it was pretty soon we just started stroking checks like how much do you need to raise
because we were like bernie sanders man like that that meme you posted it was like we are once again
asking for your financial support and like we we hadn't even got the check from the from whatever
they bought from us the week before you know and it's like it got to the point where we're just like
how much do you need we're not gonna keep doing this your neighbors and your close family has
had enough chocolates and oh yeah all kinds of dumb stuff like it was ridiculous so
yeah well she's getting into the school system because they don't do that when she's
in the school team so heck of a run by your daughter and and her whole entire cheer team but uh
yeah speaking of runs um troing organ is starting to predict the future um dylan howe down in las
vegas brand new dragster and already bringing home some trophies so uh what do you how do you feel
about that hey man i feel great about it right it does it tracks perfectly i'm not surprised uh
you know he i've been talking to him he was down there he'd been testing it he was right back down
there testing uh his copo um and some other cars uh and he told me that jackson was ready man and
like i told you he'd been putting a lot of work in in the off season um really really focused
and uh i don't know how many rounds he went but he went all of them and uh parked it in the
winter circle so not surprised at all great way for him to kick the season off uh so super stoked
for dylan and uh dude i mean here we go the world champ another podcast bump goes to our man
henry g uh he went down to bakersfield racked it in for i think it was 1.5 k dog i saw a couple
honey i had to zoom in because i saw some twinskies on top and uh and but he fanned him out real big
and i was like that's just a bunch of twinskies that's only like 200 bucks but it was 1.95 k oh
he he must be listening he's hot on you huh uh uh yeah i looked i had to zoom in i saw some benji's
on the bottom there so really impressive by henry you know we talk all the time we just got done
text a minute ago and uh you know he built that motor in his garage right and so so moved it to
a new kind of stage of his game where no no longer pulling junkyard five o's out of other fox bodies
and f-150s uh built himself a purpose built 427 stroke or small block forward and that thing is
nasty i think he's clicking it around eight grand through the finish line and um running good he's
driving good saw him hitting those lights real hard and uh minus that 41 i think it went 41 or
something at one point but uh but he still found a way to get it done and a great way for him to
kick off the season man um another one of the best to do it out here on the west coast and
he's picking right up where he left off last year so looking for big things this year out of hen
absolutely well uh that's kind of it for uh highlights updates hey not a bracket racing
thing but we like to talk about nikes and we like jordan jordan got the three-peat baby
already three-peated him three first three races of the season let's go man another reason why he's
the goat just doing goat things you wait yeah he sued an ass car and now we've got it right just
unstoppable so super stoked for uh for mj in the 23 XLT he's uh trying to get that ring
something other than uh basketball yeah buddy no love it love it well uh let's bring our guest on
uh miss michelle um let's do it hi guys hi michelle
how are you doing up in alaska uh it's a little chilly but uh thanks for having me on your show
today uh you are very welcome thank you for making some time for us this is uh i'm stoked for every
show but this is a week that we've been talking about this for quite some time long before i ever
reached out to you we knew we had to get you on here this is a track that is literally on everybody's
bucket list um most of us know nothing about it we just know about that sweet mountain and we know
there's a track up there and so so everyone wants to go so uh super stoked to have you take some time
um what'd you say pre-show 22 below last night up there yeah this morning when i got up to take
my son to school was 22 below i was like uh this is ridiculous unreal but it's warmed up to like 12
unbelievable she's starting to break a sweat it's 12 degrees i know right too hot all day right now
well yeah again just really appreciate it i know i know you're a busy gal and um you know not quite
probably getting into the full pre-season uh swing yet but i know you've been traveling i
know you went to pri i think you were down at daytona so clearly keeping yourself busy um and
yeah thanks for making some time for us today absolutely why don't we uh get right into it trey
let's go uh so if go ahead people do not know miss michelle here is the manager of the track
especially of a track of this nature um what what is uh how did you get involved with
motorsports and arp in uh in general well um a cooler title than manager's owner so there's that
um that is me too so um but so we got
started out here at the raceway with um my older brother jimmy used to race way back in the day um
he's he found the racetrack in the in the 80s when he was in high school and so of course you
know drunk racing's a family affair so we all ended up coming out here um jim was racing my dad
was pit crew i ended up racing when i turned 16 and got my license my my brothers all raced um
and then fast forward to like the late 90s mid 90s there was a group of racers that bought the
racetrack from the original owners um alaskan raceway park was started in 1964 and they'd been
doing it for 30 years and they were about ready to be done so they sold it to a group of racers that
got my parents involved and then in 1998 my parents took over from everybody else and so they were
the sole owners um at that time um i had my daughter so i was pulled from from racing and
got put in the tower and then i've pretty much been working here ever since kind of off and on
throughout the years um i did take some time and win a championship on my snow machine drag racing
in 2009 um moved to fairbanks for a little while and then in 2016 uh we opened our NASCAR track and
so when we opened that dad was like okay i'm going to build this they were in their 70s dad
was 75 when he built the circle track and he said you know i'm going to build this but you're
going to run it and i was like okay well you know it can't be that hard right i grew up with a drag
strip but you know circle track whatever um it's definitely different and it took me a while to
to learn it but we're in our 10th season now and um things are are cruising right along and
i've been steadily taking over um ownership from my parents since 2016 and 2026 i am uh
100 percent owner of this amazing facility that's super awesome i got two follow-ups there i want
to know okay i grew up uh at firebird raceway in boise idaho i grew up like six months the original
firebird the only yeah i don't know about that other place um but they can call it whatever they want
but there's only one firebird raceway and it's in idaho um and right next to it is a place that
used to be called the super oval and eventually chap rail speedway three eighth mile high bank
NASCAR northwest type track uh so love that stuff too how big is the circle track at arp
um it is a third mile on the inside line okay and what pretty low banked right from what i can
tell her or does it get in the corner um it's six eight and ten okay it looks like a sweet
track another amazing backdrop of course um so i want to i want to build on your last answer
right not just the manager the owner really a steward of this sport up in up in your state right
in a and an advocate and for the people who who race at your facility and you're also a woman
and so not many um lady track owners and managers i happen my home track happens to be
owned by a lady sherry severance and and run by her so i so um you know i i have been to tracks
that are um lady owned and managed but it's pretty rare across the landscape what does that mean to
you to be a to be a female in this sport um and to play the role that you play up at Alaska Raceway
park well it has um it's definitely had its challenges i mean i i grew up at the drag strip
so i had a lot of connection with the racers um so stepping into the management role here wasn't
wasn't as hard as um over at the oval track you know my my dad built the track with one of the other
the drivers over there who's got a construction company you know so that he built the track
we got it going my first oval track race was opening day at our track and so i didn't really
know anything everybody knew that i didn't know anything and so um i had to spend a lot of the
first couple years trying to prove myself to everyone um and even now um not not just like
here at the track but on a on a more nationwide level i feel like i still have to i don't know if
it's like overcompensate but i have to i feel like i have to work a little bit harder to make
sure that people take me seriously like i actually do know what i do you know i'm doing here i i do
track prep i do you know the maintenance i clean the bathrooms i do the ticketing i do you know if
there's a job that's out here i have done it um i have raced at both tracks i've raced um a multitude
of other things so i have experience on both sides of the the coin i guess um but i i feel like i
have to work pretty hard to um to make sure that people i don't know the word is um just to make
sure that that i'm credible i guess and so i've been um trying to connect with other women you
know like i know sherry we go to the d6 meetings and and so i've known sherry for a while um but
it it's nice to have that connection with other ladies that are doing this and there aren't very
many of us across the the globe really there's not a whole lot of of women in the management
and ownership roles and so um it's exciting to be kind of on this this new frontier but
we definitely got to work for it well i think it's super cool and and you know um one of a few
women may leave in your mark right and it's i was thinking about how we have um we've got all these
men in this sport but some of the biggest legends some of the biggest stars are women and um and i
think that's pretty cool and you know i don't want to beat that horse too much because it i think
if you talk about it too much then it then it gives credence to like oh you're different or it's
or it's a different thing um you're obviously hitting hitting with the big boys and and and i love
it so uh as you've went through that process obviously um i've heard that you know i've heard
the uh the the vibe at that track the culture there is so much different um than really anywhere
else um so maybe like talk about that a little bit talk about who your core customer base is
what racing is is all about for them and and what keeps them coming back to arp
well i mean nobody in in racing really gets super rich as erasure like you do it because
you have a passion for it and because you you love you know going i love going um but i don't
true up here um it is very expensive to race in alaska we have um a lot of logistical issues you
know i mean cars either have to come from the lower 48 and get shipped up here or they have to
be built in and that takes a while because there are not a ton of fabricators here that are capable
of building stuff like that um but we have an amazing group of people who are very passionate
about what they do we have some i mean some of the pro mods and the the guys that are running
our top eliminator class like they're amazing vehicles for the 10 race season that we have
you know and um these guys are out here doing it they're here every weekend they're supporting the
track they're um you know they come out on thursday and hang out all weekend because this is this is
our home in the summertime you know this is our family and a lot of us have you know a lot of
the racers that are here have seen me grow up over the years they've seen my kids grow up you
know i've seen the jr dragster drivers turn into you know regular drivers and now their kids are
driving and it's just really cool to have all of these generations here and we're all here because
we love motorsport so much and if the fans and the racers and our employees and sponsors and
everybody wasn't supporting the track and we imploded all of these people would have nowhere
to go you know there's there is no other drag strip in alaska and so they we all have this
ecosystem where we all kind of rely on each other you know and i provide the place for people to
come and have a good time on the weekends and it's my job to make sure that it's safe and it's fair
and that it is um sustainable and it's all sometimes a little bit heavy i try not to think
about it like that but um you know it's it's a lot of responsibility but it's i feel like it's
something that i need to do so that we can continue to have motorsports in alaska because
you know building another track isn't really an option unless you know i don't know you're gonna
win a big lottery you're gonna have to win a big one um i was i was talking to former division
director matt levonis and and he's the one he's telling me he's like man the vibe is is uh he's
like it's a big barbecue and a drag race breaks out every once in a while and uh and he was talking
about that you know the supply chain issues the there's not a million race car fabricators there's
not a ton of speed shops look at that spread and gold dust look at the track machine look at that
hot rod um and he said some of the ingenuity on some of these vehicles because people just got
to figure it out and just build something right because you can't just buy a part or can't do
that he was talking about the ingenuity of some of some of the racers and some of the vehicles
said pretty amazing to to walk around and check out the cars and the pits at arp
yeah and it's it's a um such a big community if if somebody breaks in the pits you know
everybody is kind of help hustling to kind of help get that person back together because nobody
wants to lose like that i mean it's you everybody wants to win but you don't want to lose because
somebody can't make it to the line and and um we're a small community so everybody is is out
there kind of helping each other and you know once the visor goes down it's game over but
after you get back and you pick up your slip you know everybody's having beers and barbecue
and in the pits afterwards and it's just a it's a really really cool community that we're building
and um i'm i'm glad to be part of it that's awesome i'm going to jump in here for a second so you
say it's a 10 race series how long is your guys's race season when does it start when does it end
do you run the NASCAR track in conjunction with the drag strip same day same weekend
or like do you alternate them how does that work so we run from mother's day weekend to labor day
and then we have um like the scca and the sports car club come in before the season get started
and at the end because we don't have trailers and stuff in the pits um and so they come out
and use the facility so we're kind of like april to october um we have 10 point stays scheduled
for the oval track and i believe it's 10 for the drag strips it varies it depends on how the weekends
line up 10 to 12 last year it rained we got five in it sucked um yeah that's not gonna happen this
year but um and then we've got some some street nights we're doing some drag and drift uh events
this year so we're gonna try doing um the drag racing and then drift on the oval track at the
same time and when i look over here i'm like my window faces the track so it's kind of cool
um let's see mother's day labor day i'm trying to remember all the rest of the questions i started
talking and i forgot um and then we've got a bunch of tests and tunes and then we do a couple
other fun events like we have a cash days race so we race from the top end of the track towards
the front of it um we have thunder valley flag dregs which is our fun event where we get to do
it's all retro rockabilly so uh it's 75 and older vehicles um we do pin up contests and
and flags start the cars and stuff like that so we've got a bunch of other special events but
it's it's a relatively short season but very typical i guess of the of the north northern states like
i've got friends that have tracks in wisconsin and stuff and it's very similar um and we don't run
the oval track and the drag strip at the same time currently except for speed fest um just because
i don't have enough staff to do all of it all at once but uh we're don't count it out yet
parker pull that back up or pull another one of those back up i mean a moment of silence
unbelievable like that is i used a little bit of ai on the the show banner but that
is not ai what um what an incredible view and facility i mean and and that's just someone who
comes from a place with big mountains right i can't imagine if you like grew up in Ohio
you're racing out there or something in the cornfields and you see something like that it's
got to be so foreign to those folks but even for someone who grew up near the mountains
uh just takes your breath away what a spectacular spectacular place that you call home i'm very
fortunate unbelievable uh what's the uh what's the real elevation at arp 62 feet oh man she fast
parker she's real fast and then you got 62 000 feet on top of that man yeah it's like six miles away
i mean you can't actually run into it but it looks like it when you're going down the track like
you're gonna drive right to the base that's amazing that's what's cool about some of the
the northwest mountains especially the coastal ranges where the valley floor elevation is like
zero feet so you get the full relief of the mountain and you know where i grew up we had 12
14 000 foot mountains but the valley floor was a 7 000 so you only got to see like 7 000 foot of the
mountain in alaska you get to see the whole damn thing and that's uh that's pretty impressive 62
real elevation i imagine there's plenty of days where you're released you're racing at below sea
level density altitude oh baby you got to go you have to go go that parker place my stalker would
love it oh baby we're getting in the nines up there easy i i got something here so in vegas you have
jets flying over you because the nelas airport or not nelas yeah nelas airport space is right there
and so you get some jets pomona you got planes coming in from in landing across at the the
airstrip across the street but here i would be distracted by how beautiful that mountain is
you catch me staging then i'd be like oh my gosh that look at that mountain just i i just i love how
each track has has their thing and and at this track it's definitely the scenery around it
how often you gotta hold them for like a moose or or a elk or something on the track
um but we we do have occasional um pauses for moose down at the top end so we have um a lady
who's down at the very top end and she's kind of you know directing traffic and keeping an eye on
things down there but she also lets us know when there's um usually we'll have a mama moose and
baby or two at some point during the season we've had links we have a fox that comes and
hangs out there's eagles that fly overhead so um we've had bear before um there's a variety of
things that can show up at the raceway and then we've always got planes there's always little
planes flying overhead and um military base is not too far away so we'll have you know the bigger
black Hawk helicopters and all sorts of stuff fly over that's pretty cool um you're on our podcast
but you're no stranger to this format of media you have your own show called track talk that you
do at least occasionally i think fairly regularly tell us what track talks all about um so i do
track talk on tuesdays um on the same platform um and that started seven seven years ago my first
d6 meeting i went down for my first nha meeting i got my first tech inspector certificate at
bronze level inspection and um i got back and i was like you know it'd be kind of cool to get
online and um you know just touch base and tell people what's going on and so i started doing
track talk and every week and that was in 2020 so it was a really a good opportunity um as the season
progressed and you know everything fell apart and then came back together to be able to get and
contact with everybody and so um i just it's a short little probably 10 minutes most of the time
and just get people updates let them know what uh they need to be working on um we've had some
special guests uh kyle from 1320 was on uh when we announced that they were coming up um so i've had
a few people on there um it's just a great way for me to communicate with everybody and we
save that on our youtube and on facebook so people can watch it later but just to let
people know what's going on and and you know and the off season is very long and so it's really
hard for racetracks to stay connected with their customer base when we don't have racing going on
well i don't know that it's as short as y'all might feel like it is up there uh even at wood burn
i've had seasons where we don't really get started till june and we're always done by the end of
september no matter how good the weather is in october and so you know in april to october
may it is september season like you guys get um y'all ain't getting much less than than we're
getting down here so any of you alaska folk um don't hang your head too low uh we don't get much
more than y'all do parker he gets a lot he gets a lot more where he's at but uh right here it's
pretty similar i will argue with that so even though the off seasons technically from like
november to february pretty short off season we don't do a whole lot of racing in the summertime
because it's too hot so see it's perfect time for you to come do alaska so uh i was actually
showing my wife some of these pictures that you sent us right and uh this year probably not gonna
happen because we're having a baby in july but definitely on the radar uh we're gonna plan a
trip where we go do some fishing uh come up and race a couple cars uh maybe we can talk
troi and his family into coming and if we're lucky maybe we can talk one of the racers into
letting us take a couple cars down the track we need some hotlaps we need we need you to connect
us with with the folks that are gonna throw us the keys to the old chevel or whatever it is the
old money carlo uh we gotta make some laps best of five at arp uh with me and parker look at that
lee zane former world champ lee zane he's coming too perfect let's have a party at arp all right
michelle i have a proposal how okay we put together a rental car only weekend where all of us racers
from the lower 48 or wherever you're from we all just flying in rent cars and just have a street
car race perfect look at how easy that one yeah do you know how much rental cars are in alaska
parker a lot summertime but expensive we could we could we could figure this out if we're planning
for next year we can figure it out you tell me how many cars you need we'll get it put together so
let's go we could just double enter or quadruple under the same car over yeah we don't need not
everybody needs their own car but deep staging allowed footbreak and some rental cars i mean i've
got a charger and a camaro i could let somebody drive so look at that we're taking care of park
and he's a bo par guy and i'm a camaro guy perfect that's settled we don't gotta fight over those
okay well let's make this happen we gotta get up there um so go ahead park go ahead
so you were talking about how uh um sorry i just had a brain fart you're talking about how you come
down and go to like pri insta and you've done a lot of planning what event this year are you most
excited for um coming up that you would like to share about um here at the track yeah that
where we're going with that okay um well there's so many events but the the one that would be great
for you guys to come up and participate in is alaska speed week which is our dragon drive event
we have unique challenges with dragon drives i know they have the the was it the redwood rally
that goes through and stops there down there which is on my bucket list for fall stuff um
we're the only drag strip and so when we decided in 2023 that we were going to do this we ended
up purchasing um and a remote timing system from race in america so it's all wireless we can take
it wherever we want and set it up we go race on uh abandoned airstrip in toke um up in tana cross
which is rough uh some old asphalt but it's a lot of fun and then last year we were able to
connect with the city of nana and we're racing on their airport so we just about have the route
finalized we've got the week scheduled it's june 8 through the 12th for 2026 we are doing it we've
got um seven drivers signed up already for this year those are our local drivers some of them are
are new some of them returning drivers um but we're we're excited for that and it's cool it's
about a thousand miles and starts at alaska raceway park kind of makes a loop because alaska only has
really one highway goes up and makes a loop and then it kind of goes down it's um but it's it's a
good time it's a great way to see alaska and get to drive um you know i was i was telling you when
you sent me the ai picture you know the art picture or whatever um that we don't have lights here
because it doesn't get dark in the win in the summertime um and so there are we have no lights
on the track at all um and so it's kind of cool to be able to come up here and and drive all day
and not really have it get dark do you guys race at funky times because that ever like ever like
you know making laps at 2am or do you keep it pretty standard um we have a noise curfew
so we're supposed to be done at 10 i'm not going to say that that doesn't ever have some messing
around going on but not a track right uh you talk about the the people um you know that race there
how passionate they are um since 1964 right is that what you said 64 so i'm sure at this point um
some legends uh at arp who are who are some of the the kings and queens of of arp from over the years
well we've we've had um quite a few few legends we do have tesla in alaska
anyhow sorry um so uh actually today is jimmy moores um the late jimmy moores birthday he
was the big kahuna um he was a funny car racer here back in the 60s and 70s and was actually a
on the west coast went down and raced um down in kimono i believe and um so jimmy moore the moore
family is it's definitely a legend family um the john child who also recently passed away he and his
son jay have been um and jay's a fabricator he builds jay child's race cards builds a lot of the
the race cars and does machining and stuff for a lot of the engines out here um so the child's family
um mighty mike mahaka is a legend if you guys were down in feg let's see he was at phoenix at
the other firebird raceway um the other day with with bobby gordon and they were racing down there
so uh mike is getting out and getting to race down in the states um the snelson family the
nelson family um you know we've had um clarence lemay was also big we were featured in the 1960
i think it was 64 ish issue of hot rod magazine and so they did a really cool lonely article on
the track and all the guys that were here racing so um we've we've had some pretty amazing families
the prokish family um tony is still racing down i think she's living down in washington right now
i saw her at the d6 meeting a couple years ago but um it's kind of neat to see the families from
here that go out and then end up go out and racing and um probably the the most famous
alaskan racer right now is ray martin who's down racing um in the funny car class and and promonts
and stuff down and he's here most of the time and then he's down in arizona and so he's all over
but um yeah if you see ray um he's he's an alaskan kid i didn't know that about ray but uh yeah i i
follow top alcohol a little closer than parker i'm trying to bring him around uh but but definitely
familiar with ray and i was actually just looking through my dad was a big time racing fan and a
photographer and i was looking through old uh photos that go clear back into the mid 60s um
in one of his old photo albums that that was passed down to me after he passed and there i was
literally two days ago looking at pictures he took of the big kahuna funny car so it's funny
that you bring that up because i was just looking at that and and remembering as a kid um seeing
pictures of it and and i think i saw it in person a time or two um so i didn't realize though that
it came from alaska so yeah yeah and that harris harris family is was one of the big
families here um and their funny cars now um my brother is piloting one of them uh he's got
the nitro funny car so he just went uh 251 not last season but this season before and that
and then um don manor took over the the other glacier shaker and so he's running the alcohol
funny car so um it's kind of neat to see those you know even though that their families are are
changing and and things like that to see those cars continue to be part of the landscape here
yeah that's super awesome michelle is there uh more than one racetrack in alaska or you'd be
one and only uh we're the only drag strip and we're the only high bank paved ovals so there are
uh oval tracks in kinai uh kodiak fairbanks and willow and then there's a very small
paved oval in north pole but they do mostly drifting on it now and then um but there's
some there's like some dirt drags and stuff that they do in delta but uh we're the we're the only
drag strip so are you familiar with the name george mahoga or mike mahoga mike mahoga yeah
money mike yeah well uh i had the opportunity to watch him go some rounds down in phoenix uh last
weekend so pretty pretty small world i guess up in alaska of drag racers so uh but so there's no uh
a lack of talent in alaska that's for sure no he's good in that that picture that you showed
with all the chevels and stuff on there um his cars in there he he actually started that race so
right here on the far right that little like aqua chevelle as um mikes and he runs in super
pro he's been doing that for years and then when we did flag drags he set up the chevelle showdown
so this is all chevelles and alchemy knows that fit and so that's his his his class and then they
make this super cool trophy and it's just kind of neat that's awesome uh what in your tenure so far
and maybe even if it happened before you were you know had a leadership role um is there a is there
a favorite event or a moment uh from over the years that'll always stand out for you
oh my gosh i've been doing this for a hot
there's so many i guess there's so many probably one of my biggest biggest moments last year was
was learning how to drive the the tractor um dad dad couldn't get on the tractor anymore last year
and so he um turned over the reins and and i got to learn how to do a track prep and and take that
over from him and kind of show him that i could do it before he passed in november so um that was
probably one of my my my biggest pride moments was being able to do that um is that him that's him
right there running the power scraper right yep that's bad love it love it and like i love that i
love that the tractor still got the big old knobbies on it oh yeah just rock and gold dust out there
and it just fits right that's that's i wouldn't expect any other thing at alaska raceway park
if that was some big new fancy cabota with slick tires it wouldn't it just wouldn't fit i love it
it's got the johnny popper on top too on the on the pipe i love it someday i'd like to have one
of those big tractors with the entire machines and all the rest of it but we're not there yet
when i was younger i grew up in drag racing so uh the flapper that you saw on top of the tractor
i thought that the drag racers invented those and then the tractor guy is copied then
not the other way around oh parker um so what does a typical um drag race uh weekend look like for
you what categories how many entries uh what's what's the typical um so we have approximately
depends on on the weekend you know holiday weekends are a little bit bigger but we're
we're usually at between 70 and 100 racers or so um we run super pro pro sportsman
motorcycle snow machine class um trophy class junior dragster last year we added nha junior
street so we had four kids competing in that um this year we're adding a separate ev class um
so we'll have that class set up and then on the big weekends we run our top eliminator class and
top eliminator is a 70 index class and then depending on how far under the you know index
goes they their individual index can get reset so if they're running a 620 on a regular they can
get get that set up but that has um dragsters funny cars pro mods um whatever if if you're
fast that's where you run so it's more of an exhibition class but um we we do have competition
so we have three rounds for that one and it's all run um and they get one win point for every
every win that they get in that but that way we can kind of put on a bigger show for everybody who
comes out i want to see that so you're racing you know you might have a front engine slingshot
dragster over here in a pro mod over here and they're racing each other yep oh i love yeah
yeah we don't really have enough of any one particular thing to you know like to make a top
dragster class or anything like that so we just run everybody together and and that way we can put
on a show with all the fast cars for everybody who's in the stands that's super cool i wish there
was more of that they just ran what i think they called it top comp uh down down in phoenix uh a
couple weeks ago so top dragster and top sportsman racing against each other and one of the coolest
things i wish there was a lot more of that stuff this top eliminator just brings it to a whole
another level of coolness yeah yeah no i'm for it man i think it should be a thing everywhere
before uh before we get going i want to show you this picture and did you guys put like
spark tires on to run this or
no we don't i don't send anything down there in the winter time
so cold look at i mean it yeah that's as frozen as it gets right there
man that's a lot of ice well and i saw another picture uh you guys just got a new tower right
making some improvements so uh that's one thing that i love right you've got a you've got a fairly
small customer base but a hundred entries i mean that's that's a solid that's a solid turnout for
for any local track up here especially in the pacific northwest um even down here so so that's
pretty great but i love that you're making investments you're trying to improve and you
got a new tower so um was there something wrong with the old one you just didn't have a good one
what what's the story there what what led to the new tower because it looks nice so the the old
tower was built when they built the track in 1964 on trees so it legit had four you know four trees
in the corners um it was uh sketchy and i own the place now so i'm like you know what this is
this is a little like super unsafe and you know electrical issues and and all the things so at
the end of 2024 we decided you know that was our 60th anniversary we tore the tower down and then
started rebuilding it kind of making it a little bit bigger um had a lot of race or involvement
to get the construction put together um the bottom of it is is brick and then it's the same three
stories um we had a little run in with the uh state fire marshal like two weeks before the
track was supposed to open up last year and had to make a few major revisions to it and uh so one
of those things that they wanted us to do because it is a three-story commercial building even though
we only use it you know 20 days a year or whatever um we had to build um and fabricate a solid steel
staircase so it's just like if you went to your local university or anything you know hospitals
whatever so we had to build a solid solid steel staircase so um our sponsors JD steel
does amazing fabrication they got to work on it they got it designed we got it approved we had
all the stuff but that takes a little bit of time and so um and we we had race season to do so
we got the timing system run through the building so that that we could operate it and um our buddies
over at airport equipment rentals got me a scissor lift and I spent the summer being a scissor
lift operator so that I could get up to the top of the tower and run the timing system um I couldn't
have employees up there because we didn't have stairs and um apparently OSHA doesn't like that
so so I got to be in charge of all of the stuff from upstairs last year and um that was cool I was
glad that we were able to do it it was you know kind of a a pivot for our staff we had to figure
out how that was gonna work and a little bit of a change for racers because they're used to seeing
me on you know on the grounds and um I it was kind of weird like I spent the entire summer and
there's some people that I you know was with all summer because they were here but I never actually
got to see them or talk to them because they would come in after I was in the tower and leave
before you know and so I there's a lot of people I just didn't see last summer and so I'm really
looking forward to this summer because our stairs arrived like um right before labor day last year
and so now um I can have staff up there and I can get out of the tower on race day well yeah and
racers stop by see Michelle in the tower go say hi bring her a coffee or something yeah um and so
the surface uh there you are coming back up the return road it looks like um yeah god what I mean
the return road that's this whole place I gotta go there I gotta come hang out for like two weeks
though um yeah because a single weekend's not gonna cut it so I gotta figure this out but
tell us about the surface uh right you race quarter mile uh all asphalt do you have concrete for a
certain distance or what's the what's the surface like um such a good picture too um so the first
300 feet is concrete um originally we redid the track in 2000 and resurfaced it all and so we put
in uh heated launch pads um it was great in theory didn't really work the way that we had intended
it too but so we've we've kind of abandoned the heated part of it but we do have concrete launch
pads and then the rest of it is asphalt so it's a quarter mile track a quarter mile shut down
we have a little bit after that um just in case and then if you go too far you're gonna go in the
trees um but usually everybody is is shut down by then um there's three turnouts down at the return
road and then uh yeah we just put in new solid pour concrete walls um in 2022 um and a brand new
porter tree timing system with uh the biggest scoreboards I could get because I figured if we
were gonna do it I didn't want mess around and have to do it twice so we just got the biggest
we could get and put that up so um so yeah I've been been making a lot of upgrades to the track
as we go um the tower you know obviously needed to be replaced and and we'll just you know continue
making it better for everybody as as we go nobody wants to wind up in the trees certainly not me
but if that was the last thing I saw if that view right there if it was the last thing I saw I
wouldn't have much to complain about can't go to heaven if you're already there I know right
well Michelle uh if if people said one thing about you when this run is finished what do
you hope it would be oh my gosh put you on the spot right there huh that is so on the spot um
gosh I you totally stumped me I we can come back yeah I don't I don't know like I just I just hope
that that that people remember how much I loved what it is that I do here and how much I love
motorsports and making this happen um this is definitely not been the easiest job that I've
had in my life um it's had a lot of ups and downs and you know you guys have raced for a long time
so you know it's um you have a lot of there's a lot of personalities a lot of relationships a
lot of everything in here and so I have have had the gamut and um you know there's there's a lot
of heartbreak um we have you know drag racing is not a young man's sport per se I'm trying to get
more people into it but um you know there's a lot of people that have have been big parts of my life
that are no longer with us and and my dad included so um this this race season we're gonna dedicate it
to him and he told me when he got up to have any was gonna put in a good word for us make sure we
got some sunshine so we shouldn't have as many rainouts this year but um it's just I I just hope
that people remember how much I love this place see that was the perfect answer that was the
perfect answer um so this season you got speed week that's coming up um you know you've got your
point series this which I want to get to in just a second with some recent news but um but you know
what's on deck this season as far as major events um and what are the some some of the things that
you guys are working on long term um so speed week is is definitely major event that's June 8th
through the 12th um we we're gonna finish that with speed fest which um we started speed fest
last year so that's drifting oval track racing a car show rule racing drag racing um and just
everything all at once because we wanted to kind of highlight everything that we could do out here
so that hopefully you know new people are coming in they go oh you know this is cool and hey I could
do drifting or hey I could I could drag race or my kids could race or whatever and just kind of
expose this whole new generation to what we've got going on um we've got flag drags the end of
June uh we're working on something for 4th of July but that's under the wraps right now so you
bear with me on that and um just trying to make this season amazing for this year um
and kind of recoup from the tower fiasco from last year um and then I'm I'm working on something
for 2027 um should be kind of a bigger event so we'll see um we'll see where that ends up but
I'll let you guys know about that once we get get closer yeah please do we got some we got some
planning to do Parker and I uh to figure it out because we're coming we're gonna come spend a week
or something and hang out uh up there so about the points right you run some of the et series up
there you got folks that race for track championships um you know depending on where the et finals are
that year I know that some of them a handful of them here and there sometimes make it to uh the
the team finals or the race to champions big news coming out of d6 and across um the nha landscape
with the the now two opportunities at et finals um first reaction to that and do you think um
you know do you think there's going to be more folks that might make the journey to edmonton
or something like that um from alaska possibly I think it's you know any opportunity that we
get to go out of state is a good one we have raced in edmonton before um and uh it's it's
quite a hike for us from here but uh you know you saw mike down in in in phoenix and uh we have
we have people that go out and race out of state all the time so I don't think it's out of line to
think that we would have somebody um head out and do that uh the the et bracket finals are really
hard for us because it's our final weekend of this season and so if somebody is in the running
for the points here and they leave to go do that then they would basically forfeit their
points championship here so that's always a challenge um but I I think you know you could
you could see some more of our racers getting out and and driving out of state it's so far to get
there I've I've punched in that I've punched in that out into my google i don't know how many
times a million times and I'm like oh god it's so far but I imagine like that distance to et finals
and and the fact that for the most part a lot of people aren't going to be able to make that trip
right even if it's in mission right that's the closest it could possibly be probably and that's
still super far I imagine that elevates the track championship right like like winning a track
championship there has got to be pretty special for folks if they're able to do that I think I
think it is and especially this year because we'll have those beautiful 75th anniversary
and hra trophies with the sparklies on them like I saw those at the d6 meeting and I was like yeah I
want praise just so I can win one um but I you know it it's pretty special to do it and it's amazing
you know even like the season that I ran the championship I was leading in points you know
for most of the season and then you get down to the last kind of couple races and it's amazing
how tight those races get and we were like one round away from whether I was going to win or not
win you know and and so it's it's always a great honor I think for people to do that and our drivers
we give them a jacket and championship jacket and they get they get their big n hra trophy and
we we just try to celebrate that as much as possible because it's it's it's kind of a big deal
and and people don't want to get that up but I would love to be able to go down and
and go to the bracket final sometime and and be there and have a team yeah it's a pretty cool
atmosphere and and uh you know again the the logistics of it for you guys I think we all
understand but uh if a big squad from Alaska came rolling in one of these years I think we'd all be
pretty stoked for it yeah we'll just load up a huge trailer my man Matt Clark joining us from down
under it is easier than flying to Australia Matt but just barely Matt Clark checking in
top sportsman racer out of out of the upside down and a good friend of ours Parker what else you got
I'm uh I have a lot of friends asking uh when we're going to Alaska so we need to know where we
can find the schedule and the social medias that we can follow you and all these beautiful photos
of your your racetrack um so our schedule is on our website raceak.com um we'll have tickets up in
the next week because that's on my never ending to-do list is to get all that stuff lined up so
those will be available as well um you can follow us on Facebook at Alaska Raceway and on Instagram
I am Lady Track Boss on Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube now I just started a YouTube
channel so I'm trying to figure that all out but um there's there's all the things so um and I think
my intern I got an intern I'm excited I'm she's a drag racer too so I'm excited about that um but I
think Macy's was talking about maybe starting us a little TikTok too so um look for more stuff coming
soon awesome hey that dragster you're in I saw two parachutes on the back uh is that a super
car top dragster kind of car what uh what kind of hot rod are you wheeling?
If that's a top dragster car so I got that up to 191 I was trying to get to 200 because
we have a 200 mile an hour club um and then uh I was hoping we had had a long standing like the
fastest woman in Alaska was actually a lady out of Canada that had been here in an old nostalgia
funny car and so she had the record and it was like 194 and I was like man it'd be cool to hit
the 200 mile an hour club and then also you know I could be the fastest woman in Alaska and probably
the fastest track owner you know because I don't know how many you know I'm going to be self-proclaimed
fastest track owner right fastest female track owner and um we we didn't quite get there and then
my friend Maddie who um does my lashes in the summertime she came out and she had a brand new
new to her dragster and she came out and dropped like a 212 and I was like all right fine so but
now the fastest woman in Alaska is from Alaska yeah yeah Maddie Turnbull is the fastest woman
Alaska um she's an amazing driver she came up from junior dragster ranks and then they had
the dragon slayer so she was running um that was a pro et car and then switched up and now
she's running top eliminator and uh she's in the lash out which is kind of cool and you'll see her
picture on a lot of stuff too but um so it's still on my bucket list I'll still get there one of these
days yeah um we're coming up on that one hour mark michelle uh michelle and just want to you know
say thanks again for taking some time this has been a really fun discussion learn a lot about
what it means to be a racer up there um you know your perspective as a track owner um and learn
about the culture is there anybody you want to shout out anybody you want to thank um any any
final last words you want to get out there uh I know you've probably got some folks from back home
watching you right now so uh if you if you got anybody you want to thank or anything in particular
you want to get out there uh want to give you the floor for a minute um I just you know really
want to thank our community we have um you know I call it our rafts those are the people that are
responsible to um the the racers our employees our fans and sponsors um that those people believe
in me enough to make this happen and um that goes so very far um definitely appreciative of my family
who who tolerates me traveling to PRI and to all of the events that I go to um because the only
way that I'm going to make this better is if I can go out of state and I can learn from you know
the new family and from sherry and joey and you know from from people out out of here out of state
that have been doing this because I'm I'm the only one and so um the more I travel you know I'm
I'm such a nerd I go to like you know sick and I'll go go watch sick week and so I'm at
you know south georgia motorsports park and I'm like taking pictures of the way they've got their
signage and trash cans and you know like nerdy track operator things but you know everything
that we can stuff that we can bring back here to kind of elevate the experience for everybody
um you know I just I am just so appreciative of everybody who who supports us and thank you
guys so much for allowing me the stage to tell everybody about alaska and hopefully um get some
people to come up and visit and and race and and participate in speed week or or you know our our
car rental tournament yeah so many people right they'll load up and go to um people are always
park and I joke about all the time because people will tell us northwesterners like just come on
down to Tucson and from where I'm at in central Oregon even you know it's it's 14 hours to Vegas
and then it's nine more hours to Tucson like it's ridiculous uh but but still people do that they'll
truck all the way down there they'll go to Vegas they'll go all the way out to st louis for for the
og million or something like that next time guys when you're thinking about the race cation why not
alaska take it up to alaska take it up to palmer at arp and have a good time I know we're gonna make an
effort um to do it and I love what you were closing up with there because you know taking a picture
of how they had the signage where they put the trash cans those little things like like without
knowing you really very well at all or knowing the track like no one that that those types of
details you're focusing on like as a racer when you show up to a facility those things matter so
much uh and and those are the little things most people have pretty decent bathrooms most people
have pretty decent concessions or decent speakers etc etc right it's those little tiny things on how
they organized the parking um how close was the nearest trash can to your pit those little things
are the things that either make you super stoked on the weekend or really irkia for three days straight
so uh I appreciate that focus and attention to detail and um if you keep that up uh I have no
doubt that you'll continue to to be a success of there thank you shell thank you um thank you so
much let's keep in touch uh good luck this season parko did you have anything any final words you
wanted to give to michelle no uh other than just keep us updated on your winners your champions
and we'll be sure to shout them out on this show absolutely fantastic yeah thanks michelle awesome
all right thanks guys keep in touch thanks so much
how about that the lady track boss man in the house I'm already excited for the 2027
scheduled to come out for arp so that we can get our flights booked well you know I'm pretty
booked up this summer with with announcing but I don't know if I can wait that long buddy I might
just I might just have to sneak up there at least once like um like I said I think I need like a
whole week but I also like I could see myself sneaking up there for a quick two nighter and
just checking it out on a race weekend so we'll see I don't know if I could wait man but that was
super cool like I said I think a bucket list track for for anybody right people usually bring up
bristol indy or arp and and depending on how far west you are I know a lot of west coasters um
that's on that's on the top of their list man so well uh before you started mentioning it to me I uh
I had no clue about arp but now that it's out shame on you it's hard to not be thinking about it
on my schedule don't parker don't forget you're on provisional status right now you were kicked
off the podcast a week ago I've allowed you back on on a provisional status and uh you're walking on
thin ice buddy thinner than this I think so probably much thinner than that judging by the photo
that's pretty thick ice probably much thinner than that but now super cool man and that was a
that was a cool um you know cool conversation and like I said I I have a million other questions
about that place and and uh you know definitely going to continue to stay in touch with Michelle
but um glad we finally did that one been on our list for a while absolutely um hey uh
who was this episode brought to us by today parker this episode today was brought to you by
the summer showdown it was and dialed in details if you're looking for something to keep your hot rod
dialed in details racer owned four racers by racers you got chris wittfield out here uh on the west
coast and not the west coast but um he's he's on the western half of the of the united states we
claim him still uh we'll see where he where he winds up eventually but uh we still claim him out here
he started an amazing company with dialed in details they have a full full product line
of of really amazing detail products he's partnered with red all finishes uh to create a wheel
polishing line that stuff's amazing i've watched some of the videos of that stuff gary don from
drag champs used it a couple sprays and a quick wipe and and the wheels are looking brand new so
if you if you need stuff to to keep your hot rod or your personal car looking fresh or your rv
check out dialed in details and i'll get you some stuff if you want to make an order
your boy right here is a dealer so hit me up i could probably get you a little bit better
shipping deals so let me know and uh we'll get you set up with dialed in products well now that
i know that you're a dealer we're definitely gonna have to be placing some orders because we got
quite the fleet and yeah blow on the spray yeah let me know check out the website um check out the
stuff um i use the quick detailer a ton uh it works on glass too and it doesn't streak like a lot of
other um cleaners might so the glass cleaner is great but in a pinch you don't need it you can use
the the quick detailer on everything um it's really good stuff and it smells delicious so uh that's
one thing i like using it because it smells real tasty uh and it'll pick you up sometime man when
you're done the rag will just slide right down the hood and onto the ground it uh it waxes it up real
next thing you know Troy's drinking this stuff oh well it's funny because i used to use Maguire's
uh that Maguire's has a waterless car wash and wax and it smells incredible too and and when
Chris first was starting the company i was talking to him and and uh you know he's sent me some and
i'm like i'll let you know how it is man but but it's got to smell good because the Maguire stuff
smells so good uh you know that it'll be hard for me to switch and it smells it smells just as good
as the Maguire stuff and it's somebody i know i i don't matt i do not i'm still an old spice guy
you know it is a good idea though and i'm not a stinky guy anyway like i i'll let you all in a
little secret matty i typically don't even put deodorant on but i don't have i don't got stinky
sweat man i'm fresh i'm fresh baby one of one of my favorite uh products from dialed in details is
their degreaser so you probably aren't familiar but dragsters get pretty darn nasty especially around
the rear end and transmission area and if you're anything like me and don't have one of the polished
powder coated transmissions it's got like the uh cast look to it that stuff gets nasty and uh that
degreaser stuff makes it look like it's brand new it works solid um and you're right i don't know
anything about dragsters other than they're not quite as cool as doorcars that is true but you're
trying to get in mine or my well i thought that's you sent me the hoodie and i thought that's what
i thought that meant i was on the team i thought that's what it finally meant was uh i thought that
was like my you know my pre-race driving suit so uh yeah that's okay another time i'll just go
drive michelle's camaro you know like i've known you all this time and still can't get in one of
your hot rods i meet michelle once and i got i'm driving camaros at arp so you know i don't need
you she didn't send you swag boat she didn't send me swag yet yet we'll get there we'll get there
a little at a time so well uh that pretty much wraps us up for tonight uh we'll be back next week
not sure who or what but we will be back nonetheless with look at that michelle's in the chat right now
asking for the addresses homes we got i think i think we got swag coming our way that's it i'm
kicked off the podcast we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna end the live and we'll chat with you
just to close it out michelle but um again thanks everybody for watching uh this was i don't know
episode whatever it is of the most handsome podcast in all of drag racing the bracket breakdown
and we'll see you next week uh one last thing we are on apple podcast we are on spotify and we
are on youtube so if you did not get a catch the full show here all of michelle's cool insights
you can finish it or go back and watch again he also streams it to his facebook page which
last month had almost a half a million views so um to anybody else out there if you were
thinking about sponsoring or presenting being the presenting sponsor of the bracket breakdown
my man park puts up 400 000 views a month on his facebook page so i'm just saying
you know we got the we got the eyeballs thanks to my man park on his facebook page so
it was good to spend some time with you buddy fresh lineups looking good always good to connect
and uh we'll see on here next week sounds good all right buddy peace later
About this episode
Michelle Lackey, owner and manager of Alaska Raceway Park, shares her journey from racer to track owner in this engaging conversation. She discusses the unique challenges and rewards of running a motorsports facility in Alaska, including the harsh climate and the close-knit racing community. Michelle also reflects on being a woman in a male-dominated sport, the legacy of her family in racing, and the growth of the track’s NASCAR oval. The episode offers an insider’s look at a bucket-list racing venue and the passion behind its operation.
Original notes
The #LadyTrackBoss, Michelle Lackey, will give us the whole scoop on the place that is on EVERYBODY'S Bucket List. ALASKA RACEWAY PARK
Bracket Breakdown
Bracket Breakdown
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