NHRA author: Summit Motorsports park is one of the best

NORWALK — Bob Wilber knew it was true in 20 years working in the NHRA — and emphatically agrees with the statement today.The Summit Equipment Nationals — which will be held at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk for the 11th straight year this weekend — is by far one of the best stops on the tour."The drivers and crews aren't just being nice when they say that, and I agreed with it then and have no reason to lie about it now — the whole atmosphere at Norwalk is fantastic," said Wilber, who retired following the 2015 season after 20 years in public relations for several NHRA drivers.Wilber is promoting his recent book, 'Bats, Balls & Burnouts,' which was released last month. Full of unique stories, Wilber's parents included former MLB catcher Del Wilber, and his mother Taffy Wilber, who was a radio personality and also worked extensively in PR.From 1996-2015, Wilber worked as a team manager and PR representative, initially for Funny Car star Whit Bazemore, followed by FC drivers Del Worsham (1997-2008), Frank Pedregon (2000-2002), Johnny Gray (2003-2004), Phil Burkart (2004-2006), Jeff Arend (2007) and Tim Wilkerson (2009-2015).Wilkerson won the Summit Equipment Nationals at Norwalk in 2010."The Norwalk track is very, very unique in all sorts of good ways," Wilber said. "One of the things I give them the most credit for is how much they paid attention early and fixed the problems. At their first NHRA event (2007), the traffic was gridlock for miles."And there are some tracks still where the traffic flow is terrible and they don't do anything about it," he added. "But people were frustrated, and the Bader family simply figured it out and fixed it. That's who they are — they take it serious. Customer service isn't after you come inside the gate for them, and it shows."Wilber also said the atmosphere at Summit Motorsports Park feels like a Six Flags amusement park — and is media-friendly as well."Love the vibe of concession stands," he said. "Instead of a regular old trailer of food, that whole atmosphere in the grandstand area is fantastic. I was a PR guy for 20 years, so I always ask, 'how nice is media center?' And the one there is first class."There is maybe one or two better at the most," Wilber added. "I couldn't tell you anything about the surface of the track, but I can tell you everything that I know about the track is first class."Wilber's book recounts his life from the age of three to the present day. It includes tales of a childhood as the youngest son of a former MLB catcher and a radio-personality mother and recounts numerous stories about his own baseball career, his sports marketing experiences, and three stints as a senior-level executive for professional indoor soccer franchises in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Indianapolis.In 1991 Wilber was named general manager of Heartland Park Topeka, and in that position he saw his first drag race. In 1996, he began a career working directly for NHRA drivers up until he retired at the end of the 2015 season to begin full-time writing on his memoir."I lived an incredibly fortunate and amazing life to no fault of my own," Wilber said. "I never worked outside of sports, from scouting for the Blue Jays or going into PR work. Every story I told, my wife would say, 'That's impossible. We've been married 20 years and I never heard that before.' And I'd bet for the last 10 years, the most common thing people told me is I need to write a book."I wasn't tired of the work, I love Tim Wilkerson, but I was tired of the travel," he added. "When it gets to be Thursday of race week, and you've been doing it for two decades, the travel only gets worse, it doesn't get better."Wilber made the decision to retire midseason in 2015, and spent all of 2016 writing — and the first five months of this year editing before the 544-page book was released on May 12 to positive reviews.And while he's no longer at the dragstrip on a weekly basis, Wilber says fans can always appreciate the NHRA drivers in Norwalk."Whether it's just a guy who buys a ticket, or if you're lucky enough to get into a corporate suite — from a baseball perspective, it's like you're allowed to be in the dugout. It's that hands on," he said. "My first year in Topeka, I watched the sports car and stock car guys, they were like actors."Their show was when they were on the track, and after that, they were just invisible," he added. "NHRA drivers, they will stand out there all day and interact with the fans, take photos and sign autographs. And, there is nothing like anything I've experienced when a car goes down the track. It's something in 20 years that I never got used to. Every time starting line, my neck tensed up and it still shocked me when they hit the throttle. It's truly an experience."Bob Wilber, a former public relations director for several NHRA drivers, recently wrote a book and calls Norwalk's Summit Motorsports Park one of the top facilities in the country.