FREMONT, N.H. - Speedway Illustrated is back on track. And some familiar names are in the driver’s seat, ready to steer it in the right direction.

“Racing needs a quality magazine more than ever,” said Karl Fredrickson, publisher of Traction Media, which has acquired the rights to Speedway Illustrated and will resume its publishing schedule.

For a decade, Speedway Illustrated has provided that quality. And after Formula Five, which had owned the magazine only since 2009, suspended publication last spring, Fredrickson immediately launched an effort to buy it.

“It’s like a driver who decides to run his own team rather than drive for someone else,” said Fredrickson, who has been with Speedway Illustrated since it began in January 2000. “We care more about it because it’s more than just a business to us. Our reputations and our credibility are at stake. We don’t take that lightly.”

That means, among other things, that if you have an active subscription to Speedway Illustrated, Traction Media will honor it – even though it is under no obligation to do so.

“It’s about doing the right thing and treating people fairly.”

Back on board are Bones Bourcier, Joyce Standridge, Mike Adaskaveg, Lew Boyd, Rob Sneddon, J.A. Ackley, Dan Anderson, and the rest of the award-winning editorial team – including the magazine’s founder and namesake. Yes, Dick Berggren, who launched Dick Berggren’s Speedway Illustrated in 2000 but left the magazine in 2009, has returned.

Tony Stewart, who was on the cover of the premier issue a decade ago, is happy to hear that Speedway Illustrated is back.

“When you look at the names of the people involved in that magazine, you’re talking about a staff that knows this sport from top to bottom because they’ve been around it so long,” Stewart said. “They’ve been into racing all their lives, and they have a passion for it. If you take the years those individual people have spent around racing and add them all up, that’s a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge. In fact, I’d say the depth of knowledge you find in that staff is pretty much unparalleled.

“And what I especially like is, these are people who know this sport, and care about this sport, from the very top – from the Sprint Cup series and Indy cars – right down to the short tracks.”

“We think people who love racing, especially those who are invested in it, will love this magazine as much as we do,” Fredrickson said. “They’ll love it for its cutting-edge tech, in-depth car features, behind-the-scenes race coverage, insightful personality profiles, and journalistically responsible articles that deal with the issues they face. I promise you – it will be a real racer’s magazine.”

Still, Fredrickson cautioned, “It's not for everyone. If you think drawing yellows on purpose is acceptable, or that crate engines should be mandatory, or that age or looks or gender matter more than talent, then Speedway Illustrated probably isn’t for you. We will create magazines for people who pour their heart and soul into building a race car, and then think nothing of taking their pride and joy – and the most expensive investment they’ve got besides their house – and trying to squeeze it between moving steel and immovable concrete because they can’t stand the thought of finishing fourth when they might’ve finished third.

“One of our editors recently laughed at me when I went off on a rant like this. He called me Abraham Fredrickson. ‘A magazine of racers, by racers, for racers shall not perish from the earth.’ But really, that’s kinda how I feel. I just can’t tell you how excited we are to be back.

“Actually, I can tell you – but I’d rather show you. We’ve got some great material planned. I hope you’ll check us out when we resume publishing later this fall.”

For details on how to subscribe – or for questions regarding your Speedway Illustrated subscription that you paid for under the previous owner – go to www.speedwayillustrated.com, email info@speedwayillustrated.com or phone 978-265-9477.