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Over
the past 10 years the fastest
growing and most lucrative
grassroots drag racing program in
the sport has been the International
Hot Rod Association’s Summit Racing
SuperSeries.
Designed as a championship program
for bracket racers around the world,
the Summit SuperSeries has crowned
nearly two dozen champions and
awarded over $1 million in cash and
prizes since 2002 and now, through
the continued partnership of Summit
Racing Equipment, the IHRA is
pleased to announce a brand new
Summit SuperSeries program for
Junior Dragster racers beginning
with the 2012 racing season.
Nearly
identical to the same program that
has revolutionized grassroots drag
racing, the Summit SuperSeries
Junior Dragster World Championship
will deliver the same incredible
racing as its larger-car
counterparts all on the biggest
stage of them all at the IHRA World
Finals at Memphis International
Raceway.
“The
Summit Racing SuperSeries is a very
successful sportsman program we have
built with the IHRA; racers and
track operators have really jumped
on board with the series. We were
excited to expand the Top and Mod
classes to 16 car fields in 2011,”
said Jim Greenleaf, Summit Racing’s
Motorsports and Events Manager. “We
discussed opportunities to grow the
program and the addition of the
Junior Dragster class is a natural
fit. These racers are the future of
our sport, as we have seen many
former Junior drivers as part of the
Top and Mod championships.
“The
IHRA has put together an incredible
prize package for the winner and
we’re proud to be able to crown our
first IHRA Summit SuperSeries Junior
World Champion. It’s going to be a
very exciting IHRA Sportsman Finals
in Memphis this October.”
The
Summit SuperSeries Junior Dragster
World Championship is the first and
only program to gather the best
Junior Dragster racers in the sport
and have them compete for an
undisputed World Championship. The
program will be made up of the 16
best Junior Dragster racers from
over 90 IHRA tracks around the
globe. The 16 racers, 15 of which
will be named at their local Summit
Team Finals plus one Wild Card
entry, will meet at the IHRA World
Finals to race for the first-ever
Junior Dragster World Championship
in October with over $40,000 in cash
and prizes up for grabs.
“Summit
Racing Equipment has really shown
their dedication and commitment to
the sportsman racers with the Summit
SuperSeries,” said Sherrie Barbour,
IHRA Director of Special Programs.
“Including Junior Dragsters in that
program and crowning a World
Champion is a huge step forward with
the program and will become a huge
hit with the Junior competitors and
their families. We are very excited
to hit the ground running with this
new program.”
Beginning at the local level, Junior
Dragster racers will compete at
their local participating track
throughout the year with a Summit
SuperSeries track champion being
named at the conclusion of the
racing season. From there the Junior
Dragster track champions will move
on to the Summit Team Finals where
they will square off against other
track champions in their Summit
SuperSeries division for the right
to advance to the Summit SuperSeries
Junior Dragster World Championship.
For tracks unable to compete in the
Summit Team Finals, one track
champion will be selected as a “Wild
Card” out of a pool of tracks to
complete the 16-car field.
At the IHRA World Finals the 16
Junior Dragster racers made up of
all age groups will compete for the
World Championship with the winner
taking home $3,000 cash courtesy of
Summit Racing Equipment in addition
to a prize package that includes a
brand new Vic Puglia Junior Dragster
with an engine courtesy of Steve
Waller of Junior Specialties, an
IHRA Gold Card, a World Champion
Ironman and World Champion Diamond
Ring. The runner-up will take home
$2,000. All racers in attendance
will be allotted $750 cash in tow
money, pushing the total
championship purse to $21,000.
For
more information on the new Summit
SuperSeries Junior Dragster World
Championship, including a complete
list of rules, visit
www.ihra.com
for complete details.
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