Feb. 23, 2004
St. Thomas Dragway becomes IHRA Sanctioned
Race track After 41 years with NHRA sanctioning, St. Thomas Dragway,
Canada’s first purpose built dragstrip, today announced that
they are switching to IHRA sanctioning. Dragway President, Dave Mathers,
stated that “it was a very tough decision to make. But with IHRA
offering the Summit Super Series it was a natural decision for our
racers. In 2002 one of our racers, Les Belle of Springfield became
NHRA Super Pro World Champion at Pomona winning $10,500 for his efforts.
In 2003 Steve Doornbosch of Forest was the IHRA Summit No-box World
Champion and won more than $100,000. Under the superb leadership of
Bill Bader, IHRA has really focussed on the grass-roots racer. Bill
has put together an outstanding team to further develop the Sportsman
racing segment of the sport”. The new sanction will allow the
track’s racers to compete for the 2004 Summit Super Series, compete
at the Summit Team Finals in Norwalk, Ohio and earn additional Summit
contingency money at all of the track’s bracket races.
As well, a special race, the ‘Iron Man Classic’, has been
added to the
schedule on October 10 allowing the overall winner to pick up a coveted
IHRA Iron Man trophy.
St. Thomas Dragway operates each weekend from the first of April to
the end of October with over 100 events featuring bracket racing ,
Sports Compact Racing, club racing, Street Legal racing, ‘Run
What Ya Brung’ and special events.
Feb. 5, 2004
SPEED CHANNEL RENEWED AS TELEVISION HOME FOR HOOTERS
IHRA DRAG RACING SERIES
NORWALK, Ohio (February 4, 2004) – SPEED Channel has renewed
as the television broadcast partner for the 2004 Hooters IHRA Drag
Racing Series, airing 24 hours of original IHRA programming, with
each broadcast replaying at least once. The deal brings the series
a minimum of 48 hours of airtime.
"IHRA is once again pleased to find the Hooters IHRA Drag Racing
Series home on SPEED Channel," said IHRA President Bill Bader.
"SPEED Channel has quickly become the channel of choice for motor
sports worldwide and we’re honored to share TV time with NASCAR,
Formula One, Champ Car, World Rally Championship, Hooters Pro Cup
and other great series on SPEED Channel. The network’s commitment
is a testimony to our six years of growth, as well as the commitment
Hooters has made as our series sponsor."
Events will be taped in two-hour blocks with Top Fuel and Pro Modified
headlining the first one-hour broadcast and Funny Car and Sunoco Pro
Stock the second. Race coverage will also feature results from national
event Mr. Gasket Pro-Am Tour racing and the Summit SuperSeries World
Championship.
In 2004, SPEED Channel is the exclusive U.S. cable home for many
of the top motor sports series in the world, including Formula One,
The Champ Car World Series, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, USAC,
World Rally, ASA, IHRA, ALMS, Grand American Road Racing, F3000, USAR
Hooters Pro Cup and live coverage of AMA and FIM motorcycle road racing
events. The official network of the SCCA, SPEED Channel is the title
sponsor of the SPEED World Challenge Championships. In addition, SPEED’s
weekly Auto Focus block of programming brings car enthusiast television
to Prime Time Monday through Thursday. Now available in more than
63 million homes in North America, SPEED Channel is the fastest growing
sports cable network in the country and the home to NASCAR TV.
IHRA is part of Clear Channel Entertainment’s Motor Sports division.
Airdates for the Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series on Speed Channel
follow:
LEGEND - TOP FUEL/PRO MOD show*,
FUNNY CAR/ PRO STOCK show**
(All times Eastern)
Amalie Oil Texas Nationals Presented By Ancira
4/17/2004 SAT. 4 PM ET SAN ANTONIO RACEWAY ORIGINAL *
4/19/2004 MON. 3 PM ET SAN ANTONIO RACEWAY REPEAT *
4/17/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET SAN ANTONIO RACEWAY ORIGINAL **
4/19/2004 MON. 4 PM ET SAN ANTONIO RACEWAY REPEAT **
IHRA Spring Nationals Presented By Advance Auto Parts & Castrol
- Rockingham, NC
5/8/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET ROCKINGHAM DRAGWAY ORIGINAL *
5/10/2004 MON. 3 PM ET ROCKINGHAM DRAGWAY REPEAT *
5/15/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET ROCKINGHAM DRAGWAY ORIGINAL**
5/17/2004 MON. 3 PM ET ROCKINGHAM DRAGWAY REPEAT**
ACDelco Nationals - Richmond, VA
6/5/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK ORIGINAL *
6/14/2004 MON. 3 PM ET VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK REPEAT *
6/12/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK ORIGINAL**
6/14/2004 MON. 4 PM ET VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK REPEAT **
Mopar Canadian Nationals Presented by Castrol - Grand Bend, Ontario
7/10/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET GRAND BEND MOTORPLEX ORIGINAL *
7/12/2004 MON. 3 PMET GRAND BEND MOTORPLEX REPEAT *
7/17/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET GRAND BEND MOTORPLEX ORIGINAL **
7/19/2004 MON. 3 PM ET GRAND BEND MOTORPLEX REPEAT **
IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals - Edmonton, Alberta
7/24/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET BUDWEISER MOTORSPORTS PARK ORIGINAL *
7/26/2004 MON. 3 PM ET BUDWEISER MOTORSPORTS PARK REPEAT *
7/31/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET BUDWEISER MOTORSPORTS PARK ORIGINAL **
8/2/2004 MON. 3 PM ET BUDWEISER MOTORSPORTS PARK REPEAT **
IHRA Motor City Nationals - Detroit, MI
8/16/2004 MON. 3 PM ET MILAN DRAGWAY ORIGINAL *
8/23/2004 MON. 2 PM ET MILAN DRAGWAY REPEAT *
8/21/2004 MON. 5 PM ET MILAN DRAGWAY ORIGINAL **
8/23/2004 MON. 3 PM ET MILAN DRAGWAY REPEAT **
ACDelco Canadian Nationals - Toronto, Ontario
9/11/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET TORONTO MOTORSPORTS PARK ORIGINAL *
9/13/2004 MON. 3 PM ET TORONTO MOTORSPORTS PARK REPEAT *
9/18/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET TORONTO MOTORSPORTS PARK ORIGINAL **
9/20/2004 MON. 3 PM ET TORONTO MOTORSPORTS PARK REPEAT **
Bethesda Softworks Northern Nationals - Grand Rapids, MI
9/27/2004 MON. 3 PM ET US 131 MOTORSPORTS PARK ORIGINAL *
10/4/2004 MON. 3 PM ET US 131 MOTORSPORTS PARK REPEAT *
10/2/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET US 131 MOTORSPORTS PARK ORIGINAL **
10/4/2004 MON. 4 PM ET US 131 MOTORSPORTS PARK REPEAT **
Sunoco World Nationals Presented By PPG - Cleveland, OH
10/16/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET NORWALK RACEWAY ORIGINAL *
10/18/2004 MON. 3 PM ET NORWALK RACEWAY REPEAT *
10/23/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET NORWALK RACEWAY ORIGINAL **
10/25/2004 MON. 3 PM ET NORWALK RACEWAY REPEAT **
Amalie North American Nationals - Boston, MA
10/30/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET NEW ENGLAND DRAGWAY ORIGINAL *
11/1/2004 MON. 3 PM ET NEW ENGLAND DRAGWAY REPEAT *
11/20/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET NEW ENGLAND DRAGWAY ORIGINAL **
11/22/2004 MON. 3:30 PM ET NEW ENGLAND DRAGWAY REPEAT **
President's Cup Nationals - Washington, DC
11/27/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET MARYLAND INT'L DRAGWAY ORIGINAL *
11/29/2004 MON. 3 PM ET MARYLAND INT'L DRAGWAY REPEAT *
12/18/2004 SAT. 5 PM ET MARYLAND INT'L DRAGWAY ORIGINAL **
12/20/2004 MON. 3 PM ET MARYLAND INT'L DRAGWAY REPEAT **
IHRA Hooters World Finals
To Be Announced
Jan 26, 2004
A/Fuel is added to the Top
Fuel mix for 2004
2004 IHRA Rulebook Revisions
1/26/04
p. 14 Top Fuel
Insert sentence at the end of the first paragraph on the page. Non-supercharged
entries minimum weight is 1,950 lbs.
p.16 Top Fuel
Fuel: Non-Supercharged entries must run between 90 and 100 % Nitro-Methane.
Rear-End: Add the words "on supercharged entries," at the
end of the last sentence of section. Add the following as the last
sentence. "Non-supercharged entries may run any desired rear-end
ratio provided it is utilized in an IHRA accepted housing.
Clutch management is part of the Top Fuel class already so the A/Fuelers
can run that as well. Man I can't wait to see how they run.
Jan. 24, 2004 Sources
say that an announcement is pending with regards to the "Other"
sanctioning body allowing the A/Fuel cars to compete in the IHRA.
While nothing has been confirmed, expect a release in the next week
or so. How will an A/Fuel car compete against the big boys (if in
fact they run against them instead of running in their own class which
is not likely), well go back to our release of a year
ago (when hardly any other drag news magazine or web site took
this as serious), that showed the proposal to the IHRA at the time.
Big motor, clutch management, tall rear end gear etc. My guess is
that the rules will closely follows these. Will the cars have an impact.
It is hard to say, but looking back at last years performance at the
12 IHRA events, and the slower qualifiers were as follows:
San Antonio:
5. Josh Starcher 4.816 305.36
6. Louie 5.114 293.60
7. Donald Sosenka 5.184 274.00
8. Bob Hallock 5.206 276.58
--------- Not Qualified ---------
9. Vicky Fanning 5.560 253.71
10. Bobby Lagana Jr 8.177 160.75
Rockingham #1
4. Danny Dunn 5.074 210.21
5. John Smith 5.230 278.06
6. Roger Dean 5.431 267.32
7. Josh Starcher 5.494 195.56
8. Tim Cullinan 5.501 216.34
--------- Not Qualified ---------
9. Bobby Lagana Jr 6.262 145.55
10. Bruce Litton 6.523 144.36
Grand Bend
3. Roger Dean 5.219 241.48
4. Todd Paton 5.291 230.06
5. Jack Ostrander 6.316 138.20
6. John Sipple 6.727 124.79
7. Grant Flowers 7.833 85.87
8. Bobby Lagana Jr 9.282 117.23
--------- Not Qualified ---------
9. Louie Allison 9.685 82.02
Virginia
1. Clay Millican 4.748 301.07
2. Roger Dean 5.214 282.30
3. John Smith 5.405 258.52
4. Rhonda Hartman-Smith 5.677 221.05
5. Bruce Litton 5.919 151.63
6. Bobby Lagana Jr 7.617 185.84
7. Todd Paton 9.430 94.02
8. Danny Dunn 9.579 89.07
Edmonton
4. Todd Paton 4.966 255.60
5. Donald Sosenka 5.341 265.33
6. Grant Flowers 6.170 159.74
7. Louie Allison 6.608 127.87
8. John Sipple 7.015 113.92
--------- Not Qualified ---------
9. Bobby Lagana Jr 7.143 131.36
Milan
4. Bruce Litton 4.962 293.35
5. Roger Dean 5.090 285.71
6. John Sipple 5.163 281.07
7. Grant Flowers 5.169 255.77
8. Todd Paton 5.175 247.75
--------- Not Qualified ---------
9. Jack Ostrander 5.451 192.03
10. Vicky Fanning 5.753 232.67
Toronto
3. Bruce Litton 4.854 298.01
4. Louie Allison 5.194 256.94
5. Roger Dean 5.410 271.35
6. John Sipple 5.482 195.70
7. Bobby Lagana Jr 5.584 198.96
8. Grant Flowers 6.170 170.99
--------- Not Qualified ---------
9. Vicky Fanning 6.747 229.55
10. Jack Ostrander 8.894 86.41
Martin Mich.
5. Todd Paton 4.969 263.51
6. Jack Ostrander 4.988 271.68
7. Grant Flowers 5.005 297.29
8. Roger Dean 5.057 276.63
--------- Not Qualified ---------
9. John Sipple 5.082 282.36
10. Louie Allison 5.934 157.48
Norwalk
9. Jack Ostrander 4.979 283.91
10. Bobby Lagana Jr 5.026 282.01
11. Donald Sosenka 5.316 248.07
12. Roger Dean 5.378 253.37
13. Vicky Fanning 5.514 242.23
14. Todd Paton 7.808 100.84
15. Louie Allison 8.001 87.52
16. Tim Gibson 8.061 100.67
-------- Not Qualified ---------
17. John Sipple 9.820 86.62
Epping
4. Todd Paton 4.916 268.09
5. Donald Sosenka 5.162 268.49
6. Bobby Lagana Jr 5.282 206.23
7. Grant Flowers 5.306 269.38
8. Roger Dean 5.671 242.19
--------- Not Qualified ---------
9. Louie Allison 10.849 64.21
Budds Creek
4. Josh Starcher 4.798 299.40
5. Bobby Lagana Jr 5.011 261.47
6. Todd Paton 5.052 266.21
7. Grant Flowers 5.146 290.32
8. Roger Dean 5.493 189.26
--------- Not Qualified ---------
9. John Sipple 5.545 194.97
10. Louie Allison 5.889 160.59
11. Jack Ostrander 5.915 177.60
Rockingham
6. Todd Paton 4.891 272.50
7. Jack Ostrander 4.897 305.91
8. Danny Dunn 4.905 271.90
--------- Not Qualified ---------
9. Grant Flowers 4.960 281.66
10. Roger Dean 5.535 239.78
11. Bobby Lagana Jr 6.107 147.39
12. Tim Cullinan 6.347 138.66
One word comes to mind when you look at the fields
(with the exception of a couple races), and that is "WEAK".
I am sure Bader is looking at this as a possible step to bring a more
quality show to the tracks. This is a win-win proposition for the
fans and the tracks in my opinion. The only detractors will of course
be the slower Top Fuel cars, that have been getting what amounts to
an $8,000.00 gifts for poor performance. My guess if in fact this
does happen, that a half dozen or so guys will try it out in 2004.
How fast can they go, well in talking to a couple veterans in the
class a couple think it will be easier to go in the fours and a couple
think that a 300 mph pass will happen first. One thing is for certain,
is that their should not be any more sub 5.30 bumps of which there
were 7 last year. Nine were slower than 5.200, and only one had a
4 second bump spots. Good on ya Bill Bader, if this becomes part of
the "SHOW".
Jan. 1 2004
Steve Cole, former Communications Director for Barry Grant, Inc.,
will become editor of the IHRA's house publication, Drag Review, effective
January 5, 2004
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