It's finally time for the race I look forward to the most, the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park. This is easily my favorite race weekend of the year because Norwalk is my hometrack and I have a lot of local friends that will be in attendance. This is also one of the few national events that I'll be attending this year, so I try to have as much fun at this race as possible. Along with the typical race activities, there are a few special parts of the event.
One of those activities that is sure to be fun is an NHRA Countdown to the Championship PS2 tournament, held by Stefan Kontos and the Kon Rodz Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car team in their pit area. If everything goes as planned, we'll be playing from 10:30 Friday night until the wee hours of the morning on Saturday. So far, the entry list includes some top alcohol and nitro crew guys, with a few possible Pro drivers attending. If you're at the track, stop by and enter the race, it'll be a good time. $10 entry fee, winner recieves $100, RU gets $25, then there are $10-20 awards for low qualifier, top speed, etc.
Another cool feature of the Norwalk event is the K&N Filters Horsepower Challenge. This is a special bonus race for the Top 7 drivers in Pro Stock, along with an eighth driver that is voted in by the fans. As of June 5th, the drivers are Jason Line, Allen Johnson, Mike Edwards, Greg Anderson, Ron Krisher, Rodger Brogdon, Shane Gray, and Erica Enders as the fan-voted driver. The winner goes home with a cool $50,000, so all of the drivers will be on their A-game, providing a great show for the fans.
One of the factors that make this race so enjoyable for myself, the drivers, fans, and anyone at the track is the hospitality and show that the Bader family puts on. I feel that they go above and beyond when it comes to promoting and scheduling all of their events, especially the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. This year's special attractions include passes by Bob Motz's jet Kenworth and Danny O'Day's wheelstander, a Sunday pre-race concert, and the fantastic fireworks show after Friday Night qualifying. And we can't forget the famous $1 for a pound ice cream that everyone raves about.
The amount of cars on the entry lists for the race are some of the highest of NHRA national events this year. In the nitro classes, there are currently 17 drivers entered in Top Fuel Dragster and 20 in Fuel Funny Car. Pro Stock has the highest Pro counts, with 27 in Pro Stock Car and 24 in Pro Stock Motorcycle. The top Sportsman classes (Pro Mod, Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car) have 26, 15, and 20, respectively.
All of these factors should make for another amazing weekend in "the Maple city". If you're within 200 miles of the track, I'd give the track a call, order tickets, hop in the car and head to Norwalk! If not, be sure to watch it on ESPN2, as well as the results on NHRA.com and dragracecentral.com. Check back here later in the week for another blog about the upcoming race weekend.
See ya at the track!
Nitro Nate
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