The revamped IHRA has seen a flurry of activity recently including a number of new and important announcements….
SGMP Sanctioned — IRG Sports + Entertainment™ and the International Hot Rod Association™ (IHRA) are proud to announce South Georgia Motorsports Park has signed a multi-year sanctioning agreement to join the IHRA as a member track.
Located on U.S. 41 in Cecil, Georgia, South Georgia Motorsports Park (www.goracesgmp.com) is under new ownership. Ozzy Moya, of Orlando, Florida, also owns IHRA-sanctioned Lakeland Dragstrip in Lakeland, Florida and Orlando Speedworld Dragway in Orlando, Florida. Moya purchased South Georgia Motorsports Park earlier this month.
“We are pleased to welcome Ozzy’s newest track to our IHRA family,” said IHRA President Scott Gardner. “South Georgia Motorsports Park is a beautiful facility and Ozzy is a respected member of the IHRA and drag racing community.”
SGMP’s 2015 season opens this weekend with the Duck X Productions “Lights Out 6.” For more information on South Georgia Motorsports Park, please call (229) 255-2250.
New Lead Announcer — IRG Sports + Entertainment™ and the International Hot Rod Association™ (IHRA) are proud to announce veteran television and radio personality Bill Stephens has been hired as lead announcer for IHRA Nitro Jam events.
“We are pleased to welcome Bill Stephens, a respected broadcaster, into our IHRA Nitro Jam family,” said IHRA President Scott Gardner. “His talent, broadcast style, wealth of experience and intense knowledge of motorsports will add much to the quality of our IHRA Nitro Jam events, both at the track and on our live Internet feeds.”
Over his colorful 42-year career, Stephens – who also has authored three books – has been seen on CBS, NBC, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, Fox, Fox Sports Net, SPEED, The Discovery Channel, Discovery HD Theater, Velocity, The Outdoor Channel, The Family Channel, and HDNet. He has covered virtually every major automobile racing series, including drag racing, stock cars, Indianapolis cars, Sprint Cars and sports cars. He also has hosted specialty automotive and motorsports events such as collector car auctions, tractor pulling, drag boat racing, lawn mower racing, mud bog racing, custom car shows, automotive expos and motorsports awards ceremonies.
“This is a truly outstanding opportunity for me in large part because of the tremendous game plan the IHRA has developed,” says Stephens. “It’s completely devoted to giving their fans a racing experience unlike any other in the motorsports world. President Scott Gardner and his team including Skooter Peaco, Jason Rittenberry and Steve Cole have truly stepped up the energy and excitement at the IHRA and it’s a thrill to be coming onboard.”
Stephens will join the IHRA team at the April 17-18 IHRA Nitro Jam Southern Nationals at Bradenton (Fla.) Motorsports Park. Follow Stephens on Twitter at @UltgarageBill and online at www.ult-garage.com.
SCE Gaskets are Official — IRG Sports + Entertainment™ and the International Hot Rod Association™ (IHRA) is proud to announce SCE Gaskets, Inc. as the Official Gaskets of the IHRA.
“We are proud to welcome SCE Gaskets, Inc. as an official partner of the IHRA,” said IHRA President Scott Gardner. “We are looking forward to a long and mutually-beneficial relationship with this dynamic and innovative partner, our Official Gaskets of IHRA sponsor.”
“We’ve been keeping a close eye on the direction IHRA’s new management is taking and we like what we see,” said Ryan Hunter, President of SCE Gaskets. “SCE Gaskets is pleased to be a part of supporting grassroots drag racing. These are our customers, and we’re going ‘all in’ with IHRA!”
Hunter went on to add, “We’re posting nearly $60,000 in cash contingency awards for the IHRA Nitro Jam and Summit Pro-Am Tour, as well as the Summit Team Finals. We also plan on supporting the racers through SCE’s dealer network, which will be augmented by factory personnel.”
Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, SCE Gaskets began as an outgrowth of founder Ryan Hunter’s own racing involvement. Beginning with copper head gaskets for drag racing, the company’s 360 page master catalog now boasts over 10,000 gasket part numbers for stock replacement kits to street performance and hard-core racing.
SCE Gaskets enjoys distribution partnerships with premier sellers such as Summit Racing and Good Vibrations along with hundreds of others. Operating from two manufacturing plants, in California and Iowa, SCE Gaskets is proud to be USA Made.
Lancaster Dragway Now IHRA – IRG Sports + Entertainment™ and the International Hot Rod Association™ (IHRA) is proud to announce Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway, an eighth-mile drag strip near Buffalo, N.Y., has renewed its sanction with IHRA.
The multi-purpose facility, constructed in 1959, hosts IHRA-sanctioned events each week on Friday nights.
“We are looking forward to remaining under the IHRA banner,” said Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway General Manager Melissa McGowan. “Their weekly racing program is a great fit for our teams and drivers.”
Lancaster has been an IHRA member for 15 years. The drag strip is located in IHRA’s North Stars Division (Division 3) and once will send a team to the Summit Team Finals at Pittsburgh Raceway Park in early October.
“The Team Finals is one of the best parts of being an IHRA member track,” explained Dragway Race Director Sharon Hughes. “Lancaster racers do a fantastic job representing the track and show great team spirit.”
For 2015, Lancaster will operate under a new management team. McGowan was named General Manager in December and quickly set forth plans to rebuild the track’s image. Hughes, a longtime Dragway official and former racer, recently was named Race Director for the drag racing program. Both women will lead the charge in reinvigorating and restoring support for Lancaster’s historic 1/8-mile drag strip.
Lancaster’s 2015 season is scheduled to begin on Saturday, April 18, with a Box/No Box Shootout. Weekly IHRA points meets will start on Saturday, May 9, with regular Friday-night racing beginning on May 15. Regular divisions will include Top ET, Mod ET, Bikes & Sleds and Street ET. The Quick 16 class will be contested several times over the season as well.
The Tuesday night Test ‘n’ Tune schedule begins on May 19 with the Junior Dragster program joining the show on a weekly basis on June 9.
Lancaster has several special shows on tap for the 2015 season. Al Hanna’s Jet Cars will blaze the track on May 29, followed by the Queen of Diamonds Jet Car on June 19. Lancaster’s most popular show is the annual Nitro Night of Fire, scheduled for July 17. The “Sunday Niagara” Nostalgia Drags, car show and reunion will take place over the weekend of July 31-Aug. 2. Bob Motz’s Jet Semi-Truck makes it return to Lancaster on Sept. 11. The season concludes with the Grand Champion Shootout on Oct. 10.
Five New Partners — IRG Sports + Entertainment™ and the International Hot Rod Association™ (IHRA) are proud to announce five new official partners for the 2015 season. Joining the growing IHRA family of official sponsors are: Klipsch, Luna-C, Larsens Inc., Stingray Systems and Pro Things.
Klipsch is the official audio partner of IHRA. Klipsch (www.klipsch.com) has been manufacturing world-class speakers (for cinemas, home audio, home theater, wireless), and headphones since 1946. Klipsch speakers are an integral part of the IHRA’s powerful traveling sound system at all Nitro Jam events.
Headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia, Luna-C (www.lunacclothing.com) is the official apparel provider for Miss Nitro Jam Lee Anne Powell and her Nitroettes at all IHRA Nitro Jam national events. Luna-C designs are influenced by automobiles and they offer “high tech meets high style” apparel for both men and women.
Larsens Inc. (www.larsensinc.com) is the official canopy of IHRA. For more than 25 years, the Santa Cruz, California, company has been manufacturing high-quality canopies, awnings, banners, backdrops and mobile event products for concerts, automotive events, television companies and government agencies.
Stingray Systems of Indianapolis is the official eye wash system of IHRA. Stingray’s Tepid (www.tepid.com) eye/face wash system meets clients’ needs with ANSI/ASSE-compliant tepid (safe temperature) solutions.
Pro Things Custom Apparel is the official uniform shirt of IHRA. The Chandler, Arizona-based company (www.prothings.com) offers custom-made products, including team sports apparel, custom model dresses, retail shirts, jackets and compression shirts.
The next IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series event will be held March 13-14 at State Capitol Raceway in Port Allen, Louisiana. The IHRA Nitro Jam Mardi Gras Nationals will feature AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car presented by Aeromotive, U.S. Bounty Hunters Pro Stock, Nitro Harley-Davidson and Jet Dragster competition.
Posted by John Bisci
