Grand Bend Gears Up for Nitro Jam Return
2011 Mopar-backed event (July 16-17th) to include return of Todd Paton and first ever Eastern Canadian date for Alberta-based Troy Lee Designs Nostalgia Funny Car….
Entering its 11th season of providing thrilling entertainment and white-knuckle racing for Ontario fans, the Mopar Nitro Jam Nationals has earned a reputation as one of the biggest and best Canadian motorsports events and this year the IHRA Nitro Jam series will keep with that tradition with one of its biggest races yet.
The 2011 Mopar Nitro Jam Nationals will feature a full lineup of nitro entertainment and thrill acts along with plenty of great sportsman racing making for an event race fans simply can’t miss. And it all takes place July 16-17 at Ontario’s premier vacation destination at the Grand Bend Motorplex, just minutes from the waters of Lake Huron.
“Grand Bend is a beautiful place with great beaches just down the road and a wonderful track right in the heart of Ontario,” said IHRA Nitro Jam President Aaron Polburn. “For over a decade now we have featured some of the best racing in the world at this event and I am excited to be returning once again with yet another great event featuring our biggest lineup of nitro machines yet. It will certainly be a weekend to remember.”
The Mopar Nitro Jam Nationals will feature a collection of four nitro classes – a record for the annual summer stop in Grand Bend – including 300 mile per hour Top Fuel Dragsters, Prostalgia Nitro Funny Cars, Nitro Harleys and Nostalgia Fuel Altereds. The July 16-17 event will also feature some of the fastest Pro Modifieds in the country with the PMRA racing series, plus a full weekend of sportsman racing featuring all of IHRA’s regular touring classes plus the highly competitive TNT Super Series and much more.
Wrapping up the Mopar Nitro Jam Nationals will be the Ontario debut of the “Battle of the Monster Trucks” between the towering Grave Digger monster truck and the 30,000 horsepower Super Shockwave jet truck, wheelstanders and much more.
The world famous Grave Digger monster truck will take on the 30,000 horsepower Super Shockwave jet truck in a unique drag race never before seen in eastern Canada
And complimenting the entire race weekend will be the involvement of longtime race partner Mopar. Mopar will have a huge display at the Grand Bend event with cars and merchandise plus, as a special treat for Ontario race fans, Mopar will have on display its popular NASCAR Canadian Tire Series entry with driver Ron Beauchamp Jr. on hand signing autographs and doing burnouts prior to the start of the show each night.
And, like the 10 events that came before it, it wouldn’t be Nitro Jam without the stars.
Highlighting the nitro lineup at the Grand Bend Motorplex the weekend of July 16-17 will be the stars of Top Fuel including defending world champions Bruce Litton and Bobby Lagana in their Lucas Oil sponsored machines, along with defending 2010 Mopar Nitro Jam Nationals winner and Ontario native, Todd Paton and Nitro Jam TF newcomer Kyle Wurtzel.
In the Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car ranks it will be a battle of east versus west as the fastest nostalgia Funny Cars on either coast go head-to-head as Peter Gallen in the “Povertry Stricken” Vega takes on Canadian Tim Boychuk in the “Troy Lee Designs” Pontiac. Joining the speed showdown will be fan-favorite Mark Sanders in “Mr. Explosive,” Mike “McAttack” McIntire, former world champion Laurie Cannister returning to the seat of a Funny Car in the “Bullet Bob” Trans Am, Rick Krafft in the “Chicago Fire” Corvette, Greg Jacobsmeyer in the “All-Star Dodge” and John Dunn in “Dunn and Gone.”
Also in competition will be Nitro Harley stars Jay Turner, Steve Dorn, Randal Andras and Mike Scott waging a 200 mph war on two wheels, along with the insane stars of Nostalgia Fuel Altered featuring such legendary names as “Nanook”, “Pure Hell”, “Blind Faith” and more.
Wrapping up the weekend will be the stars of the PMRA Pro Modified series and a finale fans will be talking about for ages as the night they saw Monster Jam superstar Randy Brown in the world famous Grave Digger monster truck take on the 30,000 horsepower Super Shockwave jet truck.
Get your tickets today to one of Canada’s biggest motorsports events at the Mopar Nitro Jam Nationals July 16-17 at the Grand Bend Motorplex in Ontario by visiting www.nitrojam.com or by calling (519) 238-7223.
Posted by: Larry Crum — Photos by: Bruce Biegler