NHRA POWERade Series
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NHRA Adds Lowe's Motor Speedway to 2008 schedule
NHRA has officially announced that Charlotte, N.C. will be the location of the Sept. 11-14 event in this year's 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series schedule. A new state-of-the-art drag racing facility, The Dragway @ Lowe's Motor Speedway, is being built by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (NYSE:TRK) in nearby Concord, N.C. It is the first addition to the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series schedule since 2000 and expands the season to 24 events.
"Bringing NHRA POWERade Drag Racing to Charlotte, which has evolved into a hot bed for motorsports, makes perfect sense," said Tom Compton, president, NHRA. "The fact that SMI is building yet another first-class facility to entertain our fans, sponsors and race teams speaks volumes to the future growth ahead for NHRA and the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series."
NHRA recently announced modifications to its playoff-style NHRA POWERade Countdown to the Championship. As a result, the NHRA Carolinas Nationals at The Dragway @ Lowe's Motor Speedway will begin the playoff round when the top 10 competitors in all four professional categories - Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle - compete in the six-race NHRA POWERade Countdown to the Championship and race for the chance to be crowned NHRA POWERade world champions.
"NHRA events have been hugely successful at our other SMI facilities. We've entertained more than 1.75 million fans at NHRA events at our tracks, and we expect nothing but tremendous things when the Carolinas Nationals comes to Charlotte," said O. Bruton Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of Speedway Motorsports Inc. "What a fabulous way to open the doors at what will be the world's premiere drag racing facility. It's the perfect compliment to the wide variety of motorsports entertainment already on the schedule at Lowe's Motor Speedway."
Several current NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series teams are based in the Charlotte metropolitan area including: Top Fuel driver Doug Herbert; Pro Stock drivers Greg Anderson and Jason Line, as well as the Pro Stock team of Cagnazzi Racing. Pro Stock Motorcycle riders Shawn Gann and Matt Smith also are North Carolina natives.
Since its inception in 1951, NHRA has sanctioned numerous drag strips throughout the state, running within Division 2 which encompasses the states of North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, eastern Tennessee and Puerto Rico. The last time NHRA staged an event in the state of North Carolina featuring the professional classes was 1998. The specialty race was conducted for 10 years at Rockingham Dragway in Rockingham, N.C.
This marks the second new venue on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series to cater to the growing fan base in the Southeast United States. In 2006, the series returned to Virginia Motorsports Park outside Richmond, Va.
Bruton Smith Unveils Plans for Drag Racing's "Crown Jewel"
Tickets Now Available for Inaugural NHRA Carolinas Nationals
Building on Lowe's Motor Speedway's status as the premier destination for motorsports entertainment, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE:TRK) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer O. Bruton Smith today unveiled plans for a state-of-the-art drag racing facility.
The quarter-mile drag strip will join Lowe's Motor Speedway's legendary 1.5-mile superspeedway and four-tenths-mile dirt track in presenting America's most popular auto racing series to fans from around the world.
Preliminary grading work is underway and construction on the grandstand foundation will begin in early February. The facility will open Sept. 11-14 with the inaugural NHRA Carolinas Nationals, round 19 of the 24-race NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
The strip is currently being called The Dragway @ Lowe's Motor Speedway, but Smith is asking fans to name the facility by participating in a contest at www.lowesmotorspeedway.com. The individual submitting the name chosen for the facility will receive a VIP experience during the inaugural NHRA Carolinas Nationals.
"I love to build things and this is an exciting project because we are going to build the crown jewel of drag strips," Smith said following the unveiling, which was part of the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Lowe's Motor Speedway. "Drag racing is the perfect compliment to the wide variety of motorsports entertainment already on the schedule here at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
"We are constantly looking for ways to grow our business and the success of NHRA racing at our other tracks told us that adding a drag strip here was a tremendous opportunity," Smith added. "Plus, there is just something special about a race car with 7,000 horsepower."
The dragway will be located on 125 acres of LMS property across U.S. Highway 29 from the superspeedway, adjacent to The Dirt Track. The drag racing facility's track, pit areas and midway will cover 46.5 acres, or two million square feet. Engineers estimate construction will require moving 750,000 cubic yards of dirt; placing 65,000 tons of aggregate stone base and paving 50,000 tons of asphalt.
The most prominent feature of the dragway will be a 34,000-square-foot starting-line tower that will include 16 luxury suites and an additional 4,000 square-feet of roof access for guests. The tower will also include a control area for race officials, a broadcast booth for ESPN's announcers and a press box for media members.
Initial plans call for two steel-and-aluminum grandstand structures, one on each side of the quarter-mile drag strip, with a seating capacity of 30,000 and room for expansion to 60,000. The primary grandstand will be on the drivers' left, adjacent to the Manufacturer's Midway and Pro Pits. It will feature premium flip-down seating as well as 20-inch-wide bench seats with backs. Two tunnels will connect the grandstands underneath the strip to enhance fan mobility. Twenty-four luxury suites with hospitality accommodations will be located above the main grandstand.
With the addition of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event, Lowe's Motor Speedway will host six of the nation's premier auto racing series during the 2008 season. Also on the schedule are three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, two NASCAR Nationwide Series events, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, three World of Outlaws Late Model Series events and a pair of Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series races.
The Dragway @ Lowe's Motor Speedway is the fourth NHRA-sanctioned drag strip owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. The company also hosts NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series events at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn.; The Strip @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nev.; and Infineon Dragway in Sonoma, Calif.
NHRA POWERade Series Team Reports
Coughlin helps unveil new Charlotte-area race, drag strip
Reigning POWERade Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. added some star power to racing mogul O. Bruton Smith's Thursday announcement that he'll be building a $40 million drag strip adjacent to Lowe's Motor Speedway. The yet-to-be-named facility already has been awarded a race date of Sept. 11-14.
"Any time Bruton Smith does something he does it first class and I can already tell you this racetrack will be one of the best in the country," said Coughlin, a four-time world champion and one of only 12 drag racers in history with 50 or more wins. "The only tracks that will rival this one are the other one's Bruton owns in Las Vegas, Sonoma, and Bristol, Tenn.
"The plans look beautiful. It reminds me a lot of The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway the way it's laid out. It certainly takes the sport of drag racing to new heights.
"It's also very exciting to me that we're going to have a national event right in the heart of NASCAR country. Our team and shop is right here in Mooresville so this will be a home race for us. The guys at the chassis and engine shops will be able to come out and join us at this event."
Coughlin was besieged by most of the top motorsports writers in the country at the event, which coincided with NASCAR's annual preseason media tour.
The facility, temporarily named The Dragway at Lowe's Motor Speedway, will eventually take on the title picked through a fan contest on www.lowesmotorspeedway.com, where Smith has asked readers to submit possible names for the quarter-mile strip.
Photo courtesy of JEGS
(John Force Racing, Don Schumacher Racing, JEGS Racing, Kenny Bernstein Racing, David Powers Motorsports, Kalitta Racing, Skoal Racing)