Division Races announced for 2009

Bob Gullett · 10-16-2008, 09:03 PM

http://www.nhra.com/content/news/33419.htm
2009 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series scheduled announced

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10/16/2008

NHRA has released the 2009 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series schedule. The Series, which is headlined by the powerful Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car classes, features 44 races across the country throughout NHRA's seven geographic regions. Competitors in eight classes in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series vie for divisional and national championships and a share of the year-end purse worth more than $560,000.

In addition to the Alcohol-powered categories, the Series also features NHRA's Comp Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas and Super Street classes. Each division also runs a Top Sportsman and a Top Dragster series in conjunction with their Lucas Oil events, and a Sportsman Motorcycle Series presented by Harley Davidson is contested in selected divisions.

"It's hard to believe that the 2009 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series is already around the corner," said Lucas Oil Products President and CEO Forrest Lucas. "We are so pleased and excited to continue our involvement with NHRA's sportsman racers. They really are the backbone of this sport and we know first-hand what it takes to be involved in drag racing at this level and it's not easy. We truly appreciate every one of those racers who is out there supporting the Lucas Oil Series."

The 2009 schedule also includes three JEGS SPORTSnationals events and the JEGS Allstars Invitational. The SPORTSnationals are designed to highlight NHRA's sportsman racers and give them a national event all their own. They will be run in Belle Rose, La., Fontana, Calif., and Columbus, Ohio. The JEGS Allstars event is the culmination of a year-long points battle where the top points-earning drivers in each class represent his or her division and square off against each other at the NHRA national event at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. The JEGS Allstars purse is worth $100,000.

In addition to giving local racers an opportunity to race for championships close to home, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series has been a training ground for many drivers in NHRA's POWERade Drag Racing Series. Funny Car racers Jack Beckman and Tony Bartone are among today's pros who have earned national championships in the Lucas Oil Series. Other former Lucas Oil national champions include Pro Stock drivers Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Jason Line, as well as Top Fuel pilot Steve Torrence. Many other current POWERade racers claim divisional titles on their resumes.

2009 NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES SCHEDULE

NORTHEAST DIVISION

April 24-26
Virginia Motorsports Park
Petersburg, Va.

May 22-24
Maple Grove Raceway
Reading, Pa.

June 19-21
Atco Raceway
Atco, N.J.

July 3-5
Lebanon Valley Dragway
West Lebanon, N.Y.

Aug. 28-30
Cecil County Dragway
Rising Sun, Md.

Sept. 11-13
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
Englishtown, N.J.

Oct. 2-4
Atco Raceway*
Atco, N.J.

SOUTHEAST DIVISION

Feb. 13-15
Bradenton Motorsports Park
Bradenton, Fla.

Feb. 20-22
Raceway Gainesville
Gainesville, Fla.

March 6-8
Orlando Speed World Dragway*
Orlando, Fla.

April 3-5
South Georgia Motorsports Park
Cecil, Ga.

Sept. 11-13
Atlanta Dragway
Commerce, Ga.

Oct. 23-25
Silver Dollar Raceway
Reynolds, Ga.

NORTH CENTRAL DIVISION

April 24-26
O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis
Indianapolis

May 15-17
Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park
Norwalk, Ohio

June 12-14
Route 66 Raceway
Joliet, Ill.

July 11-12
Mid-Michigan Motorplex*
Stanton, Mich.

July 24-26
National Trail Raceway
Columbus, Ohio

Aug. 28-30
Beech Bend Raceway Park
Bowling Green, Ky.

SOUTH CENTRAL DIVISION

April 3-5
Texas Motorplex
Ennis, Texas

April 24-26
Memphis Motorsports Park*
Memphis, Tenn.

May 15-17
Houston Raceway Park
Baytown, Texas

July 17-19
Red River Raceway
Gilliam, La.

Sept.18-20
No Problem Raceway
Belle Rose, La.

Oct. 23-25
Thunder Valley Raceway Park
Noble, Okla.

WEST CENTRAL DIVISION

April 24-26
SRCA Dragstrip
Great Bend, Kan.

May 22-24
Brainerd Int'l Raceway
Brainerd, Minn.

June 19-21
Bandimere Speedway
Morrison, Colo.

Aug. 7-8
Cordova Raceway Park
Cordova, Ill.

Aug. 28-29
Heartland Park Topeka
Topeka, Kan.

Sept. 11-13
Tri-State Raceway
Earlville, Iowa

NORTHWEST DIVISION

May 1-3
Firebird Raceway*
Boise, Idaho

May 22-24
Mission Raceway
Mission, B.C.

June 19-21
Pacific Raceways
Kent, Wash.

July 10-12
Woodburn Dragstrip
Woodburn, Ore.

Aug. 21-23
Yellowstone Dragstrip
Acton, Mont.

Oct. 2-3
Champion Raceway
Eagle Point, Ore.

PACIFIC DIVISION

Feb. 27-Mar. 1
Firebird Int'l Raceway
Chandler, Ariz.

March 6-7
Southwestern Int'l Raceway*
Tucson, Ariz.

April 24-26
Auto Club Dragway at Auto Club Speedway
Fontana, Calif.

June 13-14
Top Gun Raceway
Fallon, Nev.

July 31-Aug. 2
Infineon Raceway
Sonoma, Calif.

Sept. 11-12
Auto Club Famoso Raceway
Bakersfield, Calif.

Nov. 5-8
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas

NHRA LUCAS OIL SERIES SPECIAL EVENTS

March 20-22
Jegs NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals*
Belle Rose, La.

April 17-19
Jegs NHRA Pacific SPORTSnationals*
Fontana, Calif.

June 6
Jegs Allstars
Joliet, Ill.

Sept. 25-27
Jegs NHRA Northern SPORTSnationals*
Columbus, Ohio

* Top Alcohol classes not contested

Schedule subject to change.

John Kelley · 10-16-2008, 10:17 PM

INTERESTING.......Red River in the middle of JULY !!!!!!! Can you say SWEAT ???? :-)
Oh JOY !!!

Mike Meier · 10-16-2008, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Gullett

http://www.nhra.com/content/news/33419.htm
2009 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series scheduled announced

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10/16/2008

In addition to the Alcohol-powered categories, the Series also features NHRA's Comp Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas and Super Street classes. Each division also runs a Top Sportsman and a Top Dragster series in conjunction with their Lucas Oil events, and a Sportsman Motorcycle Series presented by Harley Davidson is contested in selected divisions.

Does this mean that Top Sportsman and Top Dragster are gonna be at ALL of our LODRS races now?

Chad Rhodes · 10-16-2008, 10:28 PM

wow only one conflict between D2 and D4 ( and one that is kinda immaterial). Someone must have pulled their head out of their ***, albeit only temporarily I'm sure

Real Racer · 10-17-2008, 12:03 AM

Indy and Memphis are on top of each other.

Alan Roehrich · 10-17-2008, 08:11 AM

As usual, most of the Division 2 stuff is spaced out a week or two apart over about two months, early February to April, early in the season, all the way at the bottom of the Division, and then two races at the end of the season.

No races that are not in Florida or Georgia, and in Atlanta or South of there. I suppose Division 2 has only two states, and the rest of them do not matter.

If you want to run for points in Division 2 and do not live in the middle of Georgia, or further South in Georgia or Florida, I guess you're supposed to take two months off of work, and burn $10K worth of fuel.

All of that travel, and so much time off all in an 8-10 week period, and the economy is in the tank. PURE genius.

thomas sheehan · 10-17-2008, 08:20 AM

While we are complaining.... I take my turn and vent.
Who is the genius that keeps putting the NORWALK points meet right on top of the BRISTOL national event?
I am sure there are numerous D3 cars that hate missing one of their closest Nationals (or points meet).
Please change the date of the points meet.

Tom

Alan Roehrich · 10-17-2008, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomas sheehan

While we are complaining.... I take my turn and vent.
Who is the genius that keeps putting the NORWALK points meet right on top of the BRISTOL national event?
I am sure there are numerous D3 cars that hate missing one of their closest Nationals (or points meet).
Please change the date of the points meet.

Tom

Often there's not a great deal of cooperation when it comes to scheduling. It's a shame, too. It shouldn't be THAT hard to figure it out and make it work. And like I said, given the economy, you'd think they'd TRY to fix it.

Mark Lewis · 10-17-2008, 08:43 AM

They were also smart enough to leave the new Charlotte, N.C. track out of divisionals. Probably would have more spectators than any points meet and a great car count.

Jim Wahl · 10-17-2008, 01:11 PM

How much effort would it take to get all DD's together (on the phone, computer or whatever) and hammer out a cooperative schedule for the next season a few months ahead of time? Opps, I'm sorry, that makes too much sense. Jim

10-16-2008, 09:03 PM	#1
Bob Gullett VIP Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,099 Likes: 56 Liked 459 Times in 111 Posts	Division Races announced for 2009 http://www.nhra.com/content/news/33419.htm 2009 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series scheduled announced -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10/16/2008 NHRA has released the 2009 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series schedule. The Series, which is headlined by the powerful Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car classes, features 44 races across the country throughout NHRA's seven geographic regions. Competitors in eight classes in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series vie for divisional and national championships and a share of the year-end purse worth more than $560,000. In addition to the Alcohol-powered categories, the Series also features NHRA's Comp Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas and Super Street classes. Each division also runs a Top Sportsman and a Top Dragster series in conjunction with their Lucas Oil events, and a Sportsman Motorcycle Series presented by Harley Davidson is contested in selected divisions. "It's hard to believe that the 2009 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series is already around the corner," said Lucas Oil Products President and CEO Forrest Lucas. "We are so pleased and excited to continue our involvement with NHRA's sportsman racers. They really are the backbone of this sport and we know first-hand what it takes to be involved in drag racing at this level and it's not easy. We truly appreciate every one of those racers who is out there supporting the Lucas Oil Series." The 2009 schedule also includes three JEGS SPORTSnationals events and the JEGS Allstars Invitational. The SPORTSnationals are designed to highlight NHRA's sportsman racers and give them a national event all their own. They will be run in Belle Rose, La., Fontana, Calif., and Columbus, Ohio. The JEGS Allstars event is the culmination of a year-long points battle where the top points-earning drivers in each class represent his or her division and square off against each other at the NHRA national event at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. The JEGS Allstars purse is worth $100,000. In addition to giving local racers an opportunity to race for championships close to home, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series has been a training ground for many drivers in NHRA's POWERade Drag Racing Series. Funny Car racers Jack Beckman and Tony Bartone are among today's pros who have earned national championships in the Lucas Oil Series. Other former Lucas Oil national champions include Pro Stock drivers Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Jason Line, as well as Top Fuel pilot Steve Torrence. Many other current POWERade racers claim divisional titles on their resumes. 2009 NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES SCHEDULE NORTHEAST DIVISION April 24-26 Virginia Motorsports Park Petersburg, Va. May 22-24 Maple Grove Raceway Reading, Pa. June 19-21 Atco Raceway Atco, N.J. July 3-5 Lebanon Valley Dragway West Lebanon, N.Y. Aug. 28-30 Cecil County Dragway Rising Sun, Md. Sept. 11-13 Old Bridge Township Raceway Park Englishtown, N.J. Oct. 2-4 Atco Raceway* Atco, N.J. SOUTHEAST DIVISION Feb. 13-15 Bradenton Motorsports Park Bradenton, Fla. Feb. 20-22 Raceway Gainesville Gainesville, Fla. March 6-8 Orlando Speed World Dragway* Orlando, Fla. April 3-5 South Georgia Motorsports Park Cecil, Ga. Sept. 11-13 Atlanta Dragway Commerce, Ga. Oct. 23-25 Silver Dollar Raceway Reynolds, Ga. NORTH CENTRAL DIVISION April 24-26 O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis Indianapolis May 15-17 Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park Norwalk, Ohio June 12-14 Route 66 Raceway Joliet, Ill. July 11-12 Mid-Michigan Motorplex* Stanton, Mich. July 24-26 National Trail Raceway Columbus, Ohio Aug. 28-30 Beech Bend Raceway Park Bowling Green, Ky. SOUTH CENTRAL DIVISION April 3-5 Texas Motorplex Ennis, Texas April 24-26 Memphis Motorsports Park* Memphis, Tenn. May 15-17 Houston Raceway Park Baytown, Texas July 17-19 Red River Raceway Gilliam, La. Sept.18-20 No Problem Raceway Belle Rose, La. Oct. 23-25 Thunder Valley Raceway Park Noble, Okla. WEST CENTRAL DIVISION April 24-26 SRCA Dragstrip Great Bend, Kan. May 22-24 Brainerd Int'l Raceway Brainerd, Minn. June 19-21 Bandimere Speedway Morrison, Colo. Aug. 7-8 Cordova Raceway Park Cordova, Ill. Aug. 28-29 Heartland Park Topeka Topeka, Kan. Sept. 11-13 Tri-State Raceway Earlville, Iowa NORTHWEST DIVISION May 1-3 Firebird Raceway* Boise, Idaho May 22-24 Mission Raceway Mission, B.C. June 19-21 Pacific Raceways Kent, Wash. July 10-12 Woodburn Dragstrip Woodburn, Ore. Aug. 21-23 Yellowstone Dragstrip Acton, Mont. Oct. 2-3 Champion Raceway Eagle Point, Ore. PACIFIC DIVISION Feb. 27-Mar. 1 Firebird Int'l Raceway Chandler, Ariz. March 6-7 Southwestern Int'l Raceway* Tucson, Ariz. April 24-26 Auto Club Dragway at Auto Club Speedway Fontana, Calif. June 13-14 Top Gun Raceway Fallon, Nev. July 31-Aug. 2 Infineon Raceway Sonoma, Calif. Sept. 11-12 Auto Club Famoso Raceway Bakersfield, Calif. Nov. 5-8 The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas NHRA LUCAS OIL SERIES SPECIAL EVENTS March 20-22 Jegs NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals* Belle Rose, La. April 17-19 Jegs NHRA Pacific SPORTSnationals* Fontana, Calif. June 6 Jegs Allstars Joliet, Ill. Sept. 25-27 Jegs NHRA Northern SPORTSnationals* Columbus, Ohio * Top Alcohol classes not contested Schedule subject to change. __________________ 68 Chevy11 327 F/S

10-16-2008, 10:17 PM	#2
John Kelley Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Tightwad,TEXAS Posts: 911 Likes: 6 Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Division Races announced for 2009 INTERESTING.......Red River in the middle of JULY !!!!!!! Can you say SWEAT ???? :-) Oh JOY !!!

10-16-2008, 10:28 PM	#4
Chad Rhodes VIP Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Where the Green Grass Grows, AL Posts: 2,375 Likes: 0 Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Division Races announced for 2009 wow only one conflict between D2 and D4 ( and one that is kinda immaterial). Someone must have pulled their head out of their ***, albeit only temporarily I'm sure __________________ Chad Rhodes 2113 I/SA

10-17-2008, 12:03 AM	#5
Real Racer Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 99 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Division Races announced for 2009 Indy and Memphis are on top of each other.

10-17-2008, 08:11 AM	#6
Alan Roehrich Veteran Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Murfreesboro TN Posts: 5,066 Likes: 1,487 Liked 1,630 Times in 378 Posts	Re: Division Races announced for 2009 As usual, most of the Division 2 stuff is spaced out a week or two apart over about two months, early February to April, early in the season, all the way at the bottom of the Division, and then two races at the end of the season. No races that are not in Florida or Georgia, and in Atlanta or South of there. I suppose Division 2 has only two states, and the rest of them do not matter. If you want to run for points in Division 2 and do not live in the middle of Georgia, or further South in Georgia or Florida, I guess you're supposed to take two months off of work, and burn $10K worth of fuel. All of that travel, and so much time off all in an 8-10 week period, and the economy is in the tank. PURE genius. __________________ Alan Roehrich 212A G/S

10-17-2008, 08:20 AM	#7
thomas sheehan Photographer Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,717 Likes: 24 Liked 75 Times in 29 Posts	Re: Division Races announced for 2009 While we are complaining.... I take my turn and vent. Who is the genius that keeps putting the NORWALK points meet right on top of the BRISTOL national event? I am sure there are numerous D3 cars that hate missing one of their closest Nationals (or points meet). Please change the date of the points meet. Tom

10-17-2008, 08:43 AM	#9
Mark Lewis Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 344 Likes: 62 Liked 206 Times in 43 Posts	Re: Division Races announced for 2009 They were also smart enough to leave the new Charlotte, N.C. track out of divisionals. Probably would have more spectators than any points meet and a great car count.

10-17-2008, 01:11 PM	#10
Jim Wahl Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Central Florida Posts: 5,843 Likes: 663 Liked 682 Times in 128 Posts	Re: Division Races announced for 2009 How much effort would it take to get all DD's together (on the phone, computer or whatever) and hammer out a cooperative schedule for the next season a few months ahead of time? Opps, I'm sorry, that makes too much sense. Jim __________________ Jim Wahl....NHRA #2239 S/SS - IHRA # 8 Stock, D2 Stock Champion (forever I guess) 2019 Baby Gators Stock Champion 2009 D2 National Open Stock Champion 1981 D2 West Palm Beach LDRS SS Runner Up Past President, Southern Stock / Super Stock Association.