NHRA announces 2002 national event schedule

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

July 26, 2001

GLENDORA, Calif. -- Today, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) announced its 2002 national event schedule, featuring 23 national events and a return to all venues on its current 2001 schedule.

In addition, the NHRA announced an increase in the event prize purse for its Federal-Mogul Dragster and Federal-Mogul Funny Car categories, the first in more than 10 years. The total event purse in 2002 for the two categories will increase over $20,000 per race, representing an increase of nearly 40 percent from this year. The Federal-Mogul Dragster and Federal-Mogul Funny Car categories will compete at 16 NHRA national events, with the annual sportsman all-star event switching venues from National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio to the Fall event at Route 66 Raceway in Joilet, Ill. Federal-Mogul Dragster and Federal-Mogul Funny Car will enjoy increased television coverage in 2002, as all national event competitions will be televised nationally on ESPN2, including the all-star event.

Finally, NHRA announced a reclassification of the current Pro Stock Truck vehicle, effective in the 2002 season. Going forward, the current Pro Stock Truck vehicle will be able to compete in Competition Eliminator in the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series with no vehicle modification. With some modification, the same vehicles can run in Super Gas and Super Comp categories.

"Our 2002 NHRA national event schedule reinforces our position as the most geographically dispersed motorsport in the United States," said Tom Compton, president, NHRA. All NHRA Drag Racing national events will be televised, on a live or same-day basis, on ESPN or ESPN2 with a minimum of four hours each weekend. The Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, the world's most prestigious drag racing event, will feature a minimum of 6 hours of television coverage.

The Federal-Mogul Dragster and Federal-Mogul Funny Car categories will compete in Pomona, Calif., at both the NHRA Winternationals and NHRA Finals, Gainesville, Fla., Houston, the spring Las Vegas event, Atlanta, Englishtown, N.J., Topeka, Kan., Columbus, Ohio, Seattle, Sonoma, Calif., Brainerd, Minn., Indianapolis, Reading, Pa., Chicago (Fall event) and Dallas.

The reclassification of the vehicle now racing in the Pro Stock Truck category will reduce the number of professional classes in the NHRA Drag Racing Series to four: Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.

"We spent a lot of time conferring with fans, sponsors, teams and track operators before making the decision to reclassify the Pro Stock Truck vehicle," said Compton. "This was not an easy decision to make. But, this direction is designed to strengthen our sport for the future.

"This move puts the focus on the remaining professional categories, resulting in more television coverage and media exposure for their teams and sponsors," Compton continued. "NHRA has responded to what our fans want to see on-site at our national events and watch on ESPN."

Pro Stock Motorcycle will once again compete in 14 events, including Gainesville, Fla., Houston, Atlanta, Englishtown, N.J., the first Chicago event, Columbus, Ohio, St. Louis, Denver, Brainerd, Minn., Indianapolis, Reading, Pa., Memphis, Tenn., the second Las Vegas event and the Pomona, Calif. finale

The specialty race schedule, including the Holley Dominator Duel for Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, as well as the Budweiser Shootout for Top Fuel and Funny Car will remain at their current venues. The Holley Dominator Duel for Pro Stock will be held at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park (Englishtown, N.J.) during the Matco Tools SuperNationals and the Holley Dominator Duel for Pro Stock Motorcycles will remain at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) during the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. The Budweiser Shootout for Funny Car will continue to be contested at IRP and the Budweiser Shootout for Top Fuel will be showcased at the Pomona finale.

Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., the NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. It presents 24 national events through its NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series. The NHRA has more than 80,000 members nationwide and more than 140 member tracks. The NHRA-sanctioned sportsman and bracket racing series' provide competition opportunities for drivers of all levels. The NHRA develops the stars of tomorrow by offering the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series, NHRA Summit Import Drag Racing Series, NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Street Legal Program. The NHRA also offers the NHRA Castrol GTX Jr. Drag Racing League for youths ages 8 to 17.

2002 NHRA Drag Racing Schedule
42nd annual NHRA Winternationals
Pomona, California
January 31 - February 3, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas

18th annual Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals
Phoenix, Arizona
February 21-24, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street

33rd annual Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals
Gainesville, Florida
March 14-17, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas

Third annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals
Las Vegas, Nevada
April 4-7, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas

15th annual O'Reilly Nationals
Baytown, Texas
April 11-14, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street

Second annual Mac Tools Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals
Bristol, Tennessee
April 26-28, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street

22nd annual NHRA Southern Nationals
Commerce, Georgia
May 2-5, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas

33rd annual Matco Tools SuperNationals
Englishtown, New Jersey
May 16-19, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street

14th annual NHRA Nationals
Topeka, Kansas
May 23-26, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street

Fifth annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Chicago, Illinois
May 30 - June 2, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas

38th annual Pontiac Excitement Nationals
Columbus, Ohio
June 13-16, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street

Sixth annual Sears Craftsman Nationals
Madison, Illinois
June 27-30, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas

23rd annual Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals
Denver, Colorado
July 18-21, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street

15th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals
Seattle, Washington
July 26-28, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street

15th annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals
Sonoma, California
August 2-4, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas

21st annual Colonel's Truck Accessories NHRA Nationals
Brainerd, Minnesota
August 15-18, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas

48th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
Indianapolis, Indiana
August 28 - September 2, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas

18th annual NHRA Keystone Nationals
Reading, Pennsylvania
September 12-15, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas

15th annual NHRA Nationals
Millington, Tennessee
September 19-22, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas

Second annual NHRA Nationals
Chicago, Illinois
September 26-29, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car (All-Star Event)
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street

17th annual O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals
Dallas, Texas
October 10-13, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas

Second annual AC Delco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals
Las Vegas, Nevada
October 24-27, 2002
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street

38th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals
Pomona, California
November 7-10
- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle
- Federal-Mogul Dragster, F-M Funny Car
- Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas

Text provided by Anthony Vestal

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