Wednesday Night Drags Kicks Off at Sears Point

"Wednesday Night Drags" Kicks Off
on New Drag Strip at Sears Point Raceway

Grandmothers and Lawyers, as well as  Mini-Vans and  Dodge Vipers 
Compete in Weekly Program on Quarter-Mile Strip

SONOMA, Calif. (IMMEDIATE RELEASE) - The popular "Wednesday Night Drags" program is ready to kick-off its 14th consecutive year at Sears Point Raceway, and it's shaping up as the best season ever. Opening night takes place on Wednesday, April 17.

Competitors will be treated to a totally refurbished drag strip, complete with a 660-foot concrete launch pad that should make Sears Point Raceway one of the fastest drag strips in the country. The strip has also been separated from the road course and features a Musco Lighting System for night racing, as well as a Compulink Timing System.

The anticipation of the drag strip has left many long-time Wednesday Night Drags veterans longing for the season, which will span almost weekly from April 17-Nov. 13.  Sears Point hosted a  "Test & Tune" session on Wednesday, April 10, to lay rubber on the track and prepare it for the 2002 season.

"I love the program and I love the people out there," said Willie Woo, a dentist from Moraga who has been racing at Sears Point since 1990. "It's an exciting and fun program."

Sears Point Raceway hosts one of the most successful grass-roots drag racing programs in the country, featuring an average of 300 vehicles and 700 fans per week. The program was created to encourage racing on the track, not the street.  Everything from Mini-Vans to supercharged Dodge Vipers will be seen on the track, as well as lawyers, farmers, grandmothers and high school students competing on the world famous drag strip.  

Wednesday Night Drags is open to the public, and allows participants to drive almost anything down the drag strip, provided it passes a simple technical inspection. Categories contested include: Jackpot, Comp Rod, Super Rod, Motorcycle, Street, Sport Street and High School. Please visit www.searspoint.com for complete rules and regulations.

Gates open each week at 3:30 p.m. and the first practice runs start around 5 p.m. Cost is $20 for participants, $17 for students with their high school identification cards, while spectators pay $10.