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IHRA 2000 Schedule to Debut Thursday-Saturday National Events

23 July 1999

Norwalk, OH - IHRA President/General Manager Bill Bader has announced that seven national events will be run Thursday through Saturday in 2000.

"The reason for the schedule change to Thursday, Friday, Saturday is to accommodate the IHRA fan and racer," stated Bader. "Sunday attendance is weak at almost every motorsports event. The fans are staying home, together, as a family. That's why NASCAR is lighting their tracks and racing on Saturday night. That's why NHRA tried Thursday through Saturday racing at St. Louis and Bristol. Saturday is the best day of the week to draw fans; Friday is next best. With this new schedule we will get more fans; with more fans we all win. We can pay better purses, build better facilities and our sponsors will reach more customers and sell additional product.

Bader added that logistics are currently being worked on with a tentative schedule as follows: Thursday will have one qualifying run scheduled with the track staying open overnight. Friday will have two qualifying runs, including the traditional 'Night of Fire'. Eliminations are scheduled on Saturday, with Sunday used as a rain date. Pro and Sportsman racers will still receive the same number of qualifying attempts.

"With this schedule our racers can work on Wednesday and Thursday, drive overnight and time trial on Friday. They race on Saturday, drive home Sunday and return to work, rested, on Monday," commented Bader. " We want what is best for our racers and fans. This is the plan we think works best for everyone."

2000 events moving to the Thursday-Saturday format include the Winter Nationals at Darlington, March 9-11; The Holley Spring Nationals at Rockingham, April 6-8; the Amalie Oil Summer Nationals, June 15-17; the Mopar Parts World Nationals, August 22-26; the CARQUEST Autumn Nationals at Rockingham, September 21-23; the President's Cup Nationals at Maryland Int. Raceway, Sept. 28-30; and the Mopar Parts World Finals in Shreveport, LA, October 12-14.

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