Along with providing a more fan-friendly schedule and format this season the IHRA Nitro Jam series also plans on giving spectators more to see and do than ever before at all of its national events in 2010.
And that is where Fan Fest comes into play.
Prior to the start of the professional show each night racing will cease on the track and fans will be invited to the pits to interact with the Nitro Jam experience like never before. With everything from sign a Top Fuel dragster to be race director for a day and the much anticipated Nitro Thunder in the Pits everything at Fan Fest will be geared toward giving fans a chance to actually be a part of the action.
"Most racing series have some sort of fan interaction, but we hope to take the fan experience to a whole new level. We have always allowed fans to explore the pits and meet the drivers, but never have we allowed them to actually interact with the race itself until now," said IHRA President Aaron Polburn. "We want fans to walk away from our event and say not only did I have a great time watching an incredible show, but I also got to meet the stars of the series and help determine the outcome of the race."
Racing will get underway Friday and Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with sportsman qualifying and eliminations prior to the start of the professional show that evening.
Upon completion of the sportsman portion of the schedule Fan Fest will get underway at 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday evening. Fans will have roughly two hours to explore the pits and meet the drivers as they prepare for their runs later that evening.
Along with meeting the drivers and crews, several stations will be set up in the pit area for fans to interact with the event. Included in the list of fan activities is a chance to sign fan-favorite Bobby Lagana's Top Fuel dragster moments before he makes a 300+ mph pass, a coloring contest where fans can design their own Top Fuel dragster with the winning picture being used as an actual wrap on a dragster later in the season, a reaction time tournament with an actual IHRA tree and a chance to be the race director for a day as fans are selected to draw the first-round pairings of the professional rounds.
Fan Fest will come to a close with the Nitro Thunder in the Pits as nearly two dozen nitro vehicles warm up at the same time creating an experience unlike any other.
"I fully expect fans to walk away from our events with a new perspective on what motorsports entertainment is all about," said Polburn. "Fans will see, hear and feel things they have never experienced before and I can't wait to present that to them."
Following fan fest the first round of Nitro Jam will get underway with the fan-selected pairings for Top Fuel, Pro Fuel and Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car. All of the classes will then return later in the evening for the "Night of Fire" with the two quickest winners from round one meeting up in the final to determine that nights champion.
Also on hand this weekend at Palm Beach International Raceway are a set of Nitro Bikes, the "Cool Bus" wheelstanding school bus, a huge fireworks display and the first-ever jet truck showdown between the combined 60,000 horsepower machines of the Shockwave and Super Shockwave.
Don't miss your chance to be a part of history for the first ever Palm Beach Nitro Jam and the debut of Fan Fest this Friday and Saturday.
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