Commemorative activities to anchor all 22 events in NHRA’s 60th Anniversary Season
GLENDORA, Calif. (Nov. 12, 2010) – Not long after the 7,000-horsepower engines have cooled at the conclusion of this weekend’s season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals, the Countdown to 2011 and the season-long salute to NHRA’s Diamond Anniversary season will begin.
Founded in 1951 by Wally Parks, NHRA will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2011 and it will mark the milestone achievement with a season-long series of activities, promotions and tributes that will highlight so many of the great memories that have been made in the long and storied history of the Great American sport of NHRA championship drag racing. They will run from the first green-light at the season-opening Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals to the final win-light at season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals.
“In celebrating the 50th Winternationals earlier this year, we put a lot of the focus on paying tribute to the rich history of this great sport of NHRA championship drag racing and the response we received from the fans was just incredibly positive,” said Gary Darcy, NHRA senior vice president, sales & marketing. “The impact on our fans was clearly meaningful and so the goal in 2011 will be to celebrate our Diamond Anniversary by bringing that experience to as many of our fans as we possibly could.”
The season-long celebration will begin at the 51st annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals with a number of activities highlighted by “The Snake Pit,” a display of NHRA Legend Don “The Snake” Prudhomme’s legendary collection of race cars. Also included in the display will be a number of hot rods from the legendary “Road Kings” car club that counted Prudhomme among its members.
The Diamond Anniversary theme will continue to be an integral part of the planning as the NHRA Full Throttle Series moves on to Gainesville and beyond.
Among the planned activities fans can anticipate will be the unveiling of the 60 Most Memorable Racing Moments, a 60th Legend Dignitaries program in which select NHRA Legends will serve as a Grand Marshal/Ambassador at an event, NHRA Mobile Museum, ticket promotions, sweepstakes and commemorative coin giveaways.
After Pomona, when the Series heads east to Gainesville Raceway and the Pro Stock Motorcycles make their debut at the 42nd running of the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, NHRA will celebrate with its “Official Kickoff Party” for the Diamond Anniversary season.
Borrowing from what made much of the 50th running of the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals so successful, NHRA will replicate many of the off-track activities – including the Golden Corral Car Show, tribute-car races, Cacklefests and multiple “meet-the-legends” opportunities – and present them to a whole new audience of NHRA fans and hot rodding enthusiasts on the east coast.
Race fans can stay tuned to NHRA.com as well as the NHRA Facebook page for continuous updates throughout the season on activities planned at each of the 22 events on the 2011 schedule.
