Norwalk, Ohio, February 14, 2011 – Just one month after announcing the creation of a new division in the Summit SuperSeries consisting of tracks in the western United States and Canada, the International Hot Rod Association is pleased to announce that it will also be expanding the Summit Pro-Am Tour as well with the creation of Division 6 consisting of five races in 2011 in British Columbia and Alberta.
The newly created division, also known as the Border Bandits, will expand the IHRA's regional touring series to include its new western markets and provide racers on the west coast who have never had an opportunity to compete for an IHRA title a chance to compete for points and a championship on the Summit Pro-Am Tour.
"We have been looking to reach out to racers on the west coast for a long time and with the creation of the new division and with so many great tracks getting involved I think this is the first step in really making some noise in areas of the country we have never touched before," said division director Frank Kohutek. "We are going to try some things out this first year, get racers used to the way these things are done, before we step it up and really grow the division over the next few years. This is certainly an exciting time to be a part of the IHRA."
The Division 6 Border Bandits will open their season the weekend of May 20-23 with the first and second races of the season at the Ni'Akapxm Eagle Motorplex in British Columbia. The third and fourth events will take place the weekend of June 3-5 at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton. Both races will be double race weekends.
The fifth and final Summit Pro-Am event of the season in Division 6 will take place simultaneously with the MOPAR Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals at Castrol Raceway the weekend of June 24-26.
Racers will score points using five out of five events with no out of division claims allowed.
The newly created division is the next step in the IHRA's plan to expand its grassroots, regional and national series to the west coast. In addition to being the top motorsports authority in Canada, the IHRA has also seen growth in the western United States with the addition of new tracks in Utah and Arizona with more still to come.
For more information on the newly created division visit the IHRA website at http://www.ihra.com/.
