Friday, November 22, 2013

Cordova Dragway Park to Host IHRA Summer Nationals July 18-19




NORWALK, Ohio (November 22, 2013) – One of the longest running and most exciting events in IHRA history is returning to the schedule as the IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series welcomes back the 24th annual Summer Nationals the weekend of July 18-19, 2014 at Cordova Dragway Park in Illinois.

The Summer Nationals at Cordova Dragway Park will become the 12th event on the 2014 Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series North American Tour, expanding the reach of the schedule to include nine states and Canada.
Cordova Dragway Park hosted the IHRA's annual Summer Nationals from 1997-2002, the last year the name appeared on an IHRA sanctioned national event. Previous iterations of the Summer Nationals were held in Ohio, Wisconsin, Tennessee, New Jersey, Indiana and Ontario.


"I am very excited to bring the IHRA back to Cordova and showcase this incredible series at Cordova Dragway Park," said Scott Gardner, President of IHRA Motorsports. "The Summer Nationals is one of the marquee events on the IHRA calendar and I am looking forward to reviving this important and prestigious event."

Cordova Dragway Park will welcome the all-new IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series that will feature several unique classes and exciting racing elements in 2014.

Among the new pieces to the Nitro Jam lineup will be a much anticipated return to traditional drag racing with qualifying and eliminations in the professional nitro classes. Nitro Jam's star attraction, Nitro Funny Car, will welcome the best racers from across the United States and Canada to test their equipment and driving skill with a points championship and lucrative purse on the line.

Joining the stars of Nitro Funny Car will be the daredevil riders in Nitro Harley and the incredibly popular and out of control Nitro Altered categories. Rounding out the Nitro Jam lineup will be the fastest girls in drag racing as the Larsen jet car team compete in the only Jet Dragster competition in the country.

Cordova Dragway Park is the latest track to join the IRG Sports + Entertainment family of tracks, joining Palm Beach International Raceway, Southwestern International Raceway and Memphis International Raceway. All four tracks will host a Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series event in 2014.

The Summer Nationals is also one of several classic races returning to the IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series calendar, joining long-running events at Rockingham Dragway and Maryland International Raceway, creating a diverse lineup of events spanning coast to coast.

For more information on the 2014 IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series schedule and lineup, please visit www.ihra.com for complete details.