O'FALLON, MO (June 9, 2011) — With an emphasis on continually delivering a better raceday experience for fans and increasing visibility of its standout performers, the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) announced a series of time changes and a new pre-race ceremony for future events.
The new schedule and ceremony will go into effect starting with the Kansas National Guard Independence Drags V, which takes place June 17-18 at Heartland Park Topeka.
Moving forward, all events will now begin at 12 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with a new pre-race ceremony slated to start at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The top five qualifiers in each class will be introduced during the ceremony. The ADRL is also making it mandatory that the top five qualifiers appear during this time.
From there, Pro Extreme will kick off the first round of eliminations, setting the stage for a memorable day of racing.
"Introducing our top qualifiers during our new pre-race ceremony is an excellent way for all of our fans to meet the stars of the show," ADRL Director of Competition Tom Grooms said.
"The top qualifiers at every race are unbelievably talented and I also couldn't imagine a better way to get our fans excited for eliminations than a National Guard General firing the first pair of Pro Extreme cars to conclude the pre-race ceremony."
The following is a complete list of schedule changes:
All events will now begin at 12 p.m. (noon) on both Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, the second qualifying session will start at 3 p.m. and the third qualifying session is now scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. The Big Foot Monster Truck and Jet Car still scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m. Both qualifying sessions are minor changes and the event will still finish at the same time on Friday.
On Saturday, Pro Extreme will run its final qualifying session immediately after Extreme Pro Stock, with Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Extreme 10.5, Pro Nitrous and Pro Junior Dragster to follow.
The pre-race ceremony will start at 3 p.m. and the first round of eliminations will begin at 3:30 p.m. Pro Extreme will be the first class to run during the opening round of eliminations, immediately following the pre-race ceremony. Final eliminations are still scheduled to start 9:30 p.m., with the Monster Truck and Jet Car to follow.
A more compact schedule will also make for an even better racing experience.
"This is a perfect way for not only the capacity crowd to get to know our drivers better but all of our fans watching the live broadcast online, which will be free to everyone for the Kansas National Guard Independence Drags V," ADRL Executive Vice President Jeff Fortune said.
"We believe our new pre-race ceremony will be a great way to showcase competitors that are among the most talented in the world."
UPDATED 2011 SCHEDULE
(Subject to change; all times local)
FRIDAY: Qualifying Round 1 at 12 p.m. (Run order: T/S, XPS, PXM, XTF, PN, PX, PJD) Qualifying Round 2 at 3 p.m. (Run order: T/S, XPS, PXM, XTF, PN, PX, PJD) Event Ceremony at 6 p.m. Qualifying Round 3 at 6:30 p.m. (Run order: XPS, T/S, PJD, PXM, XTF, PN, PX) Jet Car and Monster Truck run 9:30 p.m. Secure Track 10 p.m.
SATURDAY: Qualifying Round 4 at 12 p.m. (Run order: T/S, XPS, PX, PXM, XTF, PN, PJD); Pre-Race Ceremonies 3 p.m. Eliminations Round 1 at 3:30 p.m. (Run order: PX, T/S, XPS, PXM, XTF, PN, PJD) Final Eliminations at 9:30 p.m. (Run order: PJD, T/S, XPS, PXM, XTF, PN, PX) Jet Car and Monster Truck run at 10 p.m. ADRL Winner's Circle Celebration 10:30 p.m. Secure Track 11 p.m.
