NORWALK, Ohio (August 25, 2011) – Nearly a decade old, the International Hot Rod Association’s popular Summit SuperSeries program is enjoying a period of record growth as the richest and most prestigious grassroots racing series in the country boasts a record number of tracks and participants leading to the expansion of the program in 2011.
Created in 2002 as a way to give local racers a chance to compete on a national level, the Summit SuperSeries has grown exponentially since then as the IHRA member track list nears triple digits for the first time ever and the number of participants in the Summit SuperSeries approaches numbers once thought impossible when the series began just a few years ago.
“When this series began several years ago we knew it would be popular, but we never dreamed it would grow to a level of this magnitude,” said Sherrie Barbour, IHRA Special Programs Manager. “In just nine short years the Summit SuperSeries has grown into the most lucrative grassroots program in the country and that has lead to expansions of the program and its outreach with new divisions in the works and tracks lining up to join the series.
“It really is a great time to be a part of the IHRA and the Summit SuperSeries as we take this program to the next level and hopefully over the next few years continue to celebrate new milestones.”
Now, with more and more tracks wanting to be a part of the program which features a prize package of over $200,000 and national recognition, the IHRA has announced that it will be expanding the program in 2011 from eight car fields in the Box and No Box classes at the IHRA World Finals to 16 car fields in each category.
This expansion allows the series to include more drivers at the season-ending IHRA Summit Racing Equipment World Finals presented by RacingJunk.com and opens the program up to new racers at the biggest grassroots sportsman race of the year.
“We decided to expand the program to reach more racers. The racing at the World Finals has been top-notch for some time and expanding the field to 16 cars will only make the racing and the program that much stronger,” Barbour said.
The Summit SuperSeries began in 2002 as a grassroots racing series that provides racers a chance to compete at their local track with track champions earning an opportunity to move on to the Summit Team Finals and eventually the World Finals.
The progression from local-level racing to regional events and eventually the IHRA World Finals gives grassroots racers and drivers that can’t travel a chance to compete for a World Championship from the confines of their local track.
And with the backing of Summit Racing Equipment, the series has seen champions born from every part of the country leading to a record number of IHRA member tracks and participants entering the IHRA World Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park later this year.
For more information on the IHRA Summit SuperSeries logon to www.ihra.com and click on the Summit SuperSeries link for complete details.
