THREE OF NHRA’S FAVORITE SONS FROM THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS WILL HIGHLIGHT NHRA’S 60TH ANNIVERSARY VISIT TO BIG ‘D’
Kenny Bernstein, Billy Meyer and Raymond Beadle will give NHRA’s Sept. 22-25 visit to the famed Texas Motorplex a ‘Legendary’ feel while Texas and Oklahoma-based vintage dragsters will participate in an NHRA Cacklefest
DALLAS (Sept. 14, 2011) – With three of NHRA’s most celebrated Legends – Kenny Bernstein, Billy Meyer and Raymond Beadle – scheduled to be on hand to celebrate NHRA’s 60th anniversary season visit to Texas Motorplex, the 2011 AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals promises to be a ‘can’t-miss’ event for racing fans in the Lone Star State.
But when you add to that lineup of Legends a dramatic NHRA Cacklefest and all of the intense racing that comes with this being the second stop in NHRA’s six-race Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship playoffs, you have the ingredients for a truly memorable experience for fans.
“We’re really pleased to be able to add such tremendous value, on and off the track, to what is already one of the most coveted tickets in motorsports,” said Gary Darcy, NHRA senior vice president of sales and marketing.
The impressive lineup of NHRA Legends – each of whom was named to the list of NHRA’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 2001 – includes the famed King of Speed who won 69 races and six championships (Bernstein), the drag racing visionary who won 12 Funny Car races before building NHRA’s first “Super Track” (Meyer), and a three-time Funny Car world champion (1979, ’80, ’81) who drove the Blue Max Funny Car in its heyday (Beadle).
“Dad started his racing career in and around Dallas back in the ‘60s, driving for local car owners,” said Brandon Bernstein, Copart Top Fuel pilot and son of NHRA Legend Kenny Bernstein. “It’s a nice tribute to have him recognized as one of NHRA’s legends at this event. He has a lot of fans and friends that come to visit him at the Motorplex along with some of his early car owners. They usually get to bench racing and reach way back to recount some of their early excursions. We’ve heard some great stories from the past.”
All three of the Texas natives will be available to fans throughout the weekend for meet-and-greets and autograph sessions, and they will also participate in the increasingly popular Track Walk with a Legend on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m.
“Dad and I both have roots in Dallas and it’s a virtual homecoming each time we return to race there,” Berstein said. “Dallas is the second race of the Countdown and we are expecting a full house of Copart executives, employees and guests throughout the weekend. The race should be exciting and full of unexpected results.”
While fans will get to interact with the three legends, they will also get to experience another nostalgic fan-favorite attraction that can only be seen at NHRA events: a Cacklefest. A large group of Texas and Oklahoma-based vintage front-engine dragsters will participate in the Cacklefest at the Texas Motorplex, including The Gizzle Hopper, The Scorpion 1, The Rat Patrol, Don Cobb’s 1969 B Comp Roadster, The Pony, John Dearmore’s 1970 AA/F Dragster and The Scorpion 5, among others.
In an NHRA Cacklefest, all of the dragsters will rev their engines simultaneously, or “cackle,” for several minutes. Cacklefest is a tribute to drag racing’s early days, when dragsters had to be push-started by pickup trucks and would idle in the staging lanes until it was time to make a run down the drag strip. Today’s modern 320-mph rear-engine Top Fuel dragsters utilize remote electronic starting devices to crank up the awesome 7,000-horsepower engines just prior to their three-second runs.
On top of the NHRA Legends events and the Cacklefest, the fans will get to witness some of the most exciting and drama-filled racing of the season as the NHRA’s stop in Dallas is the second of the six-race playoffs, the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. After the race, fans who stick around to celebrate with the four Full Throttle Series race winners will get to experience a Texas-size Winner’s Circle celebration, a post-race party that has grown into the biggest on the circuit.
Fans will also have the opportunity to see one of the sport’s future stars make her professional debut on the famed all-concrete track. Alexis DeJoria will debut her Patron Tequila Toyota Funny Car with the Kalitta Motorsports team in hopes of qualifying for her first NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event. DeJoria has previously competed in Super Gas, Super Comp and Top Alcohol Funny Car in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. In July she earned her first national event win in Top Alcohol Funny Car at Seattle’s Pacific Raceways.
The AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, Sept. 22-25 at Texas Motorplex, will mark the 18th stop in a year-long celebration that will pay homage to the evolution of the hot rod, the impact of the sport’s legendary racers, and the lifeblood provided by the many millions of loyal and passionate NHRA fans. For tickets to the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, please call (800) MOTORPLEX (668-6775) or visit www.extremetix.com.
The NHRA’s 60th anniversary celebration will continue throughout the remainder of the year as the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series winds its way through to Reading, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Pomona. NHRA drag racing fans from across the country will be treated to special events designed to give them the chance to personally interact with the men, women and vehicles that have made the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series the great sport that it is today.
Race fans can frequent NHRA.com or simply ‘like’ the NHRA Facebook page to receive updated news regarding details of the many 60th-themed ticket promotions being offered, and specific activities planned, at each of the remaining six events on the 2011 schedule.
The virtual tour through the first 60 years of NHRA drag racing extends beyond the track to the desktops, laptops and handheld devices of NHRA fans via the NHRA Facebook page.
Throughout the 2011 season, NHRA will enlist the expertise of the fans of the NHRA Facebook page to help determine the greatest moments from the first 60 years of NHRA drag racing. Beginning Sept. 6, fans will have the chance to go to the NHRA Facebook page to select the Moment they believe is the greatest from among the remaining 10 Moments of the original 60.
Connect with Texas Motorplex and stay up to speed with all of the happenings at the world’s first drag racing Super Track on Facebook.
Tickets: (800) MOTORPLEX (668-6775) or http://www.extremetix.com
More information: NHRA.com, Facebook.com/NHRA or TexasMotorplex.com
NHRA 60th Anniversary Video: http://www.nhra.com/nhra60video
NHRA Track Walk Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzVPIxqI-lk
