Gunslingers introduced at Division 7 meeting in Tucson

Inaugural IHRA D7 Summit Team Finals set to take place in September NORWALK, Ohio (January 31, 2012) – During a recent meeting held at Southwestern International Raceway in January the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) and several track representatives from the newly formed Division 7 unveiled the new Gunslingers name and announced the very first D7 Summit Team Finals presented by Moser Engineering to be held September 13-16 at Caprock Motorplex in Odessa, Texas.  Tracks representatives from across the southwest were on hand for the inaugural meeting of Division 7 tracks under the direction of acclaimed Division Director Frank Kohutek. The tracks set to take part in the inaugural season of Summit SuperSeries action in Division 7 include El Paso Motorplex, Caprock Motorplex, Desert Thunder Raceway and Amarillo Dragway in Texas, Southwestern International Raceway in Arizona and Rocky Mountain Raceways in Utah. Carl Creel photo Representatives from IHRA and several tracks were on hand for the Division 7 meeting in Tucson "It was great to sit in a room full of track operators who are open minded and focused on the success of the division. There is a lot of pent up demand for a different direction in the western regions where IHRA was never really an option up until now," said Skooter Peaco, IHRA Vice President. "The IHRA philosophy and brand of sportsman racing is a perfect fit for these tracks and the Summit SuperSeries and Summit Team Finals will be huge programs that these tracks will finally be able to offer their weekly racers. "We look forward to building new relationships and making new friends in the southwest as this division grows." Adding to the excitement of the new division are the number of former IHRA champions and veteran racers making up the new division. Among those champions are the last two Summit SuperSeries No Box champions as back-to-back "wild card" participants Matt Hawk from Southwestern International Raceway and Chris Hall from Rocky Mountain Raceways claimed the richest prize in grassroots racing. Now those racers will have their own division to call home. 2011 No Box World Champion Matt Hawk, from Arizona, is one of two back-to-back Summit SuperSeries World Champions to come from the Division 7 region Each track within Division 7 will begin immediate competition with the Summit SuperSeries including hosting the very-first D7 Team Finals in September that will send two representatives from the Top and Modified classes and, new this year, a representative in the new Junior Dragster Summit SuperSeries World Championship. Additional sportsman programs are already in discussion as interest in the new division continues to grow with several more tracks set to join the division in the coming months. Visit www.ihra.com to learn more about the new Division 7 Gunslingers and visit www.ihra.com/summitsuperseries to find additional information on the program including rules and prize packages.