Over the last few weeks there have been a bunch of rumors floating around regarding the IHRA and what their status, program, and direction will be for 2017. Some significant news was announced regarding Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Canada was recently announced by DragRaceCanada.com as that track will leave the IHRA after 15 years and go to an NHRA sanction. Why would it be a big deal for a track in Edmonton to leave IHRA? The Rocky Mountain Nationals were one of the biggest (if not the biggest) race on the entire tour. Their departure plays into some rumors that we have heard circulating.
One of the earliest iterations we heard of a potential IHRA 2017 schedule was multiple races at their tracks in Canada and it made some sense to us because those have been solid profit centers for the series (or so it would seem on the surface). Then the longer that the schedule release process drew on, those ideas went out the window.
Here’s what the mill has been churning out:
The “Dragster1” class has been all but scrapped.
Mike Dunn may no longer be part of the organization
IHRA has contacted their national event tracks and told them that they would not be having a traditional national event series next year
IHRA will conduct a series of big dollar sportsman races in place of the Nitro Jam series
Those are a few of the things we have heard swirling around. There are murmurs of other tracks that may be changing sanction and rumors of other potential versions of the 2017 season coming. The one thing we do know is that the organization has lost some of their most high profile national event locations.
Make no mistake, we’re do not have a “rooting” interest here other than for the health of the sport of drag racing. Ultimately it is best for the sport for racers to have options and for series to have competition so that they both to things that benefit themselves and their competitors.
(Editor’s note: I worked for the IHRA during some of the Bader glory years and for seasons after. Those were the first national events I announced, I have a fond place in my heart for them.)
Click to read Drag Race Canada’s story about Edmonton going NHRA
Terrible news if IHRA is done with national events with NFC, PM, MMPS, NH. Great to be able to watch these classes race on MMTV.
Seems like the only race series that attracts a large spectator audience on a regular basis is NHRA.
The relativity is IHRA has become so dis-jointed that nobody plans anything around them anymore. Rather than stick with a format and help it grow, they try something and immediately terminate it if it doesn’t immediately succeed. While I actually like jet dragsters, who came up with the idea of monster trucks? Really, Monster trucks? They have paid out huge appearance money when for the same cash they could have attracted some big nostalgia nitro fields. Not paid in shows which every one hates but qualified dragster versus, altereds, versus funny car open field nitro races. You only have to look at the Bakersfield races to see this going on. Saturday during qualifying everyone is there. Sunday for elimations, much smaller crowd.IHRA needs to sit down and figure out what it’s goals are and stick to them.
My home track is Grand Bend Motorplex and they have not signed up yet for a Pro am event for the sportsman classes. May be going NHRA next year and taking St Thomas with them?
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