Over the past 10 years the fastest growing and most lucrative grassroots drag racing program in the sport has been the International Hot Rod Association’s Summit Racing SuperSeries.

Designed as a championship program for bracket racers around the world, the Summit SuperSeries has crowned nearly two dozen champions and awarded over $1 million in cash and prizes since 2002 and now, through the continued partnership of Summit Racing Equipment, the IHRA is pleased to announce a brand new Summit SuperSeries program for Junior Dragster racers beginning with the 2012 racing season.

Nearly identical to the same program that has revolutionized grassroots drag racing, the Summit SuperSeries Junior Dragster World Championship will deliver the same incredible racing as its larger-car counterparts all on the biggest stage of them all at the IHRA World Finals at Memphis International Raceway.

“The Summit Racing SuperSeries is a very successful sportsman program we have built with the IHRA; racers and track operators have really jumped on board with the series. We were excited to expand the Top and Mod classes to 16 car fields in 2011,” said Jim Greenleaf, Summit Racing’s Motorsports and Events Manager. “We discussed opportunities to grow the program and the addition of the Junior Dragster class is a natural fit. These racers are the future of our sport, as we have seen many former Junior drivers as part of the Top and Mod championships.

“The IHRA has put together an incredible prize package for the winner and we’re proud to be able to crown our first IHRA Summit SuperSeries Junior World Champion. It’s going to be a very exciting IHRA Sportsman Finals in Memphis this October.”

The Summit SuperSeries Junior Dragster World Championship is the first and only program to gather the best Junior Dragster racers in the sport and have them compete for an undisputed World Championship. The program will be made up of the 16 best Junior Dragster racers from over 90 IHRA tracks around the globe. The 16 racers, 15 of which will be named at their local Summit Team Finals plus one Wild Card entry, will meet at the IHRA World Finals to race for the first-ever Junior Dragster World Championship in October with over $40,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs.

“Summit Racing Equipment has really shown their dedication and commitment to the sportsman racers with the Summit SuperSeries,” said Sherrie Barbour, IHRA Director of Special Programs. “Including Junior Dragsters in that program and crowning a World Champion is a huge step forward with the program and will become a huge hit with the Junior competitors and their families. We are very excited to hit the ground running with this new program.”

Beginning at the local level, Junior Dragster racers will compete at their local participating track throughout the year with a Summit SuperSeries track champion being named at the conclusion of the racing season. From there the Junior Dragster track champions will move on to the Summit Team Finals where they will square off against other track champions in their Summit SuperSeries division for the right to advance to the Summit SuperSeries Junior Dragster World Championship. For tracks unable to compete in the Summit Team Finals, one track champion will be selected as a “Wild Card” out of a pool of tracks to complete the 16-car field.

At the IHRA World Finals the 16 Junior Dragster racers made up of all age groups will compete for the World Championship with the winner taking home a $6,000 savings bond courtesy of Summit Racing Equipment in addition to a prize package that includes a brand new Vic Puglia Junior Dragster with an engine courtesy of Steve Waller of Junior Specialties, an IHRA Gold Card, a World Champion Ironman and World Champion Diamond Ring. The runner-up will take home a $4,000 savings bond. All racers in attendance will be allotted $750 cash in tow money, pushing the total championship purse to $21,000.

For more information on the new Summit SuperSeries Junior Dragster World Championship, including a complete list of rules, visit www.ihra.com for complete details.

Thanks to: www.ihra.com

Main image thanks to: northeastdragway.net  -Wendy Curling