Drag racing: Freebies sweeten two-for-one weekend series

Tag : two for one

Two for the price of none, however, ups the ante even more.
The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series offers that chance Fridaythrough Sunday when the series comes to National Trail Raceway.
Because weather postponed the semifinals and finals of eliminationsat the race in Norwalk two months ago, those two rounds -- whichalso will count as qualifying runs for Sunday's NTR eliminations --will be raced Saturday at NTR.
That the track is offering free tickets -- either with a ticketstub from last week's Night of Thunder or by picking them up at alocal Duke and Duchess -- makes this weekend an even bigger boonfor racing fans.
"It works out well that we're able to do something like that and dothose two events at once," NHRA Director of Field Marketing EricLotz said. "It's kind of a doubleheader thing, and it ends upworking out nicely. It throws a whole other loop into things, butit should give the fans some extra action."
The fans certainly will reap the benefits of a series that might bebest described as the hidden gem of the drag-racing world.
The Lucas Oil division doesn't draw nearly the attention of theregular NHRA circuit, but it has plenty to offer. The Top AlcoholDragster and Funny Car divisions feature 5.50-second runs andspeeds in excess of 250 mph.
The racers competing this weekend all race in the North Centraldivision, which features some of the top racers in the Dragster andFunny Car divisions. Marty Thacker and Bill Reichert, who leads thepoints race in Top Alcohol Dragster, have traded wins, and Reicherthad a run of 5.29 seconds and 274.66 mph at a June event inIllinois.
John Bojec's 139 points leads the Top Alcohol Funny Car category,but the top four drivers -- Bojec, Daniel Wilkerson, Bobby Martinand Andy Bohl -- are separated by just 22 points. Martin went 259mph at the Illinois race.
For Saturday's eliminations, Ken Perry, Thacker, Todd Datweiler andMike Kosky will race in the Dragster division semifinals, and FrankManzo -- who has a Lucas Oil-best 76 career wins and 11 nationalchampionships -- Martin, Bohl and Mick Snyder will race in theFunny Car division.
"Because it's a sportsman series, you don't expect some of thecompetition and some of the speeds," Lotz said. "The racers areside-by-side going 270 mph. It's a great time for the family, andcost-wise, it's great."
Said NTR Sales and Marketing Manager Mike Fornataro: "The best wayto explain it is this is the Nationwide Series of NHRA racing. Itdoesn't have a big television schedule or big-name drivers, so itdoes fly under the radar. But it's a nice show. It's incrediblyunderrated. It's pretty intense."
NTR heavily advertised the event during the Night of Thunder show,hoping fans who watched the blazing jet cars will be intrigued bythe alcohol cars that top 270 mph.
The free ticket allows the crowd admission on the spectator side ofthe track when gates open at 11 a.m. To switch over to the pitside, the cost is $5.
"This is a low-key, racer-oriented event," Fornataro said. "You canwander wherever you want to go. The stuff is all very cool. Ifyou're into drag racing, it's very enjoyable."