[Jeff Lee]

From the DRO/agent1320 website

IHRA forms Division 6 on the west coast! Tucson not going IHRA

To accompany its expansion westward, the International Hot Rod Association has formed a new division in the Summit SuperSeries made up of tracks in western Canada and the northwest portion of the United States.

Beginning in 2011, 10 tracks in three Canadian provinces and four U.S. states will begin competition in Division 6 with the Summit SuperSeries grassroots racing series. Each track will be eligible to compete in the Summit Team Finals that will be held next season at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. The earlier 1320 note saying the SIR in Tucson would be also switching to an IHRA sanction was wrong according to newly named track manager Bernie Longjohn.

“After meeting with these tracks and figuring out what was most important for them, we quickly realized that our sportsman programs really lined up with the goals of these tracks,” said Skooter Peaco, IHRA VP of Race Operations. “Focusing on sportsman racing and the opportunity the Summit SuperSeries and Summit Team Finals brings to this region is unprecedented.”

The newly formed division will consist of Castrol Raceway and Race City Motorsports Park in Alberta, Gimli Motorsports Park in Manitoba, Thunder Mountain, Prince George Motorsports Park and Nl’akapxm Eagle Motorplex in British Columbia and Rocky Mountain Raceways (West Valley City, UT), Alaska Raceway Park (Palmer, AK), Magic City International Dragway (Minot, ND) and Philips County Motorsports Dragstrip (Holyoke, CO) in the United States.

“Forming this new division has been in the making for two years and it is great to finally see it come to life,” said Phil Gingerich, IHRA Director of Track Development. “This will provide the west coast exposure to the benefits of IHRA racing and could result in more new tracks joining in the future.”

IHRA officials also haven’t ruled out the possibility of expanding the division to include the Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am series in the future. [11/29/10]
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