The stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series are headed to the legendary Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey for this weekend’s running of the Toyota Supernationals, but according to several internet reports, that won’t be the only big drag racing “happening” to come out of the Northeast region this week.

The NHRA brass have scheduled a press conference to take place on Wednesday morning at noon at the plush Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Boston, Mass., where many rumors and internet discussions suggest the NHRA and officials of the New England Dragway in nearby Epping, N.H. will finally announce a forthcoming NHRA Full Throttle Series event at the facility in 2013. Officials from the New England Dragway, along with New England native and Funny Car standout Bob Tasca III will be in attendance, making the news a virtual no-brainer.

The former staple stop on the IHRA national event calendar made the blockbuster announcement that it would switch sanctions and join forces with the NHRA at the conclusion of the 2010 season, with an eye on the prize of bringing a “big

Image credit: New England Dragway

show” national event to the far Northeast in the coming years. A brand new concrete racing surface was poured from start to finish last winter, along with the installation of Musco lighting and the construction of a sand trap built to the spec of other tracks on the Full Throttle schedule. A list of other improvements are likely to come over the next several months to bring the facility up to the NHRA’s code for pit space, parking space, seating, safety, and overall aesthetics.

The New England Dragway, located just over an hours drive from Boston and just under six hours from the nearest NHRA national event facility in Englishtown, opened in 1966 and hosted the IHRA North American Nationals from the early 1990’s through its final Nitro Jam event in 2010. Situated just 90 feet above sea level, the track is a prime location for record-setting performances, as the IHRA competitors can well attest.

We’ll have our ears peeled to and our browsers tuned to this story as the press conference gets underway tomorrow morning to learn just what the series has in store.