The discussions between the Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car competitors and the NHRA that we reported on last month was confirmed on Saturday at the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, as the 2012 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series schedule was unveiled, complete with a new regional format for those in the Top Alcohol categories.
The newly created Regional level of events will be composed of East, North Central, Central, and West contesting a total of 23 events across the country.
“During the development of the Regional Program, we worked with several of our Lucas Oil event host tracks and others within the industry,” said Josh Peterson, vice president of racing administration NHRA. “While everyone recognized the importance of the Top Alcohol categories to the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, emphasis was placed on reducing the number of events, maintaining successful events, and establishing consistency into the program.”
Where the current season-ending payout format with seven divisions pays out the top three finishers in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Dragster in each geographic division, the top five points finishers in each region under the Regional Championship Program will now be awarded. Along with that, the move to a regional format will require changes in the points structure toward the regional and national championship, as racers will now score their best seven of 10 for national events and three of five for regionals – as compared to the current best five of eight nationally and divisionally.
The Top Alcohol categories will continue to be featured at 16 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series national events, with television coverage in ESPN2 in 16 one-hour, tape-delayed shows. Competitors in Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street will once again compete at all NHRA national events.
| 2012 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series schedule | ||
| Northeast Division | ||
| April 20-21 | Virginia Motorsports Park | Richmond ** (E) |
| May 25-27 | Maple Grove Raceway | Reading ** (E) |
| June 22-24 | Lebanon Valley Dragway | West Lebanon, N.Y. ** (E) |
| July 20-22 | New England Dragway | Epping ** (E) |
| Aug. 3-5 | Atco Raceway | Atco, N.J. |
| Aug. 17-19 | Cecil County Dragway | Rising Sun, Md. ** (E) |
| Sept. 7-9 | Old Bridge Township Raceway Park | Englishtown |
| Southeast Division | ||
| Feb. 10-12 | Orlando Speed World Dragway | Orlando, Fla. |
| Feb. 17-19 | Gainesville Raceway | Gainesville ** (E) |
| March 2-4 | South Georgia Motorsports Park | Cecil, Ga. |
| June 22-23 | Atlanta Dragway | Atlanta |
| Sept 28-30 | Bristol Dragway | Bristol |
| Oct. 12-14 | Silver Dollar Raceway | Reynolds, Ga. |
| North Central Division | ||
| April 27-29 | Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis | Indianapolis ** (NC) |
| May 18-20 | Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park | Norwalk ** (NC) |
| June 8-10 | Route 66 Raceway | Chicago ** (NC) |
| July 20-22 | National Trail Raceway | Columbus, Ohio ** (NC) |
| July 28-29 | Mid-Michigan Motorplex | Stanton, Mich. |
| Aug. 24-26 | Beech Bend Raceway Park | Bowling Green, Ky. ** (NC) |
| South Central Division | ||
| March 2-4 | Royal Purple Raceway Park | Houston |
| April 20-22 | Texas Motorplex | Dallas |
| June 1-3 | No Problem Raceway | Belle Rose, La. |
| June 22-24 | Tulsa Raceway Park | Tulsa, Okla. ** (C) |
| Sept. 14-16 | Thunder Valley Raceway Park | Noble, Okla. ** (C) |
| Oct. 12-14 | Royal Purple Raceway Park | Houston |
| West Central Division | ||
| May 5-6 | SRCA Dragstrip | Great Bend, Kan. |
| June 2-3 | Brainerd Int’l Raceway | Brainerd |
| June 15-17 | Bandimere Speedway | Denver ** (C) |
| Aug. 10-11 | Cordova Raceway Park | Cordova, Ill. ** (C) |
| Aug. 24-25 | Heartland Park Topeka | Topeka ** (C) |
| Sept. 7-9 | Tri-State Raceway | Earlville, Iowa ** (C) |
| Northwest Division | ||
| May 4-6 | Firebird Raceway | Boise, Idaho |
| May 25-27 | Mission Raceway | Mission, B.C. ** (W) |
| June 22-24 | Spokane County Raceway | Spokane, Wash. |
| July 13-15 | Woodburn Dragstrip | Woodburn, Ore. ** (W) |
| Aug. 17-18 | Pacific Raceways | Seattle |
| Sept. 7-9 | Woodburn Dragstrip | Woodburn, Ore. ** (W) |
| Pacific Division | ||
| Feb. 24-26 | Firebird Int’l Raceway | Phoenix |
| March 23-25 | The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Las Vegas ** (W) |
| June 9-10 | Top Gun Raceway | Fallon, Nev. |
| July 20-22 | Infineon Raceway | Sonoma ** (W) |
| Nov. 2-4 | The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Las Vegas ** (W) |
| NHRA Lucas Oil Series Special Events | ||
| March 16-18 | JEGS NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals | Belle Rose, La. |
| TBA | JEGS NHRA Pacific SPORTSnationals | Fontana, Calif. |
| June 30 | JEGS Allstars | Chicago |
| Sept. 21-23 | JEGS NHRA Northern SPORTSnationals | Columbus, Ohio |
| ** Denotes Regional events with Top Alcohol classes; E=East; NC=North Central; C=Central; W=West | ||
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