Following a nearly two-month delay in the kickoff to its 2020 racing season, the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) announced on Friday that it will open its revised championship calendar May 29-30 at GALOT Motorsports Park with the running of the PDRA East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech.

Series director Tyler Crossnoe made the announcement in a live Facebook appearance on Friday evening, providing its throngs of professional and sportsman-class racers — many of whom have not been on the racetrack since October of last year — with the news they’ve been eagerly awaiting.

“We are extremely excited to finally get back racing, and to do it at GALOT Motorsports Park, the original season opener, is important and great as well,” said Crossnoe. “The team at GMP has been great to work with, along with the local authorities who have helped daily.”

As is the current scenario for a number of other racing organizations big and small, the PDRA East Coast Nationals will be closed to spectators, and while not the ideal situation for Crossnoe and the PDRA, it is a compromise they are willing to accept in order to return to racing.

“There will be a number of changes due to racing without spectators, with all the COVID restrictions and more,” Crossnoe said, “but the greatest news on a rainy Friday in Virginia is that we are going to smell racing fuel and hear the rumble of racing engines very soon as the PDRA comes to life sooner rather than later in 2020.”

The PDRA East Coast Nationals will be streamed in its entirety by Speedvideo, giving subscribers access to all the ground-pounding drag racing action safely, from the comfort of their homes.

The East Coast Nationals will begin with parking on Tuesday, May 26; testing will be conducted on Wednesday and Thursday; competition will begin on Friday with three pro class qualifying sessions on Friday, followed by eliminations on Saturday.

PDRA officials are working with the series’ track partners to develop a revised schedule for the 2020 season as local and state guidelines allow racing activities.