The National Hot Rod Association on Wednesday unveiled its 2019 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series national event class schedule, highlighted by its 16-race calendar for the Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car eliminators and the eight-race Factory Stock Showdown series. Of particular note, however, is the first-ever appearance by Top Sportsman and Top Dragster at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.
The exciting 6-second, 200 mph bracket racing categories, originally a creation of the International Hot Rod Association, became part of the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series in 2002 (Top Sportsman) and 2005 (Top Dragster) and initially competed at select divisional races before joining the national event program. In 2015, racers in both eliminators were afforded the opportunity to compete for national championships for the first time, and their inaugural appearance at the “Big Go” in Indianapolis four years later will provide them the chance to race for the most coveted Wally trophy in drag racing.
Both classes will feature 32-car qualified fields with 36-car quotas in each, and with so few entries and upwards of 500 active cars in Top Dragster and 430 in Top Sportsman nationally, simply gaining an entry to the U.S. Nationals could be an edge-of-your-seat race.