Rain Forces Continuation of Pep Boys NHRA Carolina Nationals Eliminations

Round one of the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs will be completed during qualifying rounds at next weekend’s AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas

Round one of the NHRA Mello Yellow Countdown to the Championship playoffs delayed until next weekend’s AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals

The leaders heading into Sunday are Langdon, Capps, McGaha and Ray

Texas Motorplex, Dallas (September 21, 2014) – If you love drag racing, but missed the airing of round one of the NHRA Mellow Yellow Countdown to the Championship playoffs at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon because you had to work? Your Lucky Rabbit’s Foot must be working. Charlotte Motor Speedway race officials had to delay the Pep Boys NHRA Carolina Nationals due to persistent rain showers. Today NHRA officials decided round one would continue during qualifying rounds of next weekend’s AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas.

The action continues this Sunday at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas

You still have three rounds of Top Fuel and Funny Car to watch and four pairs of Pro Stock cars still need to complete the first round. Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors still have to compete, as well, so you only missed part of the fun.

Alexis DeJoria raced her way into the No. 1 qualifying spot at Saturday’s Pep Boys NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway

In Pro Stock top drag racers Erica Enders-Stevens and John Gaydosh; Jonathon Gray and Rodger Brogdo; Vincent Nobile and Larry Morgan; and Dave Connolly and Shane Tucker still need to complete their first round runs against each other.

This Sunday J.R. Todd and Spencer Massey; Billy Torrence and Tony Schumacher; Steve Torrence and Leah Pritchett; and Morgan Lucas and Khalid alBalooshi will compete in the Top Fuel quarterfinals.

In Funny Car the quarterfinals will feature Dave Richards vs. John Force; Bob Tasca vs. Ron Capps; Robert Hight vs. Jeff Arend; and Matt Hagan vs. Tim Wilkerson.

NASCAR Returns to zMAX Dragway for NASCAR Night during Bank of America 500

       CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 8, 2010) – Some of the fastest drivers, car
owners and mechanics ever to turn left will give it their all to go straight
on Tuesday, Oct. 12, as NASCAR Night returns to zMAX Dragway.
       In past NASCAR Night events, more than 100 NASCAR industry personnel
have descended on the Bellagio of drag strips to take their cars down the
concrete quarter-mile. Participants can race anything they wish down the
drag strip, making this a true “run what you brung” event. Previous NASCAR
Night drag racers included NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Kurt Busch, Kyle
Busch, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth; team owner Rick Hendrick; and crew
chiefs Chad Knaus and Lance McGrew.
       “The first NASCAR Night they hosted at zMAX Dragway a couple of
years ago, I told my guys, ‘We’re going to take something that nobody can
beat,'” said Busch, who will compete on Tuesday night. “It’s a lot of fun to
go to one of the best drag strips in the world, right here in our own
backyard, and do some good old fashion, heads-up grudge racing against some
of the guys you compete against in the garage every weekend.
       “We’ll bring our ’70 Dodge Challenger that we raced with at the NHRA
Gatornationals in Gainesville (Fla.) and PINKS All Out at Charlotte earlier
in the year. We’ve put a lot of time and effort into that car and with the
cooler track temperature and night air on Tuesday, we should be able to run
in the low eights (seconds) if we can get it to stick.”
 NASCAR Night is open to the public with gates opening at 4:30 p.m. On-track
action is set for 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fans can show a ticket to the upcoming
Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 16 and receive free
admission. Adult tickets are available at the gate for just $5 and kids are
free. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to Speedway Children’s
Charities.
       Tickets for all October races at Charlotte Motor Speedway can be
purchased online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com or by calling the
speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS (3267). The Bank of America Fan 4
Pack includes tickets, hot dogs and Coca-Cola drinks starting at just $39.75
per person or fans can get four nights of great racing with the Bank of
America 500 Week Super Ticket for just $99.
       For daily updates on October race activities, connect with Charlotte
Motor Speedway by following on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CLTMotorSpdwy or
become a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/charlottemotorspeedway. Connect
with zMAX Dragway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/zmaxdragway and on Twitter
at www.twitter.com/zmaxdragway.

The Chase Is On: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Live from California

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship continues Sunday, Oct. 10, as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in the Pepsi Max 400 at the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and ESPN will have a live telecast. The NASCAR Countdown pre-race show airs at 2 p.m. ET with the race telecast at 3 p.m. The race’s green flag is at 3:16 p.m. ESPN2 will air NASCAR Sprint Cup practice on Friday, Oct. 8, at 3 p.m. and qualifying at 6:30 p.m.
 
ESPN2’s season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series continues at Fontana with a telecast of Saturday’s race. NASCAR Countdown airs at 4 p.m. with the race telecast at 4:30 p.m. The green flag flies at 4:46 p.m.
 
Marty Reid will call the action with analysis by Dale Jarrett, the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, and two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree. Two-time champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage, while pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch.  
NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN pit studio will be hosted by Allen Bestwick with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion driver Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, a team owner in the series. The studio team will interact with the booth during the telecast of the race.
 
 
NASCAR Telecasts Continue to Include Unprecedented Access
 
During ESPN’s telecasts of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, viewers are able to virtually go inside the race teams due to the unprecedented access granted ESPN to in-car communication as well as crew chiefs and team members. Located within the production units in the ESPN TV compound is a radio room in which radio transmissions of all 43 teams in NASCAR races can be recorded during races, allowing producers to be able to lift specific transmissions of any driver or team at any time.In the telecast of Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway, ESPN viewers were able to listen as driver Kyle Busch, his crew chief Dave Rogers and other members of the team debated on what repairs to make to the car after contact with David Reutimann damaged the car’s rear end. From the ESPN pit studio, host Allen Bestwick and analysts Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty commented on the transmissions. As Busch is one of the drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the decisions were critical as the team tries to win the series championship.
 
 Andretti, Craven, Evernham on NASCAR Now Roundtable
 
Former NASCAR Sprint Cup race winner John Andretti will join NASCAR on ESPN analysts Ray Evernham and Ricky Craven as panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program airing Monday, Oct. 11, at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Mike Massaro will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.
 
Nicole Briscoe hosts half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now airing at 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, Thursday at 6 p.m. and Friday at 8:30 p.m. Briscoe also hosts as NASCAR Now surrounds Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Fontana, Calif., with two episodes. The one-hour weekend edition of NASCAR Now presented by 5 Hour Energy airs at 9 a.m. with a preview of that day’s race, while the weekend wrap-up edition airs that night at 10 p.m. Shannon Spake and Marty Smith will report from California while Craven will join Massaro in the studio.
 
 
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in Pennsylvania
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series races this weekend in the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa., and ESPN2 will air highlights of qualifying and eliminations. Qualifying action airs Saturday, Oct. 9, at 10:30 p.m. ET, and coverage of eliminations airs Sunday, Oct. 10, at 9 p.m. 
 
The race, which last year celebrated its 25th anniversary, was held in September in the late 1980s and early 1990s, then moved to August a few years ago and now takes a crucial October spot on the schedule as the fourth event of the Countdown playoffs. Maple Grove Raceway has a long history of record performances, including the first side-by-side quarter-mile four-second and 300-mph Top Fuel passes, and the expected cool October climes should offer more of the same.
 
Paul Page anchors ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould and Dave Rieff report from the pits. Rieff and Dunn host NHRA RaceDay presented by Lucas Oil on Sunday at 10 a.m. to set the stage for that day’s eliminations action.
 
 
ESPN.com Offers RacingLive! During California Race
NASCAR fans looking for an online gathering during ESPN’s telecasts of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series now have a place to go on ESPN.com.
 
RacingLive! on ESPN.com is a live blog where fans can engage in debate and discussion with ESPN.com writers and editors during the NASCAR Sprint Cup races. On Sunday, Oct. 10, RacingLive! California will kick off at 3 p.m. ET to coincide with ESPN’s telecast of the race at Auto Club Speedway.
 
Fans can join ESPN.com’s NASCAR experts in dissecting every aspect of the race live at http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/.
 
 
ESPN Radio Raceday Airs Saturday, Sunday
 
Each weekend morning, ESPN Radio’s RaceDay starts its engines at 6 a.m. ET with host Pat Patterson anchored from Daytona Beach, Fla. Patterson also originates the broadcast from several racetracks with key races during the season. On both Saturday and Sunday mornings, ESPN Radio’s RaceDay listeners get an hour of news, previews and analysis, as well as profiles and interviews with NASCAR’s biggest names and newsmakers and the involvement of listeners via calls and e-mails.
 
Additionally, many of ESPN’s NASCAR reporters and analysts contribute each week as ESPN networks televise the entire NASCAR Nationwide Series and the final 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup races, including the 10-race “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup” championship. A list of ESPN Radio affiliates can be found at www.espnradio.com.

Get Close to Your Favorite Drivers at O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals

        CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 13, 2010) – Do you dream of meeting your
favorite NHRA drivers and getting their autographs? Think it’s impossible?
Not when every ticket is a pit pass to the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA
Nationals Thursday-Sunday at zMAX Dragway.
       When fans purchase a ticket to round two of the NHRA Full Throttle
Countdown to the Championship they will have the opportunity to see the
biggest names of the sport up close, including Larry Dixon, John Force, Cory
McClenathan and Tony Schumacher, among others.
       “The cool thing about the NHRA and our sport is that when you buy a
ticket it gets you right into the pits,” said Dixon, two-time NHRA Top Fuel
Champion in a recent interview with News 14 Carolina. “It’s not like NASCAR
or Indy Car where you can’t get on pit road or you’ve got to know somebody
to get into the pits.
       “You can just walk right up and meet John Force, get his autograph
and buy his merchandise right by his trailer. The interaction that you have
with the drivers and the crews, getting to watch them tear the cars down in
between rounds, that’s the one thing I have always liked about our sport.
You can’t go to a Carolina Panthers game and go in the locker room, but you
can come in ours!”
       This unrivaled access allows fans to shake hands, obtain autographs
and even have a face-to-face conversation with NHRA’s biggest stars. It also
gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to set up and tear
down a race car.
       “At zMAX Dragway alone I’ve gotten to meet and talk to John Force,
Robert Hight, Steve Johnson, Matt Smith and Melanie Troxel, along with many
others,” said NHRA fan Sherry Santana. “All the drivers are so friendly and
I admit, I’m addicted to NHRA [drag racing] and I’m looking forward to
seeing them all again in Charlotte this week.”
       The Bellagio of drag strips is located in the heart of NASCAR
country and gives stock car fans the opportunity to experience the driver
access that NHRA fans have come to know and love.
       “I think it’s important for fans to see both sides,” said
McClenathan, defending O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals winner. “It shows
the stock car community there is another source of racing that’s fun for the
whole family. Buying a ticket also gets you into the pits and gives fans the
opportunity to see the full realm of the sport, from the guys working on the
car, to drivers signing autographs, you can experience a lot more at a drag
race.
       “I think the NHRA, Full Throttle and zMAX have done a great job of
portraying our sport as different. We get a lot of people that come into the
pits and say they’ve never been there before and that they can’t wait to
come back and watch us again. They want to come back every single year.”
       Not only can fans get autographs, but many have the opportunity to
talk with their favorite drivers and learn more about the sport of drag
racing.
       “I met Top Fuel driver Antron Brown and he is the coolest,” said
drag racing fan Chris Wood. “He was mixing his fuel and described to me how
he was doing it. It was very cool. All the drivers are so friendly and take
time for us, the fans. I just love it!”
       The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns to zMAX Dragway
this week for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, the second race of the
six-race Countdown to the Championship. The four-day drag racing event held
Thursday-Sunday is sure to play a pivotal role in deciding the world
championships in NHRA’s top four professional classes.
       General admission four-pack tickets are available for only $14.75
per person on Friday and $29.75 for Saturday or Sunday. For more information
or to purchase tickets to the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, visit
www.zmaxdragway.com or call the Charlotte Motor Speedway ticket office at
1-800-455-FANS (3267).
Connect with zMAX Dragway and stay up to speed with all the happenings at
the Bellagio of drag strips on Facebook at www.facebook.com/zmaxdragway and
on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zmaxdragway.