NHRA adds third SPORTSnationals, Lucas Oil Series race in Fontana, Calif.

At a press conference Monday at California Speedway, NHRA announced that the newly named Auto Club Dragway at California Speedway, which will be relocated to the north side of the multipurpose facility, will host an NHRA SPORTSnationals event, Sept. 29-Oct.1, 2006. In addition, Auto Club Dragway will once again host an NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisional event, June 23-25, 2006.

“Preserving the right to race, particularly in Southern California, is very important to NHRA,” said Tom Compton, president, NHRA. “The decision by California Speedway to relocate Auto Club Dragway at California Speedway from its current location in Lot 1 to the back part of the property in Lot 6 and Lot 8 is great news for Sportsman racers throughout the Southland.”

The NHRA Pacific SPORTSnationals event at Auto Club Dragway at California Speedway will be the first on the West Coast since the reintroduction of the event in 2004. Currently, there are two Jeg’s NHRA SPORTSnationals staged in the United States, one at No Problem Raceway Park in Belle Rose, La., and the other at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio. The Jeg’s NHRA SPORTSnationals events are NHRA national events designed to exclusively highlight select NHRA Sportsman categories. Racers in Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street compete at these SPORTSnationals events. Drivers in each category, except Super Street, will earn NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series national event points by competing at the NHRA SPORTSnationals at Auto Club Dragway.

Last year, Auto Club Dragway at California Speedway hosted its first NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisional event. Auto Club Dragway has enjoyed great success since its opening in 2001, receiving ongoing support from the racing community for the facility’s NHRA Street Legal program presented by Auto Club, NHRA O’Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Drag Racing League, and club racing.

Construction on the relocation of Auto Club Dragway at California Speedway will begin next month, and the 2006 season will officially kick off in May.