WHAT: Second annual VisitMyrtleBeach.com NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, the fourth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Drivers in three categories – Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock – earn points leading to 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series world championships. NHRA is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2011 and will pay tribute to the evolution of the hot rod and honor its legendary racers as well as the sport’s current stars.
WHERE: zMAX Dragway- Track is located on Hwy 29 off I-85 at exit 49 (Speedway Blvd.) in the Concord, N.C. area.
WHEN: Thursday through Sunday, April 14-17
FORMAT: Qualifying sessions and elimination rounds will be conducted using four lanes in the three Full Throttle Series classes; Lanes will be identified from left to right facing downtrack as 1-4; The standard Friday qualifying procedure of a top 12 format will not be in use; Two Christmas trees will be in use, one between each two lanes; The Compulink Autostart system will continue to be utilized and it will not activate until all four vehicles are pre-staged and one vehicle has staged; The ladder structure will feature Race A: qualifiers 1, 8, 9, 16, Race B: qualifiers 4, 5, 12, 13, Race C: qualifiers 2, 7, 10, 15, and Race D: qualifiers 3, 6, 11, 14; Race A and Race B will be on one side of the ladder, while Race C and Race D will be on the other; Lane choice for eliminations goes to the driver with the quickest E.T., then the second-quickest, and so on; The first two drivers in each elimination round to cross the finish line advance to the second round and final; In the final round, teams will finish in the order they cross the finish line (barring any red-light starts), with winner, runner-up and two semifinalists in that order.
SCHEDULE:
THURSDAY, April 14 – LUCAS OIL SERIES qualifying begins at 9 a.m.
FRIDAY, April 15 – LUCAS OIL SERIES eliminations begins at 8:30 a.m.
FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
SATURDAY, April 16 – LUCAS OIL SERIES eliminations begin at 8:30 a.m.
FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, April 17 – Pre-race ceremonies, 11 a.m.
FULL THROTTLE SERIES eliminations begin at noon
TELEVISION:
Saturday, April 16, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 6 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, April 17, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage starting at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE (Digital HD feed):
Friday, April 15, 7 – 7:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 3 / Transponder 04C (3780 MHz, vertical)
Saturday, April 16, 6:30 – 7 p.m. (ET), AMC 3 / Transponder 04C (3780 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, April 17, 6 – 6:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 3 / Transponder 04C (3780 MHz, vertical)
(Downlink: 3780 MHz, vertical; Transmission: MPEG-2; HD: 720p; Data Rate: 40.461470554 Mbp; Symbol Rate: 29.27 Ms; FEC: ¾; Bandwidth: 36 Mhz)
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners’ interviews on Sunday.