DRO Nostalgia Nitro Challenge to debut new name, new format at Beacon Dragway
Beacon Dragway’s Birthday Bash on May 8-9 will be the first time Nostalgia Funny Cars, Dragsters and Fuel Altereds will race each other head to head.
The Paducah, Kentucky, event is the season opener for the new Hedman Husler Hedders DragRacingOnline.com Nostalgia Nitro Challenge Presented by Comp Cams. It marks the first time nostalgia Funny Cars, Dragsters and Altereds will be running against each other in the series.
Now in its seventh season, this year the series (formerly known as the DRO AA Funny Car Challenge) has expanded to include AA Dragsters and AA Altereds as well. Normally these three types of vehicles race in three separate classes, but DRO Series Administrator and editor of www.DragRacingOnline.com, Jeff Burk, will run them all together round by round.
“The cars are pretty close in terms of Elapsed Times and speeds, so we thought this would be a great way for the fans to see some serious competition between all types of racecars,” Burk explained. “Whoever is the quickest, will be the winner.”
VP Racing Fuels has been named the “Official Fuel” of the series and will have Nitromethane and methanol available for all the series racers.
The Nostalgia Nitro Challenge vehicles will thunder down the Beacon Dragway (www.beacondragway.com) eighth mile at over 200 miles per hour.
In addition, Lewis Bloom, “Stat Guy” on ESPN2’s coverage of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, will be making a visit to Beacon Dragway on Saturday, May 9.
Bloom and cameraman Mike Panek will video a “Sportsman Spotlight” feature at the track to air on one of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series shows on ESPN2.
Two qualifying runs for the eight-car field of the Hedman Husler Hedders DragRacingOnline.com Nostalgia Nitro Challenge will be Friday, May 8, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Eliminations will begin on Saturday at 3 p.m. Spectator admission will be just $10 on Friday and $15 on Saturday.
Contingency sponsors for the series are Baumgartner Race Cars, Comp Cams, MSD, Mert Littlefield Blowers, Ohio Crankshaft, Rage Fuel Systems, Inc., S&W Race Cars, SSI Superchargers, Trailer Toad, Victory Performance Parts, and VP Racing Fuels.
Photo:
Shawn Bowen was the AA Funny Car winner last year at the Paducah event. He also was the 2013 and 2014 DRO series champion. The “Violator,” which will sport a new Dodge Challenger body this season, is based in Michigan and is tuned by his father, Mike Bowen, and brother, Scott. (Don Eckert photo)
