Drivers From Hawaii, Aruba, South Dakota Selected for IHRA Summit SuperSeries ‘Wild Card’ Spots

Drivers to make long journey to Memphis to compete for World Championship

NORWALK, Ohio (September 12, 2013) – Three lucky drivers were selected this week as the wild card participants in the 2013 IHRA Summit Racing Equipment SuperSeries to be contested at the Summit World Finals at Memphis International Raceway in October.

Drivers from the islands of Aruba and Hawaii, plus South Dakota, were selected to participate in the 2013 Summit SuperSeries in the Top, Mod and Junior Dragster categories with an opportunity to compete for a World Championship the weekend of October 11-12 at the Summit World Finals.

Those winners are Jose Reyes (Savaneta, Aruba) representing Aruba Raceway in Top ET, Dean Kalawe (Keaau, Hawaii) representing Hilo Dragstrip in Mod ET and Reanna Lardy (Tea, South Dakota) representing Thunder Valley Dragway in Junior Dragster.

The three racers will join 45 other Summit SuperSeries competitors in the battle for the 2013 Summit SuperSeries World Championship in Memphis. 16 drivers make up each of the three classes. Both Reyes and Kalawe will be looking to borrow a ride on the mainland to compete for the championship, while Lardy will be making the trek from South Dakota with her dragster.

“We are very excited to have Jose, Dean and Reanna be a part of this year’s Summit SuperSeries program,” said Sherrie Barbour, IHRA Director of Special Programs. “Both Jose and Dean will be making the trips from Aruba and Hawaii to participate and will be looking for a ride. If anyone can help them out, they would certainly appreciate it. It is so wonderful to have such a wide range of drivers from all over the world participate in this unique program and I believe this year’s lineup will be one of our most diverse yet.”

Due to the range and distance of tracks competing in the Summit SuperSeries, the wild card program is an opportunity for tracks not competing in a regional Summit Team Finals event to have an opportunity to compete for a championship. The three wild card participants will join 15 other drivers per class who will qualify at regional Summit Team Finals events leading up to the World Finals.

Since the inception of the Summit SuperSeries program in 2002, several wild card participants have been lucky enough to win it all. Jonathan Tromp, from Aruba, won the Top championship in 2004, while 2010 and 2011 Mod champions Chris Hall and Matt Hawk won representing Salt Lake City and Tucson respectively.

Summit Racing Equipment, the Official High Performance Source of IHRA, is the sponsor of the revolutionary series for IHRA ET bracket racers. Providing the base for the Summit SuperSeries are the more than 100 member tracks from which thousands of drivers compete.

Each Summit SuperSeries track champion will travel to their local Summit Team Finals event in their respective division to runoff for the right to qualify for the Summit World Finals.

All qualified drivers will receive $1,000 tow money from Summit Racing Equipment. Payout in Top ET and Mod ET will be $10,000 to the winner, $7,000 to the runner-up, $2,000 for a trip to the semi-finals and $1,000 for the quarter-final round. The Junior Dragster champion will take home $3,000.

In addition, the Top World Champion will take home a turn-key dragster from Maddox Race Cars with a Trick Flow big block Ford engine and an Imagine That Custom design and paint job, an Aruba vacation for two, a Gold and Silver Card and a championship Ironman and ring. The Mod champion will receive a $2,500 gift certificate from Trick Flow, a Gemini Auto Lift two-post lift, a Howell pit bike, an Aruba vacation for two, a Gold and Silver Card and a championship Ironman and ring. The Junior Dragster champion will receive a brand new Junior Dragster courtesy of Vic Puglia Race Cars with an Imagine That Custom design and paint job, a family vacation package to Cedar Point and Kalahari Resort, tickets to any Feld Entertainment production, an IHRA Gold and Silver Card and a championship Ironman and ring.

In addition, the three champions will also be recognized at the IHRA awards celebration on the grounds at MIR on Friday, October 11.

The Summit SuperSeries championship will take place during the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment World Finals October 11-12 at Memphis International Raceway.