NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil returns for fourth season


 GLENDORA, Calif. (Feb. 1, 2010) — NHRA will launch its 10th anniversary season with ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports television, with a primetime telecast of the most highly anticipated Full Throttle Series race in many years at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona: the 50th Kragen O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline, Feb. 14 from 8-11 p.m. ET.
            Highlighting the complete 2010 schedule, released today, is a commitment to consistent broadcast times for Sunday’s race day action with 17 of the 23 events scheduled in the coveted Sunday night prime-time slot on ESPN2. Once again, the most prestigious drag racing event in the world, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, will feature more than 10 hours of wall-to-wall coverage beginning with qualifying on Sunday, Sept. 5 and concluding with a five-hour broadcast on Monday afternoon, Sept. 6 from 1 – 6 p.m.
             In all, the network will dedicate more than 100 hours of original programming to the world’s quickest, fastest and most intense motorsport with live or same-day coverage of qualifying on Saturday and eliminations on Sunday. All broadcasts will be aired in high definition on ESPN2HD.
Not only does the season open in Southern California, the Series will also return to Pomona for the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals., Nov. 11-14, the sixth and final race in the NHRA Full Throttle Series’ Countdown to 1.
             Additionally, the popular pre-race show that debuted in 2007, NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil, will be back in 2010, once again being produced on-site to allow fans attending the Sunday race a chance to watch – and participate – in the show.   It will air on each of the 23 Sundays that the NHRA Full Throttle Series is racing.   
            The shows are developed by the production team at ESPN, which has been producing NHRA programming since 2001.   Paul Page returns to the broadcast booth as host alongside former drag racer Mike Dunn, who will provide expert analysis and insight on the racing action.  Dave Rieff and Gary Gerould will return as pit reporters. Veteran announcer John Kernan, who joined the NHRA broadcast team in 2007, will serve as a third pit reporter at select races.
NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil, will be hosted once again by Rieff and Dunn, and originate from NHRA’s Nitro Alley.  NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil sets up the day for fans at home with must-see match-ups, interviews with the stars of the sport, driver features, news and analysis, a review of qualifying and what to watch for during the all-important Sunday action. 
In addition to coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD, NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing will be aired and distributed internationally through ESPN International. ESPN2 is now available in 98.7 million households.
Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA has 80,000 members and 140 member tracks nationwide.   As the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States, NHRA presents 23 national events featuring the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Two NHRA-sanctioned bracket racing series provide competition opportunities for drivers of all levels: the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA.  NHRA also offers the Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 8 to 17.   In addition, NHRA owns and operates five racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; National Trail Raceway in Ohio; O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Television Schedule
 
Event                                                                    Air Date/Time
Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals                 Qualifying, 11 p.m.-1 a.m., Feb. 13
Pomona, Calif.                                                        Eliminations, 8-11 p.m., Feb. 14
                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., Feb. 14
 
NHRA Arizona Nationals                                       Qualifying, 2-4 a.m., Feb. 21
Phoenix                                                                  Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., Feb. 21
                                                                              Race Day, 11 a.m., Feb. 21
 
NHRA Gatornationals                                            Qualifying, 12-2 a.m., March 13
Gainesville, Fla.                                                      Eliminations, 6 -9 p.m., March 13
                                                                              Race Day, 11 a.m., March 15
 
NHRA 4-Wide Nationals                                       Qualifying, 9-11 p.m., March 27
Charlotte, N.C.                                                      Eliminations, 5 - 7:30 p.m., March 28
                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., March 28
 
O’Reilly NHRA Springnationals                              Qualifying, 11 p.m. - 1 a.m., April 10
Houston                                                                 Eliminations, 8 -11 p.m., April 11
                                                                              Race Day, 11 a.m., April 11
 
SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals                      Qualifying, 6 - 8 p.m., April 17
Las Vegas                                                              Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., April 18
                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., April 18
 
NHRA Midwest Nationals                                      Qualifying, 9-11 p.m., May 1
St. Louis                                                                 Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., May 2
                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., May 2
 
Summit Racing NHRA Southern Nationals              Qualifying, 8-10 p.m., May 15
Commerce, Ga.                                                      Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., May 16
                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., May 16
 
O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals                         Qualifying, 8-10 p.m., May 22
Topeka, Kan.                                                         Eliminations, 9 p.m. – Midnight, May 23
                                                                              Race Day, 11 a.m., May 23
 
United Association NHRA Route 66 Nationals       Qual., 11 p.m.-1 a.m., June 5
Chicago                                                                  Eliminations, 4-7 p.m., June 6
                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., June 6
 
NHRA SuperNationals                                           Qual., 11 p.m.-12:30 a.m., June 12
Englishtown, N.J.                                                    Eliminations, 4 p.m.-7 p.m., June 13
                                                                              Race Day, 3:30 p.m., June 13
 
NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals                            Qualifying, 7-9 p.m., June 19
Bristol, Tenn.                                                          Eliminations, 4-7 p.m., June 20
                                                                              Race Day, 3:30 p.m., June 20
 
 
Summit Racing NHRA Nationals                            Qualifying, 7 – 9 p.m., June 26
Norwalk, Ohio                                                       Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., June 27
                                                                              Race Day, Noon, June 27
 
NHRA Northwest Nationals                                   Qualifying, 11 p.m.-1 a.m., July 10
Seattle                                                                    Eliminations, 7 – 10 p.m., July 11
                                                                              Race Day, 11 a.m., July 11
 
FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals                           Qualifying, 11 p.m.-1 a.m., July 17
Sonoma, Calif.                                                        Eliminations, 6-9 p.m., July 18
                                                                              Race Day, 1 p.m., July 18
 
Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals                        Qualifying, 6:30-8 p.m., July 24
Denver                                                                   Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., July 25
                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., July 25
 
Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals                                    Qualifying, 11 p.m.-1 a.m., Aug. 14
Brainerd, Minn.                                                      Eliminations, 10 p.m.-1 a.m., Aug. 15
                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., Aug. 15
 
Mac Tools U.S. Nationals                                      Qualifying, 10 – 11 a.m., Sept. 5
Indianapolis                                                            Qualifying, 11:30 a.m.- 2 p.m., Sept. 5
                                                                              Qualifying, 5-7 p.m., Sept. 5
                                                                              Eliminations, 1 - 6 p.m., Sept. 6
                                                                              Race Day, 11 a.m., Sept. 5
 
NHRA Carolinas Nationals                                     Qualifying, 10:30 p.m.-12 a.m., Sept.18
Charlotte, N.C.                                                      Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., Sept. 19
                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., Sept. 19
 
O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals              Qualifying, 10:30 p.m.-12 a.m., Sept. 25
Dallas                                                                     Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., Sept. 26
                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., Sept. 26
 
Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals                                  Qualifying, 10:30 p.m. – 12 a.m., Oct. 9
Reading, Pa.                                                           Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., Oct. 10
                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., Oct. 10
 
NHRA Las Vegas Nationals                                   Qualifying, 10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., Oct. 30
Las Vegas                                                              Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., Oct. 31
                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., Oct. 31
 
Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals       Qualifying, 10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., Nov. 13
Pomona, Calif.                                                        Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., Nov. 14
                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., Nov. 14
 
 
* All times Eastern. Schedule subject to change. Please check local listings.