April 11-13 Xtreme Raceway Park
May 2-4 Darlington Dragway
June 6-8 Alabama International Dragway
June 20-22 Muncie Dragway
July 25-27 Kuhnle Motorsports Park
The IHRA Hot Rod Classic brings back much of the exciting racing the International Hot Rod Association is famous for. Drivers in the Top Dragster, Top Sportsman, Quick Rod, Hot Rod, Super Rod and Real Steel N/T classes will compete for a special black powder-coated IHRA Ironman trophies, big checks and a re-designed IHRA medal.
They will be joined by the Earth-shaking Pro Mods to provide a great event for racers and spectators alike. The Hot Rod Classic will be live streamed on the IHRA-TV channel on YouTube. Don Baskin Truck Sales, Extreme Racing Oil and M&M Transmission serve as Hot Rod Classic sponsors.
“It’s a great opportunity for Muncie to showcase this. IHRA Owner) Larry Jeffers has put so much thought into bringing IHRA back to what it used to be,” Muncie Dragway track owner Scott Daniels said. “I look forward to seeing the fast cars and the racers in the Midwest highlighted. The crowds are going to have a great show and the racers are going to have a great race with great payouts. It’s going to be a great time.”
Daniels pointed out that Muncie hosted IHRA national events back in the day. It included the 1974 IHRA Northern Nationals which featured such final rounds as Dale Funk over Gordon Riley in Top Fuel, Ron Colson over Billy Meyer in Funny Car and Wayne Gapp over Bob Glidden in Pro Stock. IHRA Hall of Famer Gene Fulton was the Modified race winner.
More recently Muncie Dragway racers have fully embraced the IHRA Summit SuperSeries.
Gary Blankenship made it all the way to the final round of Sportsman eliminations at the 2023 IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals presented by Strange Engineering. Derek Simon finished No. 3 in the National Top 10 standings. Shane Daugherty ranked in the National Top 10 in the Mod (No Box) class as did Addy Jones in the Junior Dragsters.
“It has been a great partnership with IHRA,” Daniels said. “Tracks need to give IHRA a chance. They work so hard to make the programs work for the tracks and the racers, not just out for themselves. They want to make the tracks survive and thrive like they announced giving away a brand new truck (valued near $60,000) and how the tracks sell the tickets, but keep the money. Our racers love it and have had great success both locally and at the World Finals.”
If you have questions about the IHRA Hot Rod Classic, contact IHRA President Mel Roth at mel@ihra.com. Information about rules and payouts will be coming soon.
