Brand New Look Summit SuperSeries to race for World Championship in 2005

By Mike Perry
Summit Racing Equipment and IHRA officials were happy with the 2004 Summit SuperSeries program. However, they knew it could be better. That is why Summit and the IHRA decided to make a number of fundamental changes to the popular sportsman racing program for the ‘05 season.

The IHRA announced that both the Box and No Box Summit SuperSeries winners would be decided at the Bethesda Softworks World Finals in Rockingham, N.C. in early October. Eight racers in each class will be invited to Rockingham to race in an elimination format to determine the winners. Six would advance to The Rock through having the top six Performance Ratings while two would be wildcard entries, chosen via a lottery system yet to be determined. Every racer with a PR above .501 will be eligible.
In other words, the championship will be decided on the track.

Track operators like the changes.

“I’m very excited about it,” Cordova Dragway Park owner Scott Gardner said. “I think it is an opportunity for a lot more people to get involved. We can see a winner, we can visually figure it out. It also gives everybody at any track a chance with the wildcard. I think that will create a lot more interest because a lot more racers will understand the program. It is better for the tracks, better for the racers and better for the sanctioning body.”

“I think it will be easier to sell to the racers now because it’s more attainable,” Maryland International Raceway owner Royce Miller said. “It’s not that big gold ring out there that is so far away. There was a lot of effort put into these changes. Now I think it is up to the track operators to really sell it. IHRA can only do so much. The track operators will have to be enthusiastic. I mean, here is a sanctioning body doing this and all you have to do is be a points member and sign up.”

The new feature the track operators seemed the most excited about was the wildcard lottery. Now, as long as a Summit SuperSeries participant wins over half his races he has the chance to end up in Rockingham. It has not been determined how the wildcard winners will be drawn. Many of the track owners were in favor of a live internet broadcast. IHRA will release the details when they are confirmed.
“The lottery deal, I think, is a great idea,” San Antonio Raceway owner Todd Zampese said. “I think it keeps everyone involved. I understand why IHRA did this…they needed a change.”
Gardner agreed.

“It is simplified, the program is not very expensive and everyone has a chance with the wildcard system,” he said. “If a racer did reasonably well they have a chance to compete for the World Championship.”
Gardner also stated that this type of program is vital for the track operators. Not every track is fortunate enough to host a national event, or even a divisional points race. Bracket racing is the typical track’s bread and butter…and the Summit SuperSeries is all about the bracket racer.

“These types of programs are what make our tracks,” Gardner said. “The more of them you have, the more you can build up your foundation of racers. This is just another thing to put on our list of why we are an IHRA-sanctioned track and why our bracket events are better than our competition.”

Last season the ACCEL Survivor Series was one of the most popular and successful sportsman racer programs for Mr. Gasket Pro-Am racers in IHRA history. The program pitted the top eight Pro-Am racers in each of the IHRA’s sportsman classes against each other at the World Finals in Rockingham with the winners taking home $5,000. The finals were run Saturday night, right before the Night of Fire events. The atmosphere was one of the biggest reasons the program was so successful. Miller expects the same thing for the Summit SuperSeries as the ’05 Summit SuperSeries will be run on Sunday at Rockingham, with the professional rounds on television.

“For those guys to be in the staging lanes right with Top Fuel cars, with television running, where else are they going to get that kind of opportunity?” Miller said. “They will all have goosebumps in the lanes. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of the guys that go.”

And as far as winning the whole thing, and the $25,000-plus prize package that goes along with it, would be the ultimate experience for a bracket racer.

“I’m a bracket racer and I get into the Summit SuperSeries,” Zampese said. “I race at another track up the road that runs on Sunday. I like the opportunity, as a racer, that I can go to one track and have the chance to be a World Champion. A lot of these guys don’t have the funds or ability to travel. They have to work five days a week and can’t travel to chase a championship. This gives them the chance to do that.”

IHRA President Aaron Polburn is thinks the Summit SuperSeries is a strong indication of Summit Racing Equipment’s dedication to sportsman racing.

“A program like this shows Summit Racing Equipment’s strong dedication to bracket racers in general,” Polburn said. “IHRA and the Summit team both wanted to see things settled on the track and came up with these changes to ensure that this would happen. I think we have improved an already popular program and am looking forward to watching it unfold in 2005.”

Here is the format for the 2005 Summit SuperSeries:

• You race at your designated home track and keep a Performance Rating, just like 2004. Payout will change to $1,000 for first, $500 for second and $100 for third in each category. There is no Summit Bonus to hit.
• The top six National PR leaders in Box and No Box advance to “Elite Eight” to race for the World Championship.
• The final two spots in Box and No Box will be decided through a wildcard lottery for everyone who finished with a PR of .501 or better. The lottery details have yet to be finalized.
• World Championship race to be held at the Bethesda Softworks World Finals at Rockingham Dragway Oct. 7-9 on Sunday during the professional rounds. The championship runs will be broadcast on television.
• Run on ladder that will be based on qualified position. The champion will win $10,000 and a prize package valued at over $25,000. Second place takes home $7,000 while the semifinalists each pocket $2,000. Each quarterfinalist will win $1,000 and Summit Racing Equipment will also provide each participant with $1,000 in tow money, based on participation.
• The races will be 1/4 mile.
• If a bike or sled qualifies it will run against cars.

Key changes/dates:
• The time window to get your rounds in is April 1 to Sept. 6.
• On Sept. 9 the standings will be announced.
• The number of rounds necessary will drop from 40 to 30.
• More money will be paid locally with no Summit Racing Equipment purchase requirement.