NHRA has announced that the O'Reilly Auto Parts Junior Drag Racing League Eastern and Western Conference Finals will return to Bristol Dragway and Denver's Bandimere Speedway in 2008. Bristol Dragway will host the Eastern Conference Finals July 10-12 and Bandimere Speedway's Western Conference Finals is slated for July 24-26.
"Both host facilities are among the best of NHRA's member tracks," said George Phillips, NHRA Jr. Drag Racing Competition Director. "The track operators and their staffs go out of their way to make these events special and to make sure the kids have a great time even when they're not racing. It's important to us that these tracks want to hold the Conference Finals because it means that the kids and their families will build lasting memories of their trip to the Finals."
Kids compete for individual and team honors at the NHRA O'Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Drag Racing League Eastern and Western Conference Finals, and nearly $100,000 in savings bonds are given away at each event. Bristol Dragway held its first Eastern Conference Finals in 2004. The 2008 edition is expected to attract more than 700 racers from all states east of the Mississippi River.
Created in 1992, the NHRA O'Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Drag Racing League allows kids between the ages of 8 and 17 to experience the thrill of motor sports competition in a controlled environment at tracks in each of NHRA's seven geographic divisions. The NHRA O'Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Drag Racing League creates family involvement in drag racing at an affordable level.
Many of the league's graduates have gone on to compete in other NHRA classes and some, like Pro Stock Car driver Richie Stevens and Top Fuel racer J.R. Todd, have even gone on to win NHRA national and divisional events. In 2007, Super Comp racer Shawn Langdon became the first former O'Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Drag Racing League competitor to earn a national championship.
For more information about Bristol Dragway or the O'Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Drag Racing League Eastern Conference Finals, please call (423) 989-6900.