Aspiring drag racers east of the Mississippi will once again descend on Thunder Valley for the 2009 NHRA O'Reilly Auto Parts Junior Drag Racing League Eastern Conference Finals at Bristol Dragway, July 9-11.
Junior drag racing action takes place for a total of eight days with the July 4-5 Mike Bos Chassis Craft Jr. Dragster Nationals and various fun races occurring during the days leading in to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The event is expected to attract racers from across the East Coast and abroad. Race champions in 2008 represented Maryland, Louisiana, Georgia, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Racers from Australia and Ireland also took to the track during the 2008 edition.
NHRA officials also announced the Western Conference Finals once again would be held at Bandimere Speedway in Colorado.
"Both of these tracks offer first-class racing operations as well as the unique touches required of any facility that hosts a Jr. Drag Racing League Conference Finals event," said Eric Lotz, NHRA director of Field Marketing and Contingency Programs. "Not only do they know what it takes to put 400 or more race cars down a track in three days, but they know how to make these kids and their families feel welcome and show them a good time after the racing is done."
Bristol Dragway first hosted the Eastern Conference Finals in 2004 and the Western Conference Finals have been at Bandimere Speedway since NHRA adopted the Eastern/Western format in 2000. Competitors race for individual and team honors at the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League Eastern and Western Conference Finals, and nearly $100,000 in savings bonds is given away at each event.
Created in 1992, the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League allows kids between the ages of 8 and 17 to experience the thrill of motorsports competition in a controlled environment at tracks in each of NHRA's seven geographic divisions. The NHRA 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 Jr. 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 Jr. Drag Racing League competitor to earn a national championship.