Six Serious Sundays of Drag Racing at Irwindale First race: Sunday, February 28 By now, a lot of fans and drivers have been out to have some fun at Irwindale's weekly NHRA Street Legal Thursday night Test and Tune Sessions ... They're entertaining, fast, family nights where anyone with a car and a valid driver's license can take their shot at the iconic NHRA "Christmas Tree" and where (although there are always serious moments too) the theme of the evening is a little more skewed toward the testing and tuning idea than to flat out racing and there are no glittering trophies or champion's jackets on the line. While, on the other hand, the six-RACE (caps/bold intended) 2016 NHRA Summit Racing Series is six solid Sundays of intense competition, each awarding points in four different racing divisions (Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman, and Pro Bike) with the competitors in each of them aiming at a 2016 track championship. Daytime races, for championship points rather than pride, make for a somewhat different show and atmosphere than on Thursday nights when anyone can run any car just for the fun of it. Like all the top pros, these racers get very serious on Sundays... Gates open early (8AM) for NHRA Technical Inspection with a driver's meeting practice runs beginning at 10AM followed by elimination runs at approximately 12:30. Sunday Summit Races are fast-paced events, with every run mission-critical to the goal of scoring maximum points that day. Everything seems just a bit more crisp, more professional. Fans are guaranteed to see these drivers "cutting lights" (reaction times) in the neighborhood of perfect (.000) rather than all over the clock as they are on Thursdays. And that means races so close that only the track's electronic beam at the finish line can tell who got there first for the win! "... Summit Series competitors are some of the same folks that we see out here enjoying themselves and '... just having fun.' on Thursday nights, except for the fact that on Sunday it will only be "fun" if they win ..." The 2016 schedule kicks off on Sunday, February 28, with races following on March 6, April 10, April 17, May 15, and culminating on July 15. Just like any NHRA race, the pits are open to the public, adults are only $10 each, the parking is free, the concession food is tasty, and the sights and sounds of super fast racing are super close on LA County's quickest eighth-mile (660-foot) Drag Strip. Sunblock, sunglasses, ear plugs ... all suggested. Some serious Sunday stuff on the Irwindale 'Strip.
