MISSION, B.C. – NHRA’s top bracket racers from tracks across the Northwest division will be at Mission Raceway Park to square off in head-to-head competition at the NHRA Summit Racing Series Northwest Division Finals, Sept. 3-5.  Top points earning drivers in seven classes will be on hand to compete for team and individual honors.  Racers in Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman, Motorcycle/Snowmobile, Sport Compact, High School and Jr. Dragster will run in the event.

Gates at Mission Raceway will open at 8 a.m. each day.  Time trials will start Friday morning at 9 and continue Saturday at 8:30 a.m.  Eliminations will start Sunday at 8:30 a.m. 

Saturday’s action will also feature the Race of Champions where the best of the best in Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman and Motorcycle/Snowmobile will compete for top honors and a chance to compete for a national championship at the NHRA Auto Club of Southern California Finals at Pomona Raceway in Calif., in November.  They’ll run against the winners from NHRA’s other six divisions for a $5,000 winner-take-all purse.

Mission Raceway Park is located 10 miles north of Sumas, Wash., on Highway 11.   For more information call the track, (604) 826-6315, or visit www.missionraceway.com.

SUMMIT RACING SERIES NORTHWEST DIVISION FINALS: Fact Sheet

WHAT: NHRA Summit Racing Series Northwest Division Finals, where top drivers from NHRA member tracks across the Northwest division compete in seven classes for individual and team honors. Competing classes are: Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman, Motorcycle/Snowmobile, High School, Sport Compact and two categories of Jr. Dragster. The Race of Champions, a race within a race where the top points earners from each participating track run head-to-head for individual honors, will run on Saturday. Winners of the Race of Champions in Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman and Motorcycle/Snowmobile will advance to a national run-off at the NHRA Auto Club of Southern California Finals at Pomona Raceway in Calif.

WHERE: Mission Raceway Park, Mission, B.C. Track is located 10 miles north of Sumas, Wash., on Highway 11.

WHEN: Friday through Sunday, September 3-5, 2010.

SCHEDULE: Schedule for the Summit Racing Series Northwest Division Finals:

 FRIDAY, Sept. 3 -- Gates open at 8 a.m. Time trials begin at 9 a.m.
  
SATURDAY, Sept. 4 -- Gates open at 8 a.m. Final time trials begin at 8:30 a.m.
Race of Champions is slated for 1 p.m.

 SUNDAY, Sept. 5 -- Gates open at 8 a.m. Eliminations begin at 8:30 a.m.

PURSE: The Summit E.T. Racing Series competitors in Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman, Motorcycle and Sport Compact will compete for cash awards of more than $15,000.

 The winners of the Race of Champions in Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman and Motorcycle/Snowmobile will advance to compete against winners from NHRA’s other six divisions at the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., in November. They will each receive $3,500 for competing in the Finals and the winner in each class will receive an additional $5,000.

 Participants in the High School and Junior categories compete for trophies.

2009 EVENT WINNERS: Firebird Raceway, team champion; Chris Jaggers, Super Pro; Robby Hornby, Pro; Adam DePeel, Sportsman; Mark Adams, Motorcycle; Gerald Patzer, Sport Compact

FEATURES: More than 500 drivers in five racing categories: Super Pro (cars running 7.00 seconds to 11.99 seconds), Pro (9.00-13.99), Sportsman (12.80 and slower), Motorcycles (7.50 and slower), High School (11.00 and slower), Sport Compact (7.50 and slower), Jr. Thunder (Ages 13 to 17) and Jr. Lightning (Ages 8 to 12)

The way that Robert Hight looks at it, he has had one heck of a title-defense season in his Auto Club Ford Mustang. He has already set a personal best for victories in a season at four and won three races in a row in early summer. He has led the points for parts of the season and finished the regular season just a few points behind his team owner, John Force.

So as he and his team gear up for what should be an exciting and challenging run in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship playoffs, Hight knows that this is no time for reflection. Sure, his team has come a long way in a year. Last year, the team barely qualified for the playoffs and then made a thrilling underdog charge to take the crown.

As he prepares to try to win his third Funny Car title at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil Sept. 1-6, Hight comes to historic O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis for the world’s most prestigious drag race with a quiet sense of confidence based on his team’s consistent efforts during the regular season.

“The most I had ever won in a season was three races, and we have already won four this year,” Hight said. “At this point last year, we hadn’t even been in a final. We were very optimistic as the 2010 season started, hoping to start off where we finished last year. We have done that. What matters now is what we do going forward. If we stay together as a team and work together, help each other like we have always done in the past, then I believe our chances are good. You are never going to predict a championship, but I am very optimistic.”

Hight comes to Indy riding a streak of four consecutive final-round appearances at the Big Go. After wins in 2006 and 2008, Hight would like to add a third trophy to his collection. Last year, he finished a close second to teammate Ashley Force Hood, who made history by becoming only the third woman to win drag racing’s Super Bowl in a pro division.

Force Hood leads a host of competitors who will be trying to win the prestigious event and get their playoff runs off to a good start. The Funny Car field has proven to be one of the most competitive classes of the season with eight winners. In the past, several first-time Funny Car winners have emerged in Indy as well. Force, who has won the race four times, three-time winner Cruz Pedregon, and past winners Del Worsham, Jim Head, and Tim Wilkerson are certainly in the mix. The field also contains a host of drivers who are hungry to win the race for the first time, including Ron Capps, Tony Pedregon, Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan, and Bob Tasca III.

“This is the biggest race we have all year long,” Hight said. “This is the granddaddy of them all. Don Garlits once told me that because I had won Indy, I could retire now. I want to win championships, though. I want to win more Indys and more championships. This is a great place to start the Countdown, and we have had good luck there.”

And when it comes to the Countdown, Hight has shown that he can make it happen, no matter what position he’s in at the beginning of the playoffs.

“We proved last year that if you are in the top 10, you can win it,” Hight said. “It is all about timing, having your act together, and getting your combination right. You also need some luck along the way.”

• SCHEDULE: The first of five qualifying sessions is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Sept. 3. Two sessions will be held Sept. 4, at 3 and 6 p.m., and the final two qualifying sessions will take place Sept. 5 at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. Sept. 6.

• TICKETS: Call 800-884-NHRA (6472) or log on to www.NHRAtix.com.

• ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise more than 10 hours of coverage of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil. One hour of qualifying coverage will air Sept. 5 at 10 a.m. ET. NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil, a 30-minute newsmagazine show, will air Sept. 5 at 11 a.m. ET. Two more qualifying shows will air Sept. 5, a two-and-a-half-hour show at 11:30 a.m. ET and a two-hour show at 5 p.m. ET. Five hours of final eliminations coverage will air Sept. 6 at 1 p.m. ET.

• LUCAS OIL SERIES: The Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil also will feature competition in all categories of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, in which some of the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series get their starts. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 1, and eliminations begin at 8 a.m. Sept. 2 and continue through Sept. 6.

• GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES: NHRA’s newest touring series will make its eighth start of the 10-race season at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil. The series features some of the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars, with an eclectic mix of vintage and late-model body styles in quarter-mile competition. The first of four rounds of qualifying will be held Sept. 3 at 4:30 p.m. The first round of eliminations is scheduled for Sept. 5. Eliminations will continue Sept. 6.

The Mopar Hemi Challenge race series debuted in 2001 at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. Fast-forward to 2010, and the popular racing series is still going strong and set to return to the place that started it all. The second of three 2010 Mopar Hemi Challenge race series events is scheduled to take place Sept. 2-3 during the 56th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.

“The Mopar Hemi Challenge event at the U.S. Nationals has experienced remarkable growth and popularity since its inception in 2001,” said Jim Sassorossi, director-Mopar Parts, Sales and Marketing. “The Mopar Hemi Challenge has flourished for 10 years due to the passion and dedication of the grassroots racers and enthusiasts who purchase Mopar parts and spend their spare time preparing their Mopar Hemi-powered cars for competition.”

The Mopar Hemi Challenge race series pits Super Stock/A Hemi (SS/AH) '68 Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas against each other in fierce quarter-mile competition. Bucky Hess etched his name in the record books in 2001, taking the first Mopar Hemi Challenge event win by defeating James Keyes for the $10,000 winner’s purse. The Bunker Hill, W.Va., resident will return to the scene of his historic Indy triumph as one of nearly 30 SS/AH competitors in what could possibly be a record field of Mopar Hemi Challenge entrants.

Joining Hess in competition will be Charlie Westcott Jr., a three-time Mopar Hemi Challenge champion at the U.S. Nationals who is coming off a Mopar Hemi Challenge victory in June at the Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Ky. Westcott will compete in a '68 Plymouth Barracuda, as will his father and fellow Parma, Mich., native Charlie Westcott Sr., the defending Mopar Hemi Challenge champion at the U.S. Nationals.

“The Mopar Hemi Challenge has been a great deal, and I’m glad Mopar supports it,” said Westcott Jr., who with his father tested last week in Martin, Mich., in preparation for the U.S. Nationals. “It’s impressive that so many cars have entered for Indy. The event always has a good turnout, and it’s a fun race.”

Jim Daniels, a three-time Mopar Hemi Challenge winner and the record holder in the class with an 8.331, will compete at the event. Former Mopar Hemi Challenge U.S. Nationals champ Rick Houser will look to bring home his second win at the venue, and Don Bales, winner of the NHRA Best Appearing Car award at the 2009 U.S. Nationals for his '68 Silver Bullet Plymouth Barracuda, will attempt to capture his first Mopar HemiChallenge trophy. Other drivers entered include David Barton, Stephen Hebert, Jim Pancake, John Rains, and Joe Teuton Jr.

The Mopar Hemi Challenge race series will conclude at the JEGS NHRA Northern SPORTSnationals, Sept. 25-27 at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio.