Month: December 2013

Release Date:
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2013

After a two-year absence, drag racing’s signature vehicles will return to Steve Earwood’s Rockingham Dragway next year along with a revamped and re-branded IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series (NJDRS).

The IHRA Spring Nationals will be contested at ‘The Rock’ May 15-18, 2014 as one of the cornerstones of a NJDRS that will feature nitro Funny Cars, nitro-burning fuel altereds and nitro Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

The return of the Spring Nationals, an event that can trace its origins to 1967, has the owner of the historic Carolina track more excited than he’s been in years.

“Our last Spring Nationals was in 2011,” Earwood said, “but we still get weekly calls from spectators inquiring about the nitro cars and when we’re bringing back the Saturday fire-and-thunder show. Now we have an answer for them.

“Everybody at ‘The Rock’ is ecstatic that we’re going to once again be playing host to some of the fastest-accelerating vehicles on the planet. Nitro cars and the famous “jet truck,” what could be better?”

Earwood reluctantly withdrew from the series in 2011 after the IHRA decided to take a detour away from traditional racing to explore a more entertainment-based program.

The revised format proposed by the new ownership of the IHRA combines traditional qualifying and eliminations with selected carry-over entertainment elements.

“This is just a matter of listening to the customer,” said Aaron Polburn, president of IHRA Motorsports. “The Nitro Jam format was successful as evidenced by our growth. Our fans loved the show, but wanted to see more professional racing. What the end result turned out to be was a hybrid of Nitro Jam and traditional IHRA professional racing plus a greatly-expanded pit experience. I think the end product will be extremely fun to watch.

“We are thrilled to return to ‘The Rock’ with our nitro and fire racing spectacular,” Polburn said. “The Spring Nationals was always one of the IHRA’s most iconic events (so) this is like a homecoming.”

“There is so much great racing that has taken place at ‘The Rock’ over the years,” said Jason Rittenberry, President and CEO of IRG Sports + Entertainment, which purchased the IHRA earlier this year, “and we are more than thrilled to be bringing the IHRA Spring Nationals and the IHRA NJDRS back to Rockingham.”

The Spring Nationals began as an NHRA tour event at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn., before track developed Larry Carrier created the IHRA in 1971. Ironically, the first event ever contested in the IHRA series was the IHRA Pro-Am Nationals staged at Rockingham Dragway.

The event was contested continuously at Bristol through 1997. After a one-year absence, it was resurrected at Rockingham in 1999.

“This is a great fit for our schedule,” Earwood said. “We pride ourselves on providing something for everyone and, frankly, without the nitro cars, we haven’t been able to deliver that one segment of our audience. To be able to do that again is really gratifying and we look forward to working with Jason, Aaron, IHRA Vice-President Skooter Peaco and the entire staff to make this the biggest event in the series.”

The new format would include nostalgia nitro Funny Cars, nitro Harley-Davidsons and nitro fuel altereds, throwbacks to the drag racing’s golden era. One of the most unique aspects of the new series will be a jet dragster division featuring only women drivers.

The event also will include a full complement of IHRA Pro Am categories including Top Dragster, Top Sportsman and Super Stock along with two days of points racing in the IHRA Summit SuperSeries.

According to Earwood, an announcement will be forthcoming on when advance tickets to the Spring Nationals will be available for purchase.

The Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is an economic development organization and non-profit authority of Moore County, North Carolina. The CVB mission is to promote the area as a destination for visitors, meetings, conventions and tours. The CVB is funded primarily by a three percent hotel / motel room occupancy tax paid by visitors to Moore County.

Release Date:
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2013
Contact Person:
Dave Droschak, Droschak Communications (919) 630-6656

VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. (Dec. 11, 2013) – The Pinehurst Concours has established a local scholarship program for high school students who participate in the event’s unique digital judging application system, which was unveiled at the inaugural vintage car competition, executive director Jay Howard said.

Each judging team was provided a Samsung Galaxy Tablet powered by Sprint in May 2013 to compute scores of the 118 Pinehurst Concours d’ Elegance entrants using a 100-point system. With the app being foreign to most judges, a local Moore County high school student was assigned to each team to help with data input. Results were almost instantaneous at the conclusion, with printouts being achieved in less than a half hour – a first for a Concours event.

“One of our goals of the Pinehurst Concours from the start was to involve the local community in as many programs as possible,” Howard said. “Our Iron Mike Rally salutes the military at Fort Bragg, and the establishment of a scholarship program ties in an educational component we believe is very important.”

“We were thrilled to learn of this generous offer to establish a Pinehurst Concours Automotive Scholarship,” said Alex Cameron, Chairman of the Automotive Programs at Sandhills Community College. “What a wonderful opportunity for area automotive students. Car enthusiasts are such a wonderful and diverse group of people. The Pinehurst event is a way to bring them together to share their common passion.”

The Pinehurst Concours Sandhills Community College Scholarship Program will annually award $2,500 to a high school senior from North Moore, Pinecrest or Union Pines high schools, with an additional $2,500 scholarship matched by Sandhills Community College.

Scholarship finalists will be part of the student electronic judging application system, with the two-year scholarship awarded the weekend of the Pinehurst Concours, held May 2-4, 2014.

Eligible students must be a Moore County resident, plan to attend Sandhills Community College and enroll in either the Automotive Systems Technology or the Collision Repair Program and have a minimum 2.75 GPA, with preference given to students who have reached the “completer” status in their high school automotive program, Howard said.

“Sandhills is very proud of our Automotive Program and the work done in it by our students and faculty,” said SCC President John Dempsey. “We’re very honored that the Concours would reward our students like this. This is a wonderful partnership and Sandhills Community College is thrilled to be a part of it.”

Tickets to the 2014 event, which will feature 119 classic automobiles on the pristine fairways of Pinehurst Resort, can be purchased online at www.pinehurstconcours.com or by calling 910–973-6594. In addition, Pinehurst Concours tickets are available in the Pinehurst Resort Main Pro Shop, Carolina Hotel Newstand and Village Putter Boy Shop.

The 2014 Pinehurst Concours will kick off a celebrated six-week period at one of the world’s top golf resorts, which hosts the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open Championships in consecutive weeks in mid June.

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The Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is an economic development organization and non-profit authority of Moore County, North Carolina. The CVB mission is to promote the area as a destination for visitors, meetings, conventions and tours. The CVB is funded primarily by a three percent hotel / motel room occupancy tax paid by visitors to Moore County.