NHRA Sport Compact Extreme Rush returns

National Dragster, Jan 30, 2004

GLENDORA, Calif. - For the second consecutive year, Pro RWD and Pro FWD racers in the NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series will compete in two NHRA Sport Compact Extreme Rush events, to be held at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka May 2730 and the O'Reilly NHRA FaU Nationals in Dallas Sept. 23-26.

"For the second consecutive year, NHRA is showcasing its elite sport compact drivers on drag racing's largest stage, an NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event," said Gary Raasch, director of marketing for the NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series. "The opportunity to expose their turbocharged machines in front of packed houses at two of the nation's quickest dragstrips is something NHRA is pleased to offer the competitors and their sponsors."

Points for the first Extreme Rush event in Topeka will be earned during NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series events through May 2. The top eight points earners in the Pro RWD and Pro FWD classes will earn the right to compete in the Extreme Rush based on points and participation in the NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series. The Extreme Rush contestants will be seeded in a tournament-style bracket and compete for $17,000 in bonuses. They will receive two test-n-tune runs Saturday, and eliminations will be held Sunday.

Winners of the special events will earn $4,000, runners-up $1,000, semifinalists $750, and the four first round finishers $500.

"I really look forward to the Extreme Rush races," said Stephan Papadakis, Pro RWD winner at last year's StreetGlow Extreme Rush event at Texas Motorplex. "NHRA allows us to compete on a wellprepared track in front of thousands of fans, which is a great experience for us. We ran record times at both Extreme Rush events in 2003, and I'm confident there will be more competitive racing this year, which will give a better showing for the fans. It was great to win the Extreme Rush, but to put up the numbers we did in Dallas in front of all those fans was fantastic."

The two NHRA Sport Compact Extreme Rush events will be featured on NHRA's weekly television show, NHRA2day, aired live from the race Sunday morning on ESPN2.

The 10-race, $2.1 million NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series will once again feature competition at nine tracks, and each race will be televised on ESPN2. A guaranteed year-end championship bonus of $144,000 and event purses totaling $260,500 are guaranteed. In addition, the series offers sport compact drag racing's most lucrative contingency program.