From The Director's Chair with Jay Hullinger North Central Division director

National Dragster, Aug 20, 2004 by Hullinger, Jay

Two things are for sure regarding this year's North Central Division Jeg's Allstars team, which was set at the Edgewater Sports Park Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event: Nearly all of the categories had some great battles, and 2001 Allstars champion Rock Haas had an early lock on his spot for the Oct. 2 race at Route 66 Raceway. Haas secured his Super Comp berth on the 2004 team with a 140-point lead heading into the Edgewater event.

In Top Alcohol Dragster before Edgewater, a 21-point margin separated Bill Reichert from past Allstars champions Jeff Wilson and Marty Thacker. As a result, Reichert changed his original plan to skip Edgewater because it was his final opportunity to earn division points in hopes of returning to the Allstars event. In Super Stock, 12 points is all that separated Brad Zaskowski, Steve Graham, and Jeremey Duncan, and an even closer points race was waged in Super Street. Top competitors Timothy Gary, Tim Shuck, and George Maxon were each separated by only seven points entering the last event.

I can say with complete certainty that a rock-solid North Central Division crew will compete for a sixth team championship. For a complete points listing, go to www.nhradiv3.com.

As the Edgewater event closed the points battles for the 2004 Jeg's Allstars team, the Beech Bend Raceway Park LODRS event, Aug. 27-29 in Bowling Green, Ky., gives racers their first chance to vie for points for the 2005 Division 3 Jeg's Allstars team.

The 50th Mac Tools U.S. Nationals will not be the only major drag racing-event at Indianapolis Raceway Park in September. Just two weeks after the golden-anniversary celebration of the Labor Day Big Go, more than 800 of the Midwest's top bracket and Jr. drag racers will be in the Circle City for the 28th annual NHRA Division 3 Summit Racing Series Finals, Sept. 17-19.

The Summit Racing Series Finals is one of the most interesting, unique, and exciting series in NHRA Drag Racing. The first phase of the event, the qualifying process at local NHRA member tracks, is drawing to a close. Each of the 19 Division 3 member tracks will bo fielding a team, and we will be welcoming racers from three tracks that joined NHRA and the program this year - Thompson Drag Raceway, Midstate Dragway, and E.T. Raceway - as well as new racers from the other division tracks. We intend to make this year's event one of the best ever. As in the past, the Super Pro, Pro E.T., Sportsman, and Super Pro Bike winners will be eligible to travel to Pomona in November for the NHRA Summit Racing Series National Championship at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals.

Again this year, the top 40 bracket racers will qualify through their local North Central Division track's points program to advance to Indy. Individual competition will be contested in Super Pro (eighth-mile, 4.50-7.75), Pro E.T. (eighth-mile, 6.20-8.99), Sportsman (quarter-mile, 12.00-19.99), and Super Pro Bike (quarter-mile, 7.50-15.99).

Everyone's round-win points will count toward the team championship, which National Trail Raceway won for the first time last year. Edgewater Sports Park has six team titles, Kil-Kare Dragway has five, and 11 tracks have made their mark as team champions.

A separate Youth Team championship will be determined by round-wins in the High School and Jr. Dragster classes. Pacemakers Dragway Park (2001), Mid-Michigan Motorplex (2002), and Edgewater Sports Park (2003) have each won youth titles.

In addition, VP Racing Fuels will sponsor a race within a race for track points champions, the VP Racing Fuels Race of Champions. Also, Be Cool Radiators is sponsoring the Coolest Cars and Bike event awards. With the addition of special Summit Shootout gambler races Friday, a Dialing for Dollars round Saturday, and more than $2,000 in increased round-money payout, we have the makings of a great three-day championship weekend - a deserving event for the guys and gals who have worked so hard to be part of it.

For more Division 3 news, go to www.nhradiv3.com