After a five-year hiatus, the famous Racer Appreciation Series returns to Huntsville Dragway and Montgomery Motorsports Park in Alabama. Officially called TCI/Comp Cams presents the original Racer Appreciation Series, the series, along with another series for heads-up racers, promises low entries fees and high payouts, and will be played out at both tracks throughout the 2007 racing season.

Famed racing promoter George Howard, of Birmingham, will present bracket and heads-up action at both tracks through the year. “After personal struggles in my life with losing my wife, I have decided to go back to work,” he says. “The original Racer Appreciation Series put me on the map as a drag racing promoter, and it was built as a way to support the ‘little guy’ racer. I want to see this (2007) series grow.” Howard started the original series in 1994, at Rockingham Dragway.

The 2007 Racer Appreciation Series will consist of a class for Pro, meaning electronics-equipped, and Footbrake, for non-electronics-equipped, racers, with a year-long, ending-in-September series of six races, four of which will be held at Montgomery Motorsports Park, and two at Huntsville Dragway. Montgomery, Howard said, will be an NHRA-member track for this year, and Huntsville always has been.

For winners payouts, those in Pro will be racing for $10,000 a day for all three days, and $1,500 will go to each winner in Footbrake. At the end of the year, Howard says, the points champions in Pro will get a free weekend entry into the 13^th (2008) annual Million Dollar Race. “That’s because the Racer Appreciation Series doesn’t end until after the 2007 Million Dollar Race,” he said. The dates for this year’s Million, where bracket racers go off for a potential $1,000,000 to the winner, are September 27-30 at Memphis Motorsports Park, sponsored by Comp Cams. Howard also said that TCI is sponsoring the “Twins,” two races that will be held on Friday and Sunday of the Million Dollar weekend, and they will pay $20,000-to-win each day.

George Howard Racing also has a 14-race, year-long series for heads-up cars that is also sponsored by Comp Cams and TCI and is split between Huntsville Dragway and Montgomery Motorsports  Park. Included in the series are classes that encompass 4.70-second, 5.30-second, 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0 door cars, on a heads-up starting system. “The rules are, you have to have big tires on the back and little ones on the front,” Howard said. “Throttle stops will not be allowed. Mufflers are not required, but we’d love for them to be on the car.” Every class but the 8.0 cars will pay $2,000 to win; the 8.0 winner will receive $600.

Also, the ADRL cars will appear at Montgomery April 13-15, and Super Chevy Sunday will play out at Huntsville  on May 18-20, and also at Montgomery on September 14-16. And ORSCA racers will visit Huntsville on March 30-April 1. And in related George Howard Racing news, Bama Dragway in Jasper, Alabama, under new management, will hold races for brackets, heads-up classes and Jr. Dragsters.

One Racer Appreciation Series race has already been completed, at Montgomery on March 2-4, with the following winners: Todd Ewing of Alabama in Pro, and Steve Stites of Mississippi in Footbrake. On Saturday, Steven Hughes of Texas won in Pro, and Brad Ford of Alabama was the winner in Footbrake. And on Sunday, Adam Davis of Alabama won Footbrake, and Troy Williams Jr. of Florida won in Pro.