FREE HOUSTON HOT ROD RALLY FOR RACE FANS

Mon, 2008-03-24 14:01
Motorsports fans who dream of driving a 7,000-horsepower Funny Car down the quarter-mile in 4.7 seconds at 325 mph will have a chance to do the next-best thing when Houston Raceway Park and the Baytown Chamber of Commerce host the second annual Baytown Hot Rod Rally from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, at San Jacinto Mall.

The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series is hosting the largest motorsports event of the year in southeast Texas March 28-30 at Houston Raceway Park, the 21st annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil. The second annual Hot Rod Rally will help kick off the race, which draws more than 100,000 people to the Houston area during the three days.

The main draw of the free festival will be the two-car POWERade Funny Car simulator that allows wannabe racers to experience a full pass in a virtual drag racing world and compete with the sound and fury of the real thing. "It's as close to drag racing as you can get without actually driving a car down the strip," Top Fuel pro Doug Foley said. Motorsports fans who dream of driving a 7,000-horsepower Funny Car down the quarter-mile in 4.7 seconds at 325 mph will have a chance to do the next-best thing when Houston Raceway Park and the Baytown Chamber of Commerce host the second annual Baytown Hot Rod Rally from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, at San Jacinto Mall.

The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series is hosting the largest motorsports event of the year in southeast Texas March 28-30 at Houston Raceway Park, the 21st annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil. The second annual Hot Rod Rally will help kick off the race, which draws more than 100,000 people to the Houston area during the three days.

The main draw of the free festival will be the two-car POWERade Funny Car simulator that allows wannabe racers to experience a full pass in a virtual drag racing world and compete with the sound and fury of the real thing. "It's as close to drag racing as you can get without actually driving a car down the strip," Top Fuel pro Doug Foley said.

Foley should know; when he's not racing himself, he's teaching students how to drag race at his New Jersey facility, Doug Foley's Drag Racing School.

If the virtual world isn't enough, fans will also get a pre-race whiff of nitromethane when FIA European champion Urs Erbacher of Switzerland fires up his Century Asphalt dragster at 7 p.m. Century Asphalt is a locally based company that is supporting Erbacher for this event.

Foley and Erbacher will be on hand to meet and greet fans. They'll also have their race cars on display alongside Antron Brown's Matco Tools Iron Eagle Top Fuel dragster, local hero Josh Hernandez's Tommy Lipar Racing Chevrolet Camaro Pro Modified car, Greg Stanfield's Attitude Apparel Pontiac GXP Pro Stock car, Matt Hartford's Nickens Racing Dodge Stratus Pro Stock car, and Chris Rivas' G2 Drag Specialties S&S Buell V-Twin Pro Stock Motorcycle.

The show represents one of the best chances ever for local fans to meet some of the biggest stars in drag racing from both sides of the Atlantic.

Additionally, Baytown's Bayshore Fine Rides Car Club will have its extensive collection of custom and restored cars on display, and drag racing clips will be played on a giant-screen TV from Motel 6 Vision throughout the evening.

For more information on this free event or for tickets to the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil, call Houston Raceway Park, 281-383-RACE (7223) or the Baytown Chamber of Commerce, 281-422-8359.
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