New Series Sponsor Full Throttle will be prominently featured

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will officially kick off one of the most anticipated seasons in many years on Monday, Feb. 2 with a “Parade of Vehicles” that will pass through downtown Los Angeles.

The parade will depart from Gate 17 at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona at 11:30 a.m. with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s providing the escort and 2005 Rookie of the Year and two-time series runner-up Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club Ford Mustang, serving as the Grand Marshal.

New Series Sponsor Full Throttle will be prominently featured

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will officially kick off one of the most anticipated seasons in many years on Monday, Feb. 2 with a “Parade of Vehicles” that will pass through downtown Los Angeles.

The parade will depart from Gate 17 at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona at 11:30 a.m. with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s providing the escort and 2005 Rookie of the Year and two-time series runner-up Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club Ford Mustang, serving as the Grand Marshal.

“Drag racing is a huge part of the Southern California culture so what could be better than a parade through Downtown L.A. to celebrate the start of our 2009 season,” Hight said. “This will be my fifth season driving in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and it just keeps getting bigger and better and this parade is just another example of that.”

The 2009 season begins later in the week, Feb. 5-8, at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona with the 49th annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals featuring 2008 Driver of the Year Tony Schumacher, 2007 Rookie of the Year Ashley Force Hood and the rest of the stars of the quickest, fastest and most intense motorsport on the planet.

The parade will celebrate not only the start of the 2009 season, but also the arrival of new series sponsor Full Throttle Energy Drink, which has assumed the series entitlement after a seven-year run by fellow Coca-Cola brand POWERade.

The convoy will follow the 60W to the 10W before connecting with the 110N as it heads by Staples Center and downtown Los Angeles. Once past Los Angeles, the parade will pass over the 5N to the 2N to the 134E before connecting with the 210E to begin the trip back to Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

Among the vehicles participating in the parade will be rigs and trailers from Full Throttle, Matco Tools, Auto Club of Southern California, Harley-Davidson, the U.S. Army, Castrol and Wyotech and the NHRA Safety Safari. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department vehicles will escort the parade and a pair of Pontiacs, the Official Vehicle of NHRA, will serve as the lead and trailing cars in the parade.