The International Hot Rod Association, a division of Feld
Entertainment, Inc., will keep its current 1/4 mile format for all
Nitro Jam national event races. This traditional drag racing format is
what works best for IHRA as a sanctioning body, its racers and fans
according to IHRA vice president of racing operations, Skooter Peaco.
“With our cars, our speeds, our drivers and our safety precautions in
place we feel we can safely maintain our current format,” Peaco said of
quarter-mile Nitro racing. “We are an organization that is known for
making big changes when we need to. We tend to make conservative
decisions in this area and have completely stopped racing at events
when conditions existed that were outside our comfort zone regardless
of the class we were running at the time. By no means is our decision
to continue quarter mile an attempt to stick our heads in the sand and
pretend our sport doesn't need to address these issues. This decision
is simply no different than ones we have made in the past. We will
continue to monitor the speeds our cars produce, continue to have open
conversations with our drivers and adjust as necessary. We have to make
decisions based on IHRA nitro teams and our unique situation. Nothing
is more important than our driver's safety.”
The 2008 IHRA season saw consistent, strong fields in both Nitro
classes at Nitro Jam national events. While there were the occasional
on-track incidents associated with 8,000 horsepower vehicles in
straight-line acceleration contests, the ’08 season was one of the
safest and most incident-free in IHRA history. That, Peaco contends, is
a tribute to many people.