IHRA MOTOR CITY NATIONALS - SAME DAY COVERAGE

There are very few times when the high-horsepower attraction of drag racing crosses paths with the manufacturing mecca of American automobile manufacters -- Detroit. Formerly hosted in the early months of August, the annual Milan, Michigan event has been moved later in the month as a showcase event on the tour.


		EVENT NEWS EVENT NOTEBOOK UP-TO-THE-MINUTE-RESULTS ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS FINAL ROUND RESULTS			EVENT GALLERY

SATURDAY - Suzuki Motor City Nationals Postponed

Seventh stop on 2007 Nitro Jam schedule moved to late September

The Suzuki Motor City Nationals presented by GM Performance Division and Heritage Newspapers at Milan Dragway has tentatively been moved to Sept. 21-23 due to weather concerns.

Heavy rain in Southeast Michigan Friday night dropped over an inch of rain on the Milan area. In addition, the region has experienced nearly 12 inches of rain in the past six days. IHRA was able to get the track dried Saturday morning and racing began at 9:30 a.m., but the rains came again at noon and continued until 3:00 p.m. when IHRA officials finally decided to pull the plug on the event.

The steady rain completely saturated the track surface, leading to the determination by IHRA track guru Jim Weinert that it would not be possible to offer a safe race track to the racers until late Sunday or early Monday at the earliest.

“The real issue is not the weather, the issue is the fact that there has been so much rain over the last few days that there was nowhere for the runoff to go,” IHRA vice president of operations Skooter Peaco said. “They had over 10 inches of rain over the last five days and the storm sewers and drains in the area were full. The rain sitting beneath the race track was just percolating up when the sun came out, causing unsafe racing conditions. Racer safety is always our primary concern and we could not guarantee our racers a safe race track.

All tickets purchased for the original date will be honored at the rescheduled event.

The next event on the 2007 Knoll Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series is the IHRA Canadian Nationals presented by PartSource, September 7 – 9, at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario.

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FRIDAY - Suzuki Motor City Nationals Friday Pro Qualifying Cancelled

Friday professional qualifying at Milan Dragway was cancelled due to rain.

The Suzuki Motor City Nationals presented by GM Performance Division and Heritage Newspapers will resume Saturday at 9 a.m. Professional qualifying will run as scheduled at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Eliminations are scheduled for Sunday.

Friday tickets will be honored Sunday as an even trade. Friday tickets can be used against the cost of a Saturday ticket, with spectators asked to cover the additional $10 difference.

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EVENT PREVIEW - IT'S MOTOR CITY TIME FOR THE IHRA

In the past two weeks, competitors on the Knoll Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series have set three world records. Milan Dragway will host the next event, the Suzuki Motor City Nationals presented by GM Performance Division and Heritage Newspapers, August 24-26.

If the month of August continues like it has, Michigan drag racing fans could see even more records fall. The first world record of the month was set by Melanie Troxel when she reached 327.19 mph in her Top Fuel dragster during the Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals, in Martin, Mich. Then in New Hampshire, Mike Janis set the Pro Modified speed record to 240.21 and Brian Gahm the Pro Stock speed record to 221.42. Gahm also set the Pro Stock elapsed time world record at 6.299 seconds in July, becoming the first in the class to break into the 6.20-range.

“We haven’t held a record in a few years…we used to have one in 2001,” said Janis, reflecting on when he held the ET record at 6.112. At that time, the speed record was 231.20. “To go 240 in one of these cars, a couple years ago, it was just a dream. We never thought we’d hit 235. It’s running 240 pretty consistent now.

“If you get some good air, you might see a 245. Air wasn’t all that great (in Epping), but you get some of that good air and these things will haul,” he added.

As records continue to fall, the championship chases are heating up as well. In Knoll Gas Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro Top Fuel, T.J. Zizzo and Bruce Litton have each led the points twice this year. Litton took it back from Zizzo two weeks ago during the Northern Nationals, only to give it back the very next weekend in New Hampshire. Zizzo currently leads Litton by a mere 28 points.

Other tight points chases to watch:
• Dale Creasy Jr. leads the Knoll Gas Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro Funny Car class over Terry Haddock
• Scott Cannon Jr. leads the Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com Pro Modified class over veteran Ed Hoover
• Defending Alcohol Funny Car world champion Mark Thomas leads three-time former world champ Rob Atchison
• Robert Patrick leads the Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com Pro Stock class by less than 50 points over Frank Gugliotta

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