Burchel brings history and passion to the 1/8-mile, IHRA-sanctioned facility. He raced at the North Alabama track before he was old enough to drive on the street. He explained it was basically a strip of asphalt and concrete at the time.

Now the track which his father Roy Burchel built, has grown to host several big events. Back under International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) sanction, the two share a rich history. The track hosted the IHRA Bama Nitrous Nationals in 1992-93 with legendary drivers Ed Hoover and Scotty Cannon the Pro Mod winners.

The track has frequently served as the test track for another Pro Mod legend, the IHRA Hall of Famer Shannon Jenkins. 

Burchel is excited to see Huntsville Dragway be a part of the IHRA Summit SuperSeries, the most prestigious bracket racing program in North America. It’s important to have such a program in place where the IHRA-member track champions have the opportunity to qualify for the 2023 IHRA World Finals.

When it comes to Huntsville Dragway, the racers know they’re coming to a place where a lot of work has been done to make them feel welcome. 

“It’s a beautiful place. We have very nice bathrooms separate from the tower which are convenient for the racers,” Burchel said. “It’s a racer-friendly facility as the pits are lit and there is a lot of room for parking.”

Burchel knows times have changed a lot from the days he first started racing. While some still come to the track with the bare minimum they need to compete, others come with the nice haulers and campers, featuring all the conveniences of home.

“It amazes me the amount of equipment coming in,” Burchel said. “It’s truly astonishing when you look at the differences between then and now.”

No matter how times have changes, the constant for the track is how important it is to treat the racers well. It’s something that Burchel is committed to, as he carries on the family tradition. 

To keep updated on the latest with Huntsville Dragway, including the soon to be released 2023 schedule, click here to check out the track’s Facebook page.

IHRA members racing in the Top (Box), Mod (No Box) and Junior Dragster classes have the opportunity to compete for the prestigious IHRA Ironman trophy at each event as well as the coveted oversized championship checks. IHRA members will also be in the running for limited-edition Sportsman Spectacular commemorative medals and round prizes from IHRA partners like Sunoco Race Fuels and Summit Racing Equipment in addition to their winnings.

Each event remains tailored to the host track’s racing programs as Sportsman and Motorcycle classes could also be contested. 

“The question arose, ‘How can we make the IHRA Sportsman Spectacular better than before?’ The answer was to make it even more prestigious with the opportunity to qualify for the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals,” IHRA Owner and CEO Larry Jeffers said. “This brings more value to our racers and our IHRA-member tracks who host these events. It’s another great way to show our support for the local Sportsman racers.”

Piedmont Dragway and State Capitol Raceway will host the first announced events on March 25. The Piedmont event gives IHRA Division 9 racers a chance to qualify for the World Finals after their IHRA Summit Team Finals event was cancelled in 2022 due to Hurricane Ian. They can also enter the Sportsman Spectacular event at Motor Mile (Va.) Dragway for an additional opportunity to qualify for the 2023 IHRA World Finals.

Below is a list of 2023 Sportsman Spectacular events. If there is not an event in your area, understand the IHRA is giving all member tracks the opportunities to hosts IHRA Sportsman Spectacular races for 2024 and beyond.

2023 IHRA Sportsman Spectacular schedule 

March 25: Piedmont Dragway, Julian, N.C.

March 25: State Capitol Raceway, Port Allen, La.

April 15: Music City Raceway, Goodlettsville, Tenn.

April 29: London Dragway, London, Ky.

May 20: Dragway 42, West Salem, Ohio

July 20: Motor Mile Dragway, Fairlawn, Va.

Aug. 10: Central Illinois Dragway, Havana, Ill.

TBA: Quaker City Motorsports Park, Salem, Ohio

TBA: Muncie Dragway, Muncie, Ind.

TBA: Xtreme Raceway Park, Ferris, Texas

Jared Ledford (Box), Grant Zimmerman (No Box), Larry Doty (Sportsman) and Aubrey Loy (Junior Dragster) won IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Championships in 2022. 

An exciting addition this year are grand prizes for each class. Champions will still win the big check from Summit Racing Equipment, IHRA Gold Card, World Champion Diamond Ring and the prestigious IHRA World Champion Ironman Trophy.

With the grand prizes, the Top (Box) champion will receive an Ezell Race Cars custom-built chassis. For the Mod (No Box) champion, Flying A Motorsports is supplying a 28-foot enclosed trailer. 

The Sportsman champion receives a flatbed car hauler from B&C Trailer Services. Longtime IHRA supporter Dart’s Carts will offer a Yamaha fuel-injected golf cart to the Junior Dragster champion.

The Motorcycle champion gets a prize of either a basic swingarm or a $575 value towards the purchase of a higher-priced swingarm.

IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Champions aren’t the only ones who are winners. All drivers receive $300 in tow money and have the opportunity to win more money by each round they advance.

A racer can qualify by either winning a Summit SuperSeries track championship at a participating IHRA member track or by winning an IHRA Summit Team Finals main event class and meeting the eligibility requirements. 

Stay tuned for exciting news about another way racers can qualify for the 2023 IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals.

Unfortunately, the 2022 IHRA Division 9 Summit Team Finals was cancelled due to Hurricane Ian. Those IHRA-member racers will have the opportunity to qualify for the 2023 IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals at an upcoming IHRA Sportsman Spectacular event with details to be released soon.

At the last IHRA Division 9 Summit Team Finals, Tim Lucas was dead-on his dial-in time to win the Box final over Jamie Silance. Mark Dudley Jr. put together the winning package in No Box against Jason Craft.

South Carolina Motorplex’s own Trey Sikes captured the Sportsman victory with Ben Dixon the runner-up. Anna Canfield was the Junior Dragster winner with Brayden Jones her final-round opponent.

Stay tuned to IHRA.com and our social media channels for more news about the IHRA Summit Team Finals.

Headlining the list is the official announcement that Summit Racing Equipment and the IHRA will continue the longest running series partnership in drag racing through the 2023 season.

With participation from tracks and racers across North America, the IHRA Summit SuperSeries, which includes the IHRA Summit Team Finals and IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals, remains the most prestigious national championship in bracket racing. 

On the sponsor front, it’s also great to highlight another longstanding partnership between the IHRA and Sunoco Race Fuels. With Summit and Sunoco, the IHRA has been fortunate to have such loyal and terrific partners who truly support grassroots, Sportsman racers. IHRA also announced a partnership extension with RacingJunk.com, the world’s No. 1 race and performance marketplace.

Besides great partners, you need good tracks to compete on. There has been an abundance of exciting news on that front.

Since the first of the year, the IHRA has welcomed new member tracks with Shadyside Dragway in North Carolina, Custom T’s Motorsports Park in Virginia and Newport Dragway in Arkansas.

Renewals of sanctioning agreements have been announced with seven U.S. tracks — Penwell Knights Raceway, Bunker Hill Dragstrip, US 41 Dragstrip, Music City Raceway, Brainerd Motorsports Park, Ozark Raceway Park, Wisconsin International Raceway — as well as Interlake Dragway in Canada.

New track operators have taken over at South Carolina Motorplex, I-30 Dragway and Ozark Raceway Park with exciting schedules for all three venues.

Dates and locations for most of the IHRA Summit Team Finals have been released. Host tracks include: Motor Mile Dragway, Onawa Dragway, US 41 Dragstrip, Dragway 42, Holly Springs Motorsports and Xtreme Raceway Park announced as host tracks. An announcement about IHRA Division 9 will be coming soon.

All this has happened over the last three weeks, but we’re far from finished. Stay tuned to the IHRA.com website and our social media channels for more exciting news ahead.

With its unsurpassed innovations and years of experience, it’s easy to understand why more engine builders, racers, tracks and sanctioning bodies choose Sunoco over all other racing gasoline combined.

“We are blessed to have great relationships with loyal partners like Sunoco Race Fuels,” IHRA President and CEO Larry Jeffers said. “Sunoco offers such a wide variety of products to IHRA racers at the drag strip, hauls to the track, working around home and in their daily travels. It’s a name well-trusted throughout the racing industry and beyond.”

Sunoco Race Fuels continues to reward racers who use their product in Box, No Box, Sportsman and Junior Dragster classes at IHRA Sportsman Spectacular, IHRA Summit Team Finals and IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals through the IHRA round-prize program.

For more information about Sunoco Race Fuels products visit SunocoRaceFuels.com.

“We are proud to be part of this long-standing partnership,” said Jim Greenleaf, Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports and Events Manager. “We understand and appreciate the time and dedication that it takes to prepare for and compete in Sportsman racing. Being a part of this program gives us the chance to support drag racing while giving back to the racers who choose Summit Racing Equipment as their partner in performance.”

IHRA Summit SuperSeries track champions from all over North America were represented in Top (Box), Mod (No Box), Sportsman and Junior Dragster at the 2022 IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals. 

Jared Ledford (Top), Grant Zimmerman (Mod), Larry Doty (Sportsman) and Aubrey Loy (Junior Dragster) captured 2022 IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Championships at Holly Springs Motorsports. Todd Payne was recognized a second straight year as the highest finishing Electric Vehicle driver.

“We are so pleased to join with Summit Racing Equipment and continue to show our support and commitment to the grassroots, Sportsman racers,” IHRA Owner and CEO Larry Jeffers said. “The IHRA Summit SuperSeries is a name the racers and tracks trust. It continues to stand the test of time as the best program out there for our member tracks and racers.”

For more information about Summit Racing Equipment visit SummitRacing.com. 

For more information about becoming an IHRA member and participating in the Summit SuperSeries program, click here or email membership@ihra.com.

Maryland International Raceway was the 2022 Division 1 champion with individual champions crowned in the Top (Box), Mod (No Box), Sportsman and Junior Dragster classes.

Jacob Nahory had .006 reaction time to beat Robbie Parlett for the Box championship. Nahory used the momentum from the Division 1 Team Finals to advance to the semifinals of the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals where he lost to eventual champion Jared Ledford.

Bobby Mattera won the No Box title against a familiar foe, Russ Archer, in the final round. Mattera emerged victorious as Archer broke out against his dial-in time. Glenda Cochran was the Sportsman winner in another breakout victory against Ted Hudson. 

Brandon Sullivan captured the Junior Dragster victory when final-round opponent Ryleigh Nebel fouled at the start. 

There were also Gamblers races and special awards handed out. Mickey Nelson Jr. (Box) doubled up with two Gamblers wins. Bradley Tippett and Mattera (No Box), Peyton Bunch and Hunter Groat (Junior Dragster) were other race winners.

Keeping checking out IHRA.com and our social media channels as the final IHRA Summit Team Finals dates and locations are revealed.

“We started coming out when Jerry Goss and Harry Hronas built the track,” Thompson said. “We were there day one and I was out there more than I should admit. I was out there every single week when it was open. It became a home away from home. The people I grew up with, my dad, uncles, cousins and friends, that’s where we went to race.”

Thompson has been around the sport his entire life with some of his first baby pictures showing him sitting on his dad’s truck at the race track. Now in a new phase of life his busy schedule includes a podcast called “The Hometown Hot Rodder,” which is into everything car related.

With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Thompson wants to expand the variety of events at I-30 Dragway. He has been working hard with clean-up and maintenance to have the venue ready by early March. There’s new paint, work on the bleachers and goals to have the scoreboards repaired in the coming weeks.

The 1/8-mile track will still host bracket racing through the IHRA Summit SuperSeries program, but will also feature No Prep and Nostalgia racing. Thompson wants to open up the facility to more community events and plans to have some of the top car shows in the Lone Star State.

“We’re going to see a different business model,” Thompson said. “We’re going to cater to the grassroots guys, and we’re going to put on some pretty cool Nostalgia events. I’m a car guy and cars have been my life since I was born. We also want something that involves the community at Caddo Mills a lot better. 

“We want to run a community and family-friendly facility. This place will be a lot more than a drag strip. With ‘The Hometown Hot Rodder,’ I’m pretty entrenched with the car show scene. The car show we’re putting on March 25 will probably have 200-300 cars and they will be able to make passes on the drag strip. A car show in June, the promoter is hoping for 500 to 1,000 cars.”

For the bracket racers, don’t fret. There is still the opportunity to compete in the IHRA Summit SuperSeries with a chance to advance to the IHRA World Finals. Drivers who advanced to the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals from I-30 Dragway’s points program included: Max McGlothlin (Box), Jacob Pitt (No Box), Aaron Jordan (Sportsman) and Graeme Rufenacht (Junior Dragster).

If that last racer sounds familiar, Rufenacht is one of the most accomplished Junior racers in the country. 

For more information about I-30 Dragway, click here to check out the track’s Facebook page.