Irwindale’s NHRA Street Legal Drag Strip
Sets Saturday Night Test and Tune Sessions!
SATURDAY NIGHT: JULY 11 KICKOFF
Irwindale, Calif. – – “We’ve seen the need to expand our NHRA Street Legal drag racing operations for a while now,” said Irwindale VP of Operations Bob Klein. “Our Thursday night crowds have been very strong all through the spring; we’ve come very close to selling out on our run cards on a number of occasions so far this season.”
That’s 250 drivers who each pick up a “run card” each night assuring them of their own shot at the starting lights and some quick passes down the drag strip.
Fans are always treated to a wonderfully diverse line up of competing cars, light trucks, Junior Dragsters, and motorcycles on Thursday nights Irwindale. From the “stockest” stock street car to some very, very quick runners, the ever-changing “car show” that parades to the Irwindale Dragstrip starting line all night long is just plain fun for everyone watching. And Saturday nights, under the lights, will be (much) more of the same.
Beginning on Saturday July 11, Irwindale will open its drag strip up for the first of a series of special Saturday nights of NHRA Street Legal Drag racing on the competitive 660 foot long race course.
“We’ve heard from many of our great fans and regular participants that Thursday night is a school night (or a work week night) and many times it’s difficult to juggle the family and work commitments with get out here to run at the drag strip,” said Klein. “Now, being able to offer a couple of Saturday night ‘Test and Tune’ events per month we think that we’ll see a strong uptick in attendance and use. This is the place to run your car in safety for yourself and for the fans, it’s a place where everyone has fun and the atmosphere is friendly.”
Hours for the Saturday night events will remain the same as the Thursday sessions: The track gates will open at 4 p.m. and runs begin on the dot at 5 p.m. The event runs until 10 p.m. and everyone always heads home with a big smile (and maybe holding a time slip that has the track logo on it).
For fans who may not have been out on a Thursday event at Irwindale, T’N’T nights are a great mixture of cars and people from just about every walk of life. Because the Irwindale Drag Strip is an NHRA Street Legal facility about 90% of the cars that compete are driven in right off the street by their owners … and usually with a couple of friends aboard.
Drivers take their car through a basic NHRA safety check, have a number brushed on the back window with removable chalk paint, and then they just line up and let their car off the leash for a fun run down the strip. You don’t have to be a pro driver to take a shot at the famous Irwindale NHRA “Christmas Tree” (series of yellow lights that quickly count down to the green light for “GO!”), you’re racing your own car on your own terms.
Drag racing (the art of going very straight for 660 feet as fast as you can) looks simple. But like the other “simple” things in sports (say, like hitting a 90 mile-an-hour fast ball, or running away from people who want to catch you while holding a football under you arm, or ducking punches thrown by a pro fighter) doing each of those things exactly right, at exactly the right time, every time, is difficult. Concentration is king on the drag strip and good reaction times really pay off, especially on the eighth-mile where time and triumph is calculated in hundredths of a second.
And, of course, the fans in the stands have a great time as well, with a new pair of racers lining up and charging off the starting line about every 30 seconds, the racing action is continuous. And Irwindale’s unique “return road” set up sends every driver right back past the grandstands after every run, so fans can get a good look at the machine and cheer its driver on. There’s also a nice group of concessions stands featuring a wide variety of good food and refreshments., as well as a great professional race announcer on mike calling all the action.
These Saturday Night Drag Races will be the same price as the Thursday night adventures: $10 per person to watch $20 to race. Kids are in for $5 and parking is FREE. (One thing about parking: this is NHRA-style racing and the parking lot is the Pits and vice-versa. That’s part of the fun of attending an Irwindale drag race, you never know who you’ll see, or who you’ll be parked next to!)
The first of Irwindale’s new and exciting Super Saturday Night NHRA Street Legal drag racing events is all set fire off on July 11, followed by events on July 25, and August 22 with the possibility of more dates to be added later in the season.
Irwindale Drag Strip is located on the grounds of the Irwindale Event Center in Irwindale, California.
It is the only NHRA-sanctioned eighth-mile drag strip in Los Angeles County, and has been in continuous operation since it opened in 2001.