Bell Racing USA to Add NHRA Lucas Oil Series Events

Courtesy of Bell Racing USA

Bell Racing USA is proud to announce their commitment to Sportsman level racing by increasing contingency awards to include all of the LODRS events starting immediately. Contingency claims from the first few races of the LODRS season will be paid retroactively as well. To make a claim from the races that have already been completed please contact Bell racing USA’s NHRA Program Manager Toby Hallett. Toby can be reached at 1-800-237-2700 or via email at thallett@bellracing.com.

Bell Racing USA will require every driver making a claim to have a current SA2010 or equivalent Snell rating, an advertising release, a W9 on file, and a Bell Helmets decal on both sides of the car at the start of eliminations.

Bell Racing USA will have a trackside product display presence at many of the LODRS events although a schedule has not yet been finalized.

“2014 marks the 60th Anniversary for Bell Helmets and we are excited that we can provide a new level of commitment to the Sportsman community” Stated Bell Racing USA’s NHRA Program Manger Toby Hallett. “To provide our customers with superior customer service along with monetary awards for wearing a Bell Helmet is something that we have been working towards for a couple of years, The addition of this program and our trackside product display will help us to do just that.”

For more information about Bell Racing USA and to view a full line of Helmets and accessories please visit www.bellracing.com and for questions regarding the NHRA contingency program go to www.nhra.com.

Forrest Lucas to be Inducted into Drag Racing Hall of Fame

Courtesy of Rob Geiger

 

OCALA, Fla. (Feb. 26) -- Lucas Oil Products co-founder Forrest Lucas will be inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2014 in a banquet on March 13 in Gainesville, Fla.

The Lucas Oil Products International Drag Racing Hall of Fame Induction Banquet will take place at the Paramount Plaza Hotel & Suites on the Thursday before the NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway in Gainesville.

Lucas is being honored for his longtime support of drag racing at all levels, from sponsorship of Sportsman racers and racing all the way to the NHRA Top Fuel class.

"I'm real happy that Don Garlits has appreciated what he's seen us do over the years with drag racing," Lucas said. "He's a very nice person, and I appreciate what he's done for drag racing over the years, too. He's been a huge part of it, not only as a racer but he started the museum to keep the story of it all. It's a big piece of history he's taken care of single-handedly."

The Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing was opened in 1984 to chronicle the history of the sport. The International Drag Racing Hall of Fame is housed in the museum.

Lucas will be inducted alongside several other legends of the sport: John Abbott, Al Bergler, Frank Hawley, Tom Hoover, and Warren Johnson.

"It's a big deal to me, not ever having been a racer, but being appreciated for the fact that we've been a big part of it," Lucas said. "I think we've helped drag racing get where it's at, and it's nice to be appreciated."

Lucas will be presented at the banquet by NHRA President Tom Compton.

"We got into drag racing to start with because that's where all the auto parts stores were," Lucas said. "They were all part of it, and we wanted to be in front of them, so we got into drag racing.

"Then (son) Morgan was interested it in, and (wife) Charlotte was, too. It was a fun thing for us, but it was also business. We made a business out of it, and consequently a lot of other people saw our success and followed us with sponsorship. It caused a lot of sponsorship money for teams as well as NHRA itself.

"We made it work, and we also had a good time with it. We're still having a good time with it."

 

 

2013 Sportsman TV Coverage

Videos via KMan2100 on YouTube

O'Reilly Winternationals - Pomona

Amalie Gatornationals - Gainesville

SummitRacing.com Nationals - Las Vegas

Dollar General Four-Wide Nationals - Charlotte

O'Reilly Spring Nationals - Houston

Kansas Nationals - Topeka

O'Reilly Route 66 Nationals/Jegs Allstars - Chicago

Summit Nationals - Norwalk

O'Reilly Northwest Nationals - Seattle

Lucas Oil Nationals - Brainerd

Chevrolet Perf. U.S. Nationals - Indy

Carlyle Tools Carolina Nationals - Charlotte

AAA Texas Fall Nationals - Dallas

Auto-Plus Nationals - Reading

Toyota Nationals - Las Vegas

Auto Club Finals - Pomona

2014 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Regional Schedule Released

Courtesy of NHRA Communications

Glendora, Calif. - The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series returns for the 13th season with premier events taking place across the country in all seven NHRA divisions. The 2014 schedule will feature 42 divisional events with a minimum of five in each of the seven divisions. There will also be 26 regional events featuring the 250-mph Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car classes.

The 2014 season will see a return to Orlando Speed World Dragway in Orlando, Fla., Gateway Motorsports Park in St. Louis and Thunder Road Raceway Park in Gilliam, La. The 2014 season will begin in Orlando Feb. 7-9, and concludes in Las Vegas, Nov. 6-9.

The ultra-competitive series will feature three sportsman-focused national events during the season, the JEGS SPORTSNational events during the course of the racing season. The JEGS Cajun SPORTSNationals will be held at No Problem Raceway, March 21-23; JEGS Northern SPORTSNationals returns to National Trail Raceway, Nov. 9-21; and the JEGS Pacific SPORTSNationals, Oct. 3-5 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Regional, divisional and national championship points as well as a purse of more than $500,000 in seven categories will be up for grabs during the course of the racing season.

"Racers and teams competing in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series are such an integral part of our sport," said Morgan Lucas of Lucas Oil Products. "We will never lose sight of the fact they helped build Lucas Oil into the worldwide brand it has become. These people are like family to us and we're honored to continue our support."

Bonus programs available to competitors in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series include the $100,000 JEGS Allstars, and the NHRA Perfectly Strange Performance Award, in which a total of $45,000 is on the table for racers too grab during the season. Individual divisions may also have additional bonus programs available to racers.

Some prominent graduates of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series who have gone on to successful careers in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series include Brandon Bernstein, Morgan Lucas, Shawn Langdon, Courtney Force, Alexis DeJoria, and Jeg Coughlin.

2014 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Regional Schedule

East Region

April 4-6           Virginia Motorsports Park                Petersburg, Va.

May 23-25           Maple Grove Raceway                      Reading, Pa.

June 13-15          Lebanon Valley Dragway                   West Lebanon, N.Y.

July 18-20          New England Dragway                      Epping, N.H.

Aug. 1-3            Atco Raceway                             Atco, N.J.

Oct. 10-12          Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville         Gainesville, Fla.

North Central Region

April 25-27         Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis        Brownsburg, Ind.

May 16-18           Summit Motorsports Park                  Norwalk, Ohio

June 6-8            Route 66 Raceway                         Joliet, Ill.

July 18-20          National Trail Raceway                   Columbus, Ohio

Aug. 8-9            Gateway Motorsports Park                 St. Louis

Aug. 22-24          Beech Bend Raceway Park                  Bowling Green, Ky.

Central Region

March 7-9           Royal Purple Raceway                     Baytown, Texas

June 20-22          Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park          Tulsa, Okla.

June 13-15          Bandimere Speedway                       Denver

July 25-26          Cordova Dragway Park                     Cordova, Ill.

Aug. 22-23          Heartland Park Topeka                    Topeka, Kan.

Sept. 5-7           Tri-State Raceway                        Earlville, Iowa

West Region

Feb. 28-Mar. 2      Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park         Chandler, Ariz.

March 21-23         The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway    Las Vegas

June 6-8            Mission Raceway                          Mission, B.C.

June 20-22          TBA                                      TBA

July 11-13          Woodburn Dragstrip                       Woodburn, Ore.

Aug. 15-17          Pacific Raceways                         Kent, Wash.

Nov. 6-9            The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway    Las Vegas