In anticipation of this weekend’s River Cree Resort and Casino Rocky Mountain Nationals presented by Paradise RV, one of the largest drag races in North America, Castrol Raceway and the IHRA teamed up for a party fit for royalty Thursday evening at the River Cree Resort and Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Edmonton native Tim Boychuk

“This is one of the biggest races of the year and we wanted to celebrate that fact by throwing a huge party for the Edmonton race fans and for the media,” said Castrol Raceway owner Kimberly Reeves.

IHRA Nitro Funny Car driver Dale Creasy Jr. and Castrol Raceway owner Kim Reeves

Hundreds of fans, drivers and media packed the River Cree Thursday as the Edmonton area braces for the biggest drag race of the year this weekend at Castrol Raceway. Racing action gets underway early Friday morning and runs through Sunday evening as hundreds of drivers from all over the globe converge on Alberta for three days of edge-of-your-seat drag racing action.

Dozens of media outlets were on hand at Thursday's fan fest

Among the VIPs at Thursday’s fan bash were Top Fuel drivers Tim Boychuk, Bruce Litton and Terry McMillen, Nitro Funny Car driver Dale Creasy Jr. and Pro Modified racer Kenny Lang. Castrol Raceway owners Rob and Kim Reeves and IHRA President Aaron Polburn were also on hand to celebrate with the diehard Canadian race fans in anticipation of this weekend’s event.

Castrol Raceway owner Rob Reeves shares a laugh with IHRA President Aaron Polburn

“We absolutely love coming to Edmonton. It is always a fun atmosphere and the race fans here are among the best in the world. This celebration was a perfect way to kick off this weekend’s festivities,” Polburn said.

IHRA Pro Modified driver Kenny Lang

Along with loaded Top Fuel and Pro Modified fields, the jam-packed Rocky Mountain Nationals will also feature Nitro Funny Cars, Alcohol Funny Cars, Pro Nostalgia, Pro Stock Motorcycles, Nitro Harleys, wheelstanders and the 20,000 horsepower “X-Treme Machine” jet semi.