While 2014 is all about the return of competition and tradition to the International Hot Rod Association’s Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series, one element that veteran Nitro Jam fans have grown accustomed to will also be returning to the dragstrip this season, although in a bit of a different form.

Jet dragsters.

The pop, the flash and the fire that accompanies these 300 mile-per-hour rocket rides will return to the IHRA’s professional series this coming season as the IHRA partners with Daytona-based jet car team Larsen Motorsports for all 12 IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series events. While jet dragsters typically represent little competition and a straight forward piece of eye candy for the fans, the Larsen Jet Team represents a different brand of jet dragster racing, one that fits in nicely with the all-new Nitro Jam series.

The International Hot Rod Association™ (IHRA) and IRG Sports + Entertainment™ (IRG) announce an all-new series set to debut in 2014, Sonic Rush Tour™, built on a foundation of family-friendly, thrill-driven motorsports entertainment.

The 2014 Sonic Rush Tour, presented by AMSOIL, will visit 13 cities in nine states with its unique brand of heart-stopping entertainment. Among the highlights of next year’s debut season is a stop at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas on September 27, a trip to Tulsa Raceway Park on November 1, a pair of shows at Edinburg Raceway on April 5 and November 15, and events at the IRG family of tracks including Memphis International Raceway (August 2), Palm Beach International Raceway (October 4), and Southwestern International Raceway (October 18).

Other stops on the Sonic Rush Tour in 2014 include Immokalee Regional Raceway (March 15), Kanawha Valley Motorsports Park (June 21), Union County Dragway (June 28), Galot Motorsports Park (July 12), Carolina Dragway (August 16) and San Antonio Raceway (November 29).

As the International Hot Rod Association prepares to enter the 2014 racing season, one thing remains clear – sportsman racing continues to be at the heart of the IHRA.

While news on the professional front has dominated headlines over the past few weeks, the IHRA has been hard at work continuing to improve and elevate the sportsman programs that currently exist while also adding new programs and events to further enhance the racing experience for tens of thousands of racers around the world.

Many of the most popular sportsman programs will return in 2014 including the Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by Amsoil and Summit SuperSeries presented by Amsoil as the two series welcome a full plate of events in 2014. IHRA will also debut a new event in February at Dallas Raceway that will feature twin $5K races for No Box racers and a huge standalone Wild Card event for Summit Pro-Am racers at the Summer Nationals at Cordova Dragway Park in July.

New IHRA President Scott Gardner and the IHRA staff are fully committed to sportsman racing and will continue to make the International Hot Rod Association the best sportsman racing series in motorsports.

Here is a glance at what’s ahead in 2014 for IHRA sportsman racers:

After being rescheduled earlier this season, the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) is excited to announce the official debut of the No-Box Fab 5's set to take place September 5-7 at Pine Valley Raceway.

All races on the 2014 Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series North American Tour are now on sale by clicking on the ticket link below.

The 2014 Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series season is jam-packed with non-stop drag racing action at 12 venues across the United States and Canada. Among the classes currently scheduled to compete in 2014 are Nitro Funny Car, Nitro Harley, Nitro Altered, Jet Dragster and, just recently added for next year, the return of Mountain Motor Pro Stock to IHRA competition.

Pick up your tickets today to see the most exciting motorsports event in North America in 2014!

CLICK HERE to get your tickets to the 2014 Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series season!

Longtime racer and IHRA veteran Buffy Wied, from Wisconsin International Raceway, has been selected as this year’s recipient of the Polburn’s Perfect Package Prize award announced earlier this month.

Wied, a 20-year veteran behind the wheel who began her drag racing career in Junior Dragster at the age of 10, won the award after posting a perfect package at a race earlier this season. In the matchup Wied says her opponent had a tremendous light, but she nailed the tree with a .000 light followed by a dead-on pass. She went on to runner-up that weekend.

Following on the heels of the exciting news that the Summer Nationals at Cordova Dragway Park will return to the Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series schedule in 2014, the International Hot Rod Association™ (IHRA) announced today that the event will also include a special open Wild Card competition for IHRA Summit Pro-Am Tour and ET bracket competitors in the region.

In addition to an exciting professional lineup, the Summer Nationals will feature a pair of individual sportsman races counting as an open in-division claim for IHRA Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL classes. This unique Wild Card event will provide an excellent opportunity for competitors within the region to pick up two event claims with reduced travel as well as provide racers new to IHRA an opportunity to compete with minimal expense and travel.

Competition at the Summer Nationals will be contested in Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Super Stock, Stock, Quick Rod, Super Rod and Hot Rod in addition to multiple ET classes. The 2014 Summer Nationals is scheduled for July 18-20 at Cordova Dragway Park in Illinois.

For more information please visit www.ihra.com for additional details.

IRG Sports + Entertainment™ (IRG) and the International Hot Rod Association™ (IHRA) are thrilled to announce the return of one of IHRA’s most treasured classes, Mountain Motor Pro Stock, to the Nitro Jam Drag Racing series in 2014 as these powerful machines return to quarter-mile competition with the IHRA next season.

Debuting with the IHRA in the early 70s as one of the IHRA’s original and most unique classes, the stars of Mountain Motor Pro Stock will return to the IHRA in a 10-race championship to be held across the United States as part of the Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series. Mountain Motor Pro Stock will showcase an eight-car field with two rounds of qualifying on the first day of competition followed by an additional round of qualifying and three rounds of eliminations on the second day.

This landmark announcement will partner one of IHRA’s oldest and most exciting classes with an already thrilling lineup of nitro-driven competition in Nitro Funny Car, Nitro Harley and Nitro Altered and the world’s only jet dragster championship as the IHRA brings together the best of both worlds in entertainment and competition within the drag racing industry.

Following a landmark announcement made last month by the International Hot Rod Association™ (IHRA) announcing the return to traditional drag racing competition and a record championship points fund for Funny Car, the IHRA revealed the preliminary roster of championship drivers slated to compete in 2014 in its Nitro Funny Car class and announced that it has opened the class up to a limited field of competitors.

The field of competitors competing on the 2014 Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series in Nitro Funny Car will include some of the most decorated and successful nostalgia pilots in the sport, accumulating countless championships and major event wins over the past few years. The IHRA also announced that it will open the field up to a limited number of regional racers next season and will feature one fully open field race in July.

All of the latest IHRA updates, rule changes and program news are now available online in the 2014 IHRA Official Rulebook.

Physical copies of the rulebook will arrive to IHRA members with the final issue of Drag Review Magazine and racers can also view the rulebook online at the link below. The online-only rulebook supplement is also available online. Additional copies can be purchased for $12.

To sign up for the IHRA and get your copy of the rulebook and a subscription to DRM contact Donna Harper at (419) 660-4219 or at dharper@ihra.com.

CLICK HERE to view the official 2014 IHRA Rulebook and Rulebook Supplement.