While afternoon rains put a damper on the Summit Racing Equipment sportsman championships, action in the Nitro Jam ranks was as hot as ever as Tennessee’s own Clay Millican and Ron Hope swept the action in IHRA’s professional categories at the Summit Racing Equipment World Finals at Memphis International Raceway.

Millican won for the second night in a row in the world’s most exciting racing class of Top Fuel, joining Ron Hope in Fuel Altered as the only two drivers to take home two Ironman trophies. Joining the duo in the winner’s circle was Peter Gallen in AMSOIL Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car and Jake Stordeur in Nitro Harley.

The biggest races of the weekend, the Summit Tournament of Champions and Summit SuperSeries competitions, were rained out on Saturday and will be run to their conclusion on Sunday.

Saturday was all about the boys of the Volunteer State.

The International Hot Rod Association announced its 2013 special award winners and unveiled its two Summit SuperSeries prize dragsters all at the 2013 IHRA Awards Celebration Friday morning at the IHRA Summit World Finals at Memphis International Raceway.

Longtime Hot Rod racer Greg Fowler was named the 2013 recipient of the IHRA’s most prestigious award, Sportsman of the Year, given for excellence on and off the dragstrip. Fellow Hot Rod racer Mark Mullen was named the 2013 IHRA Sportsman Driver of the Year for his dominating run in Division 2.

The International Hot Rod Association’s Top Performers per division were Mark Payne (D1), Mark Mullen (D2), Jacob Elrod (D3), Kamron Wright (D4), Mark Faul (D6) and Marvin Dunahoo (D9). IHRA’s Top Pro-Am tracks by division were Richmond Dragway (D1), Carolina Dragway (D2), Grand Bend Motorplex (D3), State Capitol Raceway (D4), Eagle Motorplex (D6) and Farmington Dragway (D9).

If Saturday is all about the sportsman world championships, then Friday night was all about welcoming Memphis’ hometown boy back home.

Clay Millican, from right down the road in Drummond, Tenn., made his first career quarter-mile drag racing pass at Memphis International Raceway many years ago and on Friday, Millican returned to the track that launched his legendary career. And in that return, the six-time IHRA Top Fuel World Champion, world record holder and multi-time national event winner returned to IHRA’s winner’s circle for the first time since 2007 with a win over longtime rival Bruce Litton during opening night of the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment World Finals.

The International Hot Rod Association™ announced today that the IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series™ will feature a number of enhancements for the 2014 racing season including an exciting 11-race series schedule, the addition of a national points fund, the return of traditional drag racing, a new Fan Zone pit experience and more all to be implemented for the 2014 North American Tour.

The expanded schedule, which will return each event to the designation of Nationals, will include traditional favorites such as the San Antonio Nationals at San Antonio Raceway (March 28-29), the Palm Beach Nationals at Palm Beach International Raceway (May 2-3) and the MOPAR Rocky Mountain Nationals at Castrol Raceway (July 4-6), plus a return to Rockingham Dragway (May 17-18) for the Spring Nationals and Maryland International Raceway for the Northeast Nationals (June 13-14).

Other stops on the 2014 IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series schedule include the Southwestern Nationals at Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson (March 21-22), Southern Nationals at Bradenton Motorsports Park (April 25-26), MOPAR Nationals at the Grand Bend Motorplex (June 20-22), Pittsburgh Nationals at Pittsburgh Raceway Park (August 1-2), Northern Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan (August 8-9) and Summit World Finals at Memphis International Raceway (October 10-11).

All events in 2014 will feature four core classes of competition – Nitro Funny Car, Nitro Harley, Nitro Altered and Jet Dragster, plus additional sportsman classes at each event. The series will also include an expanded Fan Zone pit experience for fans including interactive exhibits, driver Q&A’s, racing simulators and the addition of the world famous “Hollywood Cars of the Stars” collection from Miami's Auto Museum at the Dezer Collection that will travel the IHRA circuit throughout the year.

IHRA’s biggest and most prestigious event kicked off in the most exciting way possible on Thursday – with a huge rock-n-roll bash on world famous Beale Street during the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment World Finals Media Day at the Hard Rock Café in Memphis, Tenn.

IHRA drivers Clay Millican, Bruce Litton, Ron Hope, Randy Brown and Chase Huffman were on hand to talk about this weekend’s championship finale at Memphis International Raceway, joining IHRA CEO Jason Rittenberry, IHRA VP Skooter Peaco and Memphis International Raceway GM Pam Kendrick.

Beale Street was blocked off for Thursday’s rocking IHRA party as Top Fuel Dragsters, the world famous Grave Digger monster truck the Rat Trap Fuel Altered and more lined the iconic street allowing for fans to have a closer look and get autographs.

The International Hot Rod Association is excited to announce that Summit Racing Equipment, the nation’s leading provider of high performance racing parts, has signed a multi-year agreement to return as sponsor of the hugely popular IHRA SuperSeries program.

From its beginnings in 2002, the Summit SuperSeries has grown into the preeminent program for grassroots drag racing. Designed to give racers an opportunity to compete for a world championship on the big stage at the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment World Finals through a multi-stage, yearlong competition, the SuperSeries has blossomed from a small, one class championship in 2002 to a three class competition in 2013 with well over 5,000 participants throughout the United States, Canada and beyond.

IHRA and Summit Racing Equipment are also thrilled to announce that Memphis International Raceway will return as the host track for IHRA’s championship races during the IHRA Summit World Finals. Summit will also be returning as sponsor the Summit Pro-Am Tour and Summit Tournament of Champions in 2014.

After two months of grueling competition at nine events set across the United States and Canada, the field is finally set for the 2013 Summit Racing Equipment SuperSeries World Championship presented by AMSOIL at this weekend’s IHRA Summit Racing Equipment World Finals at Memphis International Raceway.

A total of 48 participants advanced to the championship runoff from competitions in North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas and Alberta and will now compete for a world championship and lucrative championship prize package in one of the most prestigious grassroots racing programs in the world.

The competition in Top ET, Mod ET and Junior Dragster will feature 16 drivers in each class competing for the title. The winners and runner-ups at Summit Team Finals competitions in Divisions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 9 and winners in Divisions 5, 6 and 7 plus one wild card recipient in each class will make up the field.

The incredibly diverse field features racers from all corners of the United States and Canada and from as far away as Alaska, Hawaii and the island nation of Aruba. Drivers from 18 states, two Canadian provinces and Aruba will make up this year’s field, with the most represented states being Texas with eight drivers, Ohio with six and South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia with five drivers apiece.

Six more drivers punched their ticket to the Summit Racing Equipment World Finals next weekend at Memphis International Raceway after reaching the finals of the Summit SuperSeries runoff at the Division 2 West Summit Team Finals in Memphis in a prelude to this weekend’s Summit World Finals.

The Summit SuperSeries field is now officially set with the addition of Summit SuperSeries runoff winners Chris Butcher (Top ET), Matt Anderson (Mod ET) and Jake Clayton (Junior Dragster) and SuperSeries runner-up finishers Eric Boyd (Top ET), Travis Snowden (Mod ET) and Justin Poindexter (Junior Dragster).

Memphis International Raceway took the team crown at the Division 2 West Summit Team Finals, edging London Dragway by one point, 39 to 38. Knoxville Dragstrip was third with 28 points, followed by Prescott Raceway with 26 points and Mountain Park Dragway with 22 points. The remaining teams were I-64 Motorplex (21), Middle Tennessee Dragway (21), Alabama International Dragway (19), Brainerd Optimist Dragway (11), Atmore Dragway (8), Gulfport Dragway (5) and Montgomery Motorsports Park (3).

It was a busy opening day at the Division 1 Summit Team Finals on Friday as six more drivers advanced to the Summit Racing Equipment World Finals at Memphis International Raceway this weekend.

Defending Summit SuperSeries Junior Dragster World Champion Austin Johnson will get a shot at repeating as champion as he won the Junior Dragster runoff at the D1 Team Finals at Piedmont Dragway, joining Dale Smith (Top ET) and Kevin Pollard (Mod ET) as Friday’s other Summit SuperSeries runoff winners. Runner-up finishers, who also earned a ticket to Memphis, were Alan Glatt (Top ET), Bobby Mattera (Mod ET) and Rachael Whitney (Junior Dragster).

Maryland International Raceway took the Summit Team Finals team win over Motor Mile Dragway, racking up 56 points to Motor Mile’s 45 points. Sumerduck Dragway was third with 33 points, followed by Richmond Dragway with 27 points and New London Dragstrip with 26 points. Rounding out the field was Capital Raceway (25), Northeast Dragway (22), Roxboro Motorsports Dragway (17), Cherokee Dragway (13), Natural Bridge Dragstrip (12) and 75-80 Dragway (0).

The International Hot Rod Association returns to Memphis International Raceway in Memphis, Tennessee the weekend of October 11-12 for the Summit Racing Equipment World Finals. This exciting race features the debut of the Nitro Jam professional drag racing series at MIR, plus two championship races crowning the 2013 IHRA Summit World Champions in 10 classes.

Here is what’s making headlines entering the race:

EVENT: Summit Racing Equipment World Finals

WHERE: Memphis International Raceway | 5500 Victory Lane, Millington, TN

WHEN: October 11-12

CONTACT: (901) 969-7223 | www.racemir.com

TICKETS: www.nitrojam.com