WHAT TO EXPECT: The Division 9 IHRA Summit Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL will kick off this year at Piedmont Dragway located in Greensboro, N.C. Friday gates will open at noon, tech will be open from 1-8 p.m. and there will be a test and tune from 2-8 p.m. for $20 per car. Saturday morning will get underway with gates and tech opening at 7:30 a.m. Two rounds of time trials and qualifying for all classes will begin at 9 a.m. followed by Junior Dragster eliminations and the finale of the Rockingham Pro-Am.

Saturday afternoon there will be a track hosted $2,000 to win bracket race along with a $1,000 Stock/Super Stock combo race. Sunday gates and tech will open at 9 a.m. with God Speed Ministries church service at 10 a.m. Final eliminations will begin at 12:15 p.m.

BONUS RACING
Saturday Bracket Race: $60 entry, $40 buyback (first round only) - $2,000 win, $500 runner-up
Saturday STK/SS Combo Race: $40 entry, $30 buyback (first round only) - $1,000 win, $400 runner-up

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: “We are definitely excited. Piedmont has been hosting IHRA races for a long, long time and it always means a lot to see those boys come through the gate and for us to put on a great event for the great racers in the area,” said Gilmer Hinshaw, owner of Piedmont Dragway. “We have been making a lot of upgrades to the track to make the facility a lot better for the fans and for the racers. We are sure this will be another exciting race, we are just ready and waiting for it to get here.”

FAST FACTS: The Piedmont Pro-Am is one of the longest running IHRA races on the schedule with the IHRA making stops at the North Carolina track every year since the early 90s…The most successful drivers at Piedmont Dragway over the last five years are Brett Nesbitt and Steve Furr. Furr has visited five finals in the past five years with two wins, while Nesbitt has visited four finals with two wins…Repeat winners at Piedmont are not common with only Cameron Manuel and Brandon Peterson winning races in back-to-back seasons since 2008. Manuel did it in two different classes (TD, QR) in 2010-2011, while Peterson was the only one to repeat in the same class winning SS in 2011 and 2012…Other multi-time finalists over the past five years are Mark Payne, Hillary Sloan, Terry Taylor, Missy Phillips, Steve Corker and Scott Macy…Defending Junior Master and Junior Advanced Pro-Am champions Jason McCandless and Blake Hickman certainly know their way around Piedmont Dragway – they have been winning at the track since their Junior Beginner days in the mid-2000s.

ROAD TO THE TOC: In 2013 the Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL is now the only road to the year-end Summit Racing Tournament of Champions showdown in Memphis. Only the top three in each class within each division on the Summit Pro-Am Tour will advance to the championship tournament in October to runoff for the 2013 Summit World Championships and $10,000!

2012 STATE CAPITOL EVENT WINNERS
Top Sportsman – Clayton Roberts
Top Dragster – Kyle Cultera
Super Stock – Brandon Peterson
Stock – Jamie Southards
Quick Rod – Brett Nesbitt
Super Rod – Jeff Estep
Hot Rod – Daryl Griffin
Junior Master – Raegan Lawton
Junior Advanced – Hannah Blevins
Junior Beginners – Jordan Dittman

2012 DIVISION 9 CHAMPIONS
Top Sportsman – Tim West (Asheville, NC)
Top Dragster – Greg Slack (Albemarle, NC)
Super Stock – Gil Carty Jr. (Wytheville, VA)
Stock – Tim Sloan (Sanford, NC)
Quick Rod – Carey Long (Timberlake, NC)
Super Rod – Jeff Estep (Iron Station, NC)
Hot Rod – Chris Dean (Sanford, NC)
Junior Master – Jason McCandless (Burlington, NC)
Junior Advanced – Blake Hickman (Laurinburg, NC)
Junior Beginner – Kaylee Creech (Clayton, NC)

2013 DIVISION 9 RAIDERS SUMMIT PRO-AM SCHEDULE

April 5-7 | Dunn-Benson Dragstrip
May 3-5 | Rockingham Dragway
May 31-June 2 | Mooresville Dragway
June 28-30 | Piedmont Dragway
August 9-11 | Farmington Dragway (double)