Drag racing.

For the first time ever, a longtime member of the International Hot Rod Association’s member track family Hilo Dragstrip, located on the island of Hawaii will participate in the IHRA’s Summit SuperSeries presented by AMSOIL , giving its racers an opportunity to do something they have never had an opportunity to do before – race for a World Championship.  

Headed by Manager of the Hawaii Drag Racing League Keith Aguiar, Hilo Dragstrip and members of the HDRL who sign up for the Summit SuperSeries program will be a part of a unique series that will grant Hawaiian racers the same opportunity as racers on the mainland United States, Canada and even Aruba to compete for an IHRA World Championship at the Summit SuperSeries World Championships at Memphis International Raceway in October.

“We at the Hawaii Drag Racing League are excited once again to be part of the IHRA Ohana (family). This is the first time that the Summit SuperSeries program will be done here on the Big Island of Hawaii and it is a great opportunity for us to make our mark in the racing community,” Aguair said. “We hope that all of the racers here in our state will take advantage of participating in this wonderful program. Mahalo and Aloha to IHRA for helping us keep the sport of drag racing alive here at the Hilo Dragstrip.”



While it may seem farfetched to consider Hawaii on equal footing as racers from the mainland, think again. In 2004 Jonathan Tromp from the island of Aruba off the coast of Venezuela won the Summit SuperSeries World Championship in the IHRA’s Top ET class, awarding him over $10,000 and dozens of prizes in the process.

And he is far from the only competitor to do so. Several drivers from tracks outside of traditional drag racing hotspots have represented their facilities at the IHRA Summit World Finals including recent winners Matt Hawk and Chris Hall from Tucson, Arizona and Salt Lake City, Utah respectively.

Now members of Hilo’s Summit SuperSeries program will compete for that same opportunity.  

Summit SuperSeries competitors at Hilo Dragstrip will race throughout the year for SuperSeries points with the highest finishing SuperSeries competitor representing the track in the program. While most tracks that participate in the program would then move on to the Summit Team Finals stage where they would runoff against other track champions for the opportunity to advance to Memphis, racers in Hawaii and other tracks too far from a Team Finals event will then be put in the Wild Card drawing. From there drivers from the Top ET, Mod ET and the recently added Junior Dragster classes will be drawn at random to represent their track at the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment World Finals.

“The Summit SuperSeries is a tremendous program that allows our everyday grassroots racers an opportunity to play on the big stage and represent their track at the IHRA Summit World Finals and have an opportunity to be crowned a world champion,” said Sherrie Barbour, IHRA Special Programs Manager. “Nowhere will you find a more diverse and exciting program, not to mention a lucrative one, that gives racers this kind of opportunity. We are thrilled every time a new track joins the program and we are certainly excited to welcome the great racers of the HDRL in Hawaii. They will be a welcomed addition to the program.”

Winners of the 2013 Summit SuperSeries program will receive an exciting assortment of cash and prizes. The winner of the Top ET program will receive $10,000 from Summit Racing Equipment plus a brand new dragster courtesy of Maddox Race Cars with a Trick Flow big block Ford engine and a custom paint job from Imagine That Customs in addition to an Aruba vacation for two, IHRA Gold Card, World Champion Ironman and a diamond ring. Winner of the Mod ET class will receive $10,000 from Summit Racing Equipment plus a $2,500 gift certificate from Trick Flow Specialties, a Gemini Auto Lift two-post lift, an Aruba vacation for two, a Powell pit bike, IHRA Gold Card, World Champion Ironman and a diamond ring.

Added in 2012, winners of the brand new Junior Dragster World Championship will receive $3,000 from Summit Racing Equipment, a brand new junior dragster built by Vic Puglia, a vacation package for Cedar Point and the Kalahari Resort, an IHRA Gold Card, World Champion Ironman and diamond ring.

HDRL Summit SuperSeries competitors will begin competition in the program shortly and racers who are interested in joining are urged to call Donna Harper at the IHRA office at (419) 660-4219 or dharper@ihra.com to learn more about the program and to register for your “X” number that signifies you are part of the program.

For more information on the Summit SuperSeries visit www.ihra.com for complete details.