JR Drag Racing League Set for Seven Nationwide Shootouts

JR Drag Racers will be will be duking it out in the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League for seven different NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series national events during the 2022 season. The JR Drag Racing League is a league where  kids ages 5-17, will have the opportunity to compete in an exciting eight-car shootout.

Young racers in each of the seven NHRA divisions will have the chance to race on the national stage, beginning with Division 2 drivers at the upcoming NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on April 29-May 1 at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.

These eight-car shootoutswill give NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League competitors the ultimate chance to show the world what they’ve got.  The NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League has been doing this a long time with several notable names in its alumni, is celebrating its 30th season in 2022. The final round will take place on Sunday and be featured on the television broadcast during eliminations on either the FOX broadcast network or Fox Sports 1 (FS1), with racers running alongside the stars in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.

“This is such an exciting development for the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League, and these shootouts will give these young racers such a wonderful chance to perform in front of a national stage,” NHRA Sportsman Racing Manager Sara Walker said. “We’re extremely thankful for all our member tracks and partners that worked together on this plan to create even more excitement for the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League and help showcase all the great young people involved in the sport.”

For Division 3 competitors, these special NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League events will also take place at Norwalk on June 23-26 , Denver on July 15-17 for racers in Division 5, Seattle on July 29-31 for competitors in Division 6, Reading on Sept. 15-18 for Division 1 drivers, Dallas on Oct. 13-16 for Division 4 drivers and Pomona at the season-finale for competitors in Division 7 on Nov. 10-13.

Full qualifications for competitors, which varies by division, have been posted by each NHRA division director and can be viewed at http://jrdragster.nhra.com/schedules/2022-national-shootouts/.

NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League competitor’s race cars, called Jr. Dragsters, are super cool in their own right and are configured in half-scale versions of the iconic Top Fuel dragsters. They go as fast as 85 mph and as quick as 7.90 seconds in the eighth-mile using a five-horsepower, single-cylinder engine, though younger age groups are restricted to slower times and speeds.

Since its start in 1993, the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League has provided a place for young racers to compete and been the start for many top NHRA professional drivers. The list includes world champions like Pro Stock’s Erica Enders and Top Fuel driver Shawn Langdon, who won a JDRL national championship in 1997, as well standouts such as Top Fuel’s Leah Pruett; Funny Car driver J.R. Todd; Pro Stock competitors Deric Kramer, Chris McGaha and Vincent Nobile; Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Cory Reed and many more.