NHRA’s annual trip to Minnesota and Brainerd International Raceway has gotten a bit more interesting, thanks to Kruckeberg Industries and its D-Wagon product, bringing a FuelTech Pro Mod shootout specialty race to Brainerd this August. This marks the first ever specialty race for Pro Mod, occurring during the 2022 season.
This new D-Wagon NHRA Pro Mod Shootout is scheduled to take place on Friday and Saturday of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, set for August 18-21. The Shootout will be open to the top 16 in points following NHRA’s Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, KS, which is held the week before the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. If a team already in the top 16 elects to skip Brainerd, the next-highest in points will be eligible to compete in the shootout, which has a total purse of $25,000 – $10,000 going to the winner.
“D-Wagon couldn’t be more excited to bring the first-ever shootout to NHRA Pro Mod,” Craig Krucekberg said. The owner and CEO/CVO of the family concern noted, “When the idea was presented to us, we thought this was a perfect opportunity to not only get extra attention for D-Wagon, but also provide extra excitement into an already great NHRA Pro Mod series. It’s going to be an event you can’t miss.”
D-Wagon, which is a people transporter behind any golf cart or all-terrain vehicle equipped with a hitch, is excited to bring its product to the NHRA community. Already a sponsor for Pro Mod veteran Doug Winters, D-Wagon is the latest product from Kruckeberg Industries, the Minnesota-based management company with a motorsports presence. “With Kruckeberg Industries only a short distance from Brainerd, we were already excited to have the race on the NHRA Pro Mod schedule again for 2022,” Winters said.
“With the addition of the D-Wagon NHRA Pro Mod Shootout,” Winters continued, “it will make for one of the greatest NHRA Pro Mod events in class history, and I”m also looking forward to pulling a D-Wagon around the famed Brainerd ‘Zoo’,” a party-animal’s delight on the track’s grounds.
The D-Wagon NHRA Pro Mod Shootout winner will also have the opportunity to double up and earn an event win on Sunday at Brainerd. That could be the highlight of a memorable weekend for the door-slammer class after it made its first start at the fan-favorite facility in 2021.
“Our fans at Brainerd International Raceway enjoyed seeing NHRA Pro Mod in action for the first time last year, and we knew they were already excited to see the class return to the schedule,” said Kristi Copham, track owner. “By adding the D-Wagon NHRA Pro Mod Shootout with a local company like D-Wagon as the sponsor, it makes a huge weekend even bigger. We can’t wait for our fans to experience it all.”
The FuelTech Pro Mod Series’ stop at Brainerd is the sixth of 10 races during the 2022 season. “This will be a big opportunity for the standout NHRA Pro Mod teams to compete in a shootout event in front of a huge amount of race fans in Brainerd, and I know they’re all looking forward to putting on a show,” said Josh Peterson, NHRA vice president of racing administration. “We’ve been extremely pleased to welcome several new partners in Pro Mod this season, putting the class on a great path for the future.”
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