RAIN CANCELS FINAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS AT MAC TOOLS U. S. NATIONALS PRESENTED BY AUTO-PLUS; MASSEY, C. FORCE, ENDERS AND HINES RETAIN TOP QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Persistent rains have forced NHRA officials to cancel the final two qualifying sessions for the Mac Tools U. S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis on Sunday. The fields for all the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series categories -- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle -- have been set by the qualifying sessions that took place on Friday and Saturday.

Courtney Force in Funny Car, Spencer Massey in Top Fuel, Erica Enders in Pro Stock, and Andrew Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle will begin eliminations Monday in the No. 1 position.

Fields in the Lucas Oil NHRA Drag Racing Series and the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare RX have also been set.

In addition, the NHRA Traxxas Funny Car Showdown scheduled to run on Sunday has been postponed to a later date.

“We believe that with the forecast for the remainder of the day that it would be extremely difficult to get the track into racing condition,” said Graham Light, NHRA senior vice president racing operations. “We are planning to run a full day tomorrow.”

Sportsman racing will begin at 8:00 a. m. with the first round of eliminations for the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series to take place starting at 11 a. m.

PRESTIGIOUS MAC TOOLS U.S. NATIONALS AT INDIANAPOLIS SET TO ONCE AGAIN SHOWCASE THE VERY BEST IN HIGH PERFORMANCE FOR THOUSANDS OF HOT-RODDING ENTHUSIASTS

The world’s most prestigious drag race, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus, is set to once again provide its traditional offering of the very best in high performance for thousands of hot rodding enthusiasts. More than 950 competitors in 12 different racing categories will perform in front of the standing-room only crowd during the much-anticipated Labor Day weekend classic.

Drag Racing’s marquee event takes place at revered Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, Aug. 29-Sept. 3. It is the 17th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series for 2012 and the final of 17 regular season races.  Following this event, the top 10 drivers in each pro category will be locked in for the six-race Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s post-season playoffs. The 58th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus will be showcased nationwide on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD during more than 10 hours of coverage.

Each year at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus, fans are offered a glimpse into the past with several exciting attractions and the 2012 edition of this legendary event, which will offer many additional events and special attractions to continue the celebration of NHRA’s year-long Nitro Generation theme, is no exception.

Throughout the weekend an incredible assortment of vintage hot rods will be on display in a special Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Car Corral. Several autograph sessions featuring many of the legends of the sport will be featured throughout the weekend as well.

A special Nitro Generation Track Walk also will be held, where prior to Monday’s pre-race ceremonies, many of the sport’s biggest stars will walk alongside fans down the historic dragstrip.

Fan-favorite Jet Cars and Wheelstanders will take to the track to make exhibition passes as part of the Friday and Saturday’s racing activities. As usual, one of the highlights of the spectacular pre-race show on Monday will feature highly-skilled skydiver Jason Peters soaring into Lucas Oil Raceway with an American Flag in tow while country music group Union Rose performs the National Anthem.

Throughout the years fans at Lucas Oil Raceway have cheered on drag racing immortals like “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, Bob Glidden, Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen and Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, as they raced to the winner’s circle and etched their names into the NHRA record book. Today’s stars – such as eight-time Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Top Fuel winner Tony Schumacher, four-time Funny Car winner John Force and six-time Pro Stock winner Greg Anderson – will be racing with plenty of determination to continue to build upon their legacies. For many of the competitors, the race has evolved into much more than an annual contest of speed. For those who seek to become a part of its mystique, winning the event has become a vital component of a great driver's resume.

Antron Brown (Top Fuel); Mike Neff (Funny Car); Anderson (Pro Stock); and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the defending winners in their respective categories.

This year’s edition of the famed event will feature intense side-by-side racing as drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle compete for their share of the $2 million purse and battle for important world championship points as the event is the final regular season race and will set the top 10 fields for the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. Perhaps more importantly, drivers will compete to earn a permanent spot in NHRA history, as a Mac Tools U.S. Nationals winner.

Big bonus bucks will be on the line for qualified drivers in Top Fuel and Funny Car as they battle in the Traxxas Nitro Shootouts. The Traxxas Nitro Shootout for Top Fuel will be held on Saturday evening, while the Traxxas Nitro Shootout for Funny Car will be contested Sunday afternoon. The winners in each Traxxas Nitro Shootout will earn $100,000.

Teams in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series and the NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by ProCare Rx also will compete during the weekend. In addition, the world’s fastest Super Stock cars will race for bonus bucks and bragging rights during the intense Mopar HEMI Challenge.

Fans can get a taste of the excitement on Wednesday, Aug. 29th at the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Fan Fest, which will feature a display of race cars at Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. The Fan Fest, which starts at 11 a.m., also will feature a premier autograph session with many of the top professional drivers in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. In addition, a press conference will be held during the Fan Fest, where several news announcements will be made and the random lottery drawings for the No. 8 spots in the Traxxas Nitro Shootouts will be held. 

The biggest, most historic and prestigious event in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus has been contested annually since 1955. Originally known as “The Nationals” and first held at an abandoned airstrip in Great Bend, Kan., the event made stops at Kansas City, Mo., Oklahoma City and Detroit before eventually moving to Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis in 1961.

12th Annual Mopar HEMI Challenge

• 2012 Mopar® HEMI® Challenge to once again feature $15,000 top prize
• $18,000 total purse up for grabs for Mopar HEMI Challenge participants
• Super Stock/A-HEMI HEMI drivers to do battle for 12th year at Indy

The 2012 Mopar® HEMI Challenge will take to the track for the 12th consecutive year during the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, Aug. 30–31. For the second straight year, $15,000 will go to the winner of the Mopar HEMI Challenge, which pairs Mopar-powered Super Stock/A-HEMI (SS/AH) competitors against each other in a high-stakes quarter-mile showdown.

The Mopar HEMI Challenge began as a one-race shootout at the 2001 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, and returned to that format last year, after a number of seasons as a multi-event mini-series. The race features 1968 Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas — the classic package cars that helped build the Mopar brand’s impressive reputation at the drag strip — engaged in quarter-mile battles.

“The Mopar HEMI Challenge continues to grow and build momentum each year,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “The NHRA Sportsman drag racers that compete in the Mopar HEMI Challenge are the backbone of the sport, and have a passion for the Mopar brand that they carry with them wherever they go. The Mopar HEMI Challenge is a great way to recognize their passion and dedication to the brand and the sport."

“We are excited to have the Mopar HEMI Challenge event return as part of the tradition-rich Mac Tools U.S. Nationals,” said Eric Lotz, director of field marketing, NHRA. “It has become an important part of the event and a must-see for all sportsman racing enthusiasts.”

Mopar HEMI Challenge qualifying is set for Thursday, Aug. 30, with eliminations scheduled for Friday, Aug. 31. The Mopar HEMI Challenge final round will take place during Funny Car and Top Fuel qualifying rounds on Friday. Along with the $15,000 winner’s purse, $1,500 will be awarded to the runner-up, with $500 going to both the third and fourth-place finishers. The No. 1 Qualifier during the Mopar HEMI Challenge will also take home $500.

Charlie Westcott Jr., of Parma, Mich., was victorious over his father, Charlie Westcott Sr., at Indy in 2011, earning his fourth-career Mopar HEMI Challenge win at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. The second-generation driver won the event for the first time in 2005 and repeated in 2006. The veteran driver was also victorious in 2008.

Bucky Hess won the inaugural Mopar HEMI Challenge at Indy in 2001. Richard Beshore claimed the top prize the following year, with Jerry Jenkins taking the win in 2003. Four-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. won the Mopar HEMI Challenge in 2004, while Rick Houser captured the 2007 edition of the event, with Charlie Westcott Sr. joining his son as an Indy winner in 2009. Jim Daniels took home the hardware in 2010.

The 12th Annual Mopar HEMI Challenge is scheduled to take place Aug. 30–31 during the 58th Annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Ind. The Mac Tools U.S. Nationals is scheduled to take place Aug. 29–Sept. 3. For more information on the Mopar HEMI Challenge or Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, log on to http://www.nhra.com.