IHRA
Mike McIntire savors victory at Pittsburgh Nitro Jam!
Courtesy of IHRA
NEW ALEXANDRIA, PA – Finally, after seven previous meetings and seven excruciating losses to Peter Gallen and 
the “Poverty Stricken” team Mike McIntire and the “McAttack” crew finally got their revenge on Saturday with a thrilling victory during the finale of the inaugural Pittsburgh Nitro Jam at Pittsburgh Raceway Park.
And he wasn’t alone.
Saturday was a night for new winners as Michael Manners retook the Pro Fuel points lead with a victory over Friday winner Robin Samsel and Mike Scott, who traveled all the way from British Columbia to compete in Pittsburgh’s Nitro Jam event, claimed a win over Nitro Harley newcomer Jake Stordeur.
Gallen wins fifth Ironman of 2011 season!
Courtesy of IHRA
NEW ALEXANDRIA, PA – For the fifth time this season Peter Gallen and Mike McIntire met in the finals of a Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car race.
And for the fifth time this season Gallen walked away the victor.
In front of a rambunctious Pittsburgh crowd in Gallen’s home state, the driver of the “Poverty Stricken” Vega cruised to his fifth win of the season and seventh consecutive victory over McIntire in a thrilling race at the inaugural Pittsburgh Nitro Jam Friday night at Pittsburgh Raceway Park.
Gallen was joined in the winner’s circle by Robin Samsel in Pro Fuel who upset new points leader Bill Evans and Jay Turner picked up his series-tying third win of the year in Nitro Harley over Steve Dorn.
Cherissa Smallwood Anticipates First Race at Pittsburgh Raceway Park
Courtesy of Nitro and Lace
Pittsburgh, PA – Cherissa Smallwood, pilot of The NitroandLace.com Pro Fuel Dragster Team, is elated to be racing her forth of five IHRA Nitro Jam Races slated on her teams schedule for the 2011 racing season. 
Smallwoods team, led by her father Ron Griffis, have had their hands full since the San Antonio Race earlier in the year.
“We had a gremlin that weekend that was really difficult to diagnose in two days of racing” said Smallwood, “we never got to really look at everything after Baton Rouge as Mike Manners was kind enough to allow us to leave the car and rig at his home in Houston so we could save on fuel and obvious wear and tear on the rig.
“This weekend, we have redone some things that we are very excited about and looking forward to turning our whole program around, for not only the great IHRA Fans in Pennsylvania, but all of our IHRA Family as well.”
Cannister gets first taste of nitro at Pittsburgh Nitro Jam this Friday and Saturday
Courtesy of IHRA
NEW ALEXANDRIA, PA – It will be déjà vu all over again for Laurie Cannister this weekend in Pittsburgh – sort of.
While Cannister will return to the familiar seat of a Funny Car this Friday and Saturday at the Pittsburgh Nitro Jam at Pittsburgh Raceway Park – a ride she piloted to an IHRA World Championship in 2008 – it won’t exactly be the same as the multi-time champion trades in alcohol power for the raw excitement of nitro behind the wheel of the “Bullet Bob” Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car this weekend in Pittsburgh.
Cannister, who won the IHRA Alcohol Funny Car World Championship back in 2008, will get her first taste of nitro racing this weekend at the Pittsburgh Nitro Jam against Nitro Jam veterans Peter Gallen, Mike McIntire and Greg Jacobsmeyer at the famed track in New Alexandria.
Summit to sponsor IHRA’s biggest-ever sportsman races in July and October 2011
Courtesy of IHRA
Norwalk, OH – Summit Racing Equipment and the International Hot Rod Association are proud to announce that Summit Racing will be the title sponsor of IHRA’s Sportsman Spectacular events to be held in July and October.
Created in celebration of IHRA’s 40th anniversary season, the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Spectacular events will be the two largest and richest sportsman races ever held in IHRA competition. They are scheduled to take place July 8-10 at Maryland International Raceway and October 14-16 at Virginia Motorsports Park.
Open to all racers, and featuring all seven IHRA touring classes, the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Spectacular events pay $5,000 to win in each class. All IHRA and valid NHRA memberships, licenses and chassis certifications will be accepted. In addition to the big payout, each event will award national event contingency and an IHRA Ironman. IHRA members who win their classes will earn automatic entry into the Summit Racing Tournament of Champions in October.
Rivalries aplenty at Pittsburgh Nitro Jam
Courtesy of IHRA
NEW ALEXANDRIA, PA – Whether going toe-to-toe at events nearer to their homes in Pennsylvania and Ohio, or traveling thousands of miles across the country to compete against the best in the nation, you can always count on
finding Peter Gallen and Mike McIntire in the final round.
Already in 2011 it has happened four times and you can add another pair of meetings to the count from last year’s tour of duty.
Coincidence? Perhaps not.
“Many times we are simply the two best cars on the track,” McIntire said from his home in Chesterland, Ohio, already hard at work preparing for this weekend’s Pittsburgh Nitro Jam at Pittsburgh Raceway Park. “I have been racing for like 20 years and while Pete is a bit older than me, we have developed quite a friendly little rivalry out there. Our families have gotten close, but on the track it is all business and we are always measuring ourselves against those guys.”
Nl’akapxm Eagle Motorplex gearing up for historic weekend
Courtesy of IHRA
Ashcroft, BC – It has been a long wait, but after nearly a decade as the leading motorsports sanctioning body in all of Canada, the IHRA is finally bringing divisional racing to the north with the debut of the Border Bandits Summit Pro-
Am division this weekend at the Nl’akapxm Eagle Motorplex in British Columbia.
It was nearly two decades ago when the IHRA first came to Canada, making its grand entrance in Toronto back in 1992, and now, nearly 20 years and dozens of Canadian national events later, the IHRA is permanently setting up shop with a brand new Summit Pro-Am division set to kick off this weekend in British Columbia with the first of three events in the newly created Division 6, also known as the Border Bandits Division.
“This is something we have been working toward for a long time. We have been reaching out to racers on the west coast for a long time and with the creation of the new division and with so many great tracks getting involved I think this is the first step in really making some noise in areas of the country we have never touched before,” said Frank Kohutek, IHRA Division Director. “We are excited to get a new era in IHRA drag racing underway this weekend with the newly created Division 6.”
Salt Lake and Edmonton kick off Nitro Jam’s summer season in June
Courtesy of IHRA
NORWALK, OH – Through the first half of the 2011 Nitro Jam schedule there has certainly been no shortage of great racing, massive crowds and thrilling shows to get the season underway.
But while the first portion of the season can only be labeled as impressive, it can only serve as a taste of what is to come as Nitro Jam prepares to kick off its summer season beginning next month at two of the biggest events of the entire season.
Following a stop at Pittsburgh Raceway Park on May 20-21, Nitro Jam will head west for the second time this year beginning in mid-June for two of the biggest Nitro Jam events of the year. Stopping first in Salt Lake City at Rocky Mountain Raceways for the Salt Lake Nitro Jam presented by NAPA and then heading north of the border to Edmonton’s Castrol Raceway for the MOPAR Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals, there is no shortage of great racing upcoming to fill the summer months for drag racing fans in the west.
Grave Digger, ‘McAttack’ Funny Car on display in Pittsburgh Thursday, May 19 leading up to Nitro Jam
Courtesy of IHRA
NEW ALEXANDRIA, PA – In advance of one of the largest motorsports events in the history of western Pennsylvania the weekend of May 20-21, two of the biggest stars of the upcoming Pittsburgh Nitro Jam will have their race
machines on display and be available for autographs at various Frank’s Shoes locations across the Pittsburgh area on Thursday, May 19.
Monster Jam superstar Randy Brown and the world famous Grave Digger monster truck will be on display at the Frank’s Shoes location at 1730 Park Manor Boulevard in Pittsburgh while across town championship racer Mike McIntire and the “McAttack” Nitro Funny Car will be on display at 5301 Grove Road in Pittsburgh. Both displays are from 4-7 p.m. and will feature opportunities for pictures, autographs and special prizes as Frank’s Shoes and Wolverine partner to bring Nitro Jam to the Steel City for the very first time.
IHRA May 2011 Sportsman Newsletter
Courtesy of IHRA
Norwalk, OH – I hope the May edition of the IHRA Sportsman newsletter finds you well. I know many of you in the North are dealing with record rainfall and our friends in the South are dealing with flooding and other challenges. It
has been a tough weather year so far for most of the country, but we remain positive that we will get plenty of opportunity to do what we love this summer.
MORE TRACKS JOIN THE IHRA FAMILY
I believe almost every newsletter has included this headline so far this year. It has been a record year for tracks joining IHRA and even though it is May, tracks are still seeing the benefits of IHRA’s sportsman-focused programs. We are proud to welcome Jackson Dragway in Corinth, MS, Canaan Lonestar Dragway in Lubbock, TX, and next week we will be announcing the signing of the brand new El Paso Motorplex in El Paso, TX. Thirteen tracks have joined IHRA this year, which is an all-time record number for one season.
