2010 NHRA Full Throttle Series TV schedule released

NHRA will launch its 10^th anniversary season with ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports television, with a primetime telecast of the most highly anticipated Full Throttle Series race in many years at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona: the 50^th Kragen O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline, Feb. 14 from 8-11 p.m. ET.

Highlighting the complete 2010 schedule, released today, is a commitment to consistent broadcast times for Sunday’s race day action with 17 of the 23 events scheduled in the coveted Sunday night prime-time slot on ESPN2. Once again, the most prestigious drag racing event in the world, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, will feature more than 10 hours of wall-to-wall coverage beginning with qualifying on Sunday, Sept. 5 and concluding with a five-hour broadcast on Monday afternoon, Sept. 6 from 1 – 6 p.m.

In all, the network will dedicate more than 100 hours of original programming to the world’s quickest, fastest and most intense motorsport with live or same-day coverage of qualifying on Saturday and eliminations on Sunday. All broadcasts will be aired in high definition on ESPN2HD.

Not only does the season open in Southern California, the Series will also return to Pomona for the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals., Nov. 11-14, the sixth and final race in the NHRA Full Throttle Series’ Countdown to 1.

Additionally, the popular pre-race show that debuted in 2007, NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil, will be back in 2010, once again being produced on-site to allow fans attending the Sunday race a chance to watch – and participate – in the show.   It will air on each of the 23 Sundays that the NHRA Full Throttle Series is racing.    

The shows are developed by the production team at ESPN, which has been producing NHRA programming since 2001.   Paul Page returns to the broadcast booth as host alongside former drag racer Mike Dunn, who will provide expert analysis and insight on the racing action.  Dave Rieff and Gary Gerould will return as pit reporters. Veteran announcer John Kernan, who joined the NHRA broadcast team in 2007, will serve as a third pit reporter at select races. 

NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil, will be hosted once again by Rieff and Dunn, and originate from NHRA’s Nitro Alley.  NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil sets up the day for fans at home with must-see match-ups, interviews with the stars of the sport, driver features, news and analysis, a review of qualifying and what to watch for during the all-important Sunday action.  

In addition to coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD, NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing will be aired and distributed internationally through ESPN International. ESPN2 is now available in 98.7 million households.

Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA has 80,000 members and 140 member tracks nationwide.   As the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States, NHRA presents 23 national events featuring the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Two NHRA-sanctioned bracket racing series provide competition opportunities for drivers of all levels: the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA.  NHRA also offers the Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 8 to 17.   In addition, NHRA owns and operates five racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; National Trail Raceway in Ohio; O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

 

2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Television Schedule

 

Event                                                                    Air Date/Time

Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals       Qualifying, 11 p.m.-1 a.m., Feb. 13

Pomona, Calif.                                                   Eliminations, 8-11 p.m., Feb. 14

                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., Feb. 14

 

NHRA Arizona Nationals                                  Qualifying, 2-4 a.m., Feb. 21

Phoenix                                                                Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., Feb. 21

                                                                              Race Day, 11 a.m., Feb. 21

 

NHRA Gatornationals                                      Qualifying, 12-2 a.m., March 13

Gainesville, Fla.                                                 Eliminations, 6 -9 p.m., March 13

                                                                              Race Day, 11 a.m., March 15

 

NHRA 4-Wide Nationals                                  Qualifying, 9-11 p.m., March 27

Charlotte, N.C.                                                   Eliminations, 5 - 7:30 p.m., March 28

                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., March 28

 

O’Reilly NHRA Springnationals                     Qualifying, 11 p.m. - 1 a.m., April 10

Houston                                                              Eliminations, 8 -11 p.m., April 11

                                                                              Race Day, 11 a.m., April 11

 

SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals         Qualifying, 6 - 8 p.m., April 17

Las Vegas                                                         Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., April 18

                                                                             Race Day, 10 a.m., April 18

 

NHRA Midwest Nationals                               Qualifying, 9-11 p.m., May 1

St. Louis                                                              Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., May 2

                                                                              Race Day, 10 a.m., May 2

 

Summit Racing NHRA Southern Nationals      Qualifying, 8-10 p.m., May 15

Commerce, Ga.                                                      Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., May 16

                                                                                   Race Day, 10 a.m., May 16

 

O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals                   Qualifying, 8-10 p.m., May 22

Topeka, Kan.                                                         Eliminations, 9 p.m. – Midnight, May 23

                                                                                 Race Day, 11 a.m., May 23

 

United Association NHRA Route 66 Nationals       Qualifying, 11 p.m.-1 a.m., June 5

Chicago                                                                           Eliminations, 4-7 p.m., June 6

                                                                                          Race Day, 10 a.m., June 6

 

NHRA SuperNationals                                           Qualifying, 11 p.m.-12:30 a.m., June 12

Englishtown, N.J.                                                    Eliminations, 4 p.m.-7 p.m., June 13

                                                                                    Race Day, 3:30 p.m., June 13

 

NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals                            Qualifying, 7-9 p.m., June 19

Bristol, Tenn.                                                              Eliminations, 4-7 p.m., June 20

                                                                                      Race Day, 3:30 p.m., June 20

 

 

Summit Racing NHRA Nationals                            Qualifying, 7 – 9 p.m., June 26

Norwalk, Ohio                                                              Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., June 27

                                                                                       Race Day, Noon, June 27

 

NHRA Northwest Nationals                                     Qualifying, 11 p.m.-1 a.m., July 10

Seattle                                                                           Eliminations, 7 – 10 p.m., July 11

                                                                                        Race Day, 11 a.m., July 11

 

FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals                           Qualifying, 11 p.m.-1 a.m., July 17

Sonoma, Calif.                                                         Eliminations, 6-9 p.m., July 18

                                                                                    Race Day, 1 p.m., July 18

 

Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals                        Qualifying, 6:30-8 p.m., July 24

Denver                                                                        Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., July 25

                                                                                     Race Day, 10 a.m., July 25

 

Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals                                    Qualifying, 11 p.m.-1 a.m., Aug. 14

Brainerd, Minn.                                                         Eliminations, 10 p.m.-1 a.m., Aug. 15

                                                                                    Race Day, 10 a.m., Aug. 15

 

Mac Tools U.S. Nationals                                    Qualifying, 10 – 11 a.m., Sept. 5

Indianapolis                                                            Qualifying, 11:30 a.m.- 2 p.m., Sept. 5

                                                                                   Qualifying, 5-7 p.m., Sept. 5

                                                                                   Eliminations, 1 - 6 p.m., Sept. 6

                                                                                   Race Day, 11 a.m., Sept. 5

 

NHRA Carolinas Nationals                                    Qualifying, 10:30 p.m.-12 a.m., Sept.18

Charlotte, N.C.                                                          Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., Sept. 19

                                                                                    Race Day, 10 a.m., Sept. 19

 

O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals     Qualifying, 10:30 p.m.-12 a.m., Sept. 25

Dallas                                                                                       Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., Sept. 26

                                                                                                   Race Day, 10 a.m., Sept. 26

 

Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals                                  Qualifying, 10:30 p.m. – 12 a.m., Oct. 9

Reading, Pa.                                                            Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., Oct. 10

                                                                                    Race Day, 10 a.m., Oct. 10

 

NHRA Las Vegas Nationals                                   Qualifying, 10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., Oct. 30

Las Vegas                                                                  Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., Oct. 31

                                                                                      Race Day, 10 a.m., Oct. 31

 

Auto Club NHRA Finals                                             Qualifying, 10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., Nov. 13

Pomona, Calif.                                                            Eliminations, 7-10 p.m., Nov. 14

                                                                                       Race Day, 10 a.m., Nov. 14

 

* All times Eastern. Schedule subject to change. Please check local listings.