The Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA) and the National Drag Racing Championship (NDRC) wish to confirm that they have reached agreement on integrating the contracted Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series rounds into the NDRC Sportsman Championship Western Conference, with a seamless transition to the Aeroflow Sportsman Championship starting from 1st January 2024.
As part of this agreement, it can now be confirmed that the ANDRA Sportsman rounds for 2023/2024 previously mentioned (see here) will be run as planned.
These events will count towards the NDRC points score for its 2023/2024 sportsman title, with the ANDRA-sanctioned events held prior to the 31st of December 2023 to be run as Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series events. By virtue of their locations, these events will form part of the new NDRC Western Conference.
As of the last Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series event held prior to December 31, point scores from the Summit Racing events will be recognised and flow into the new NDRC sportsman series.
From the 1st of January 2024, the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series name will be retired and all sportsman series events that are part of the NDRC will be branded as Aeroflow Sportsman Series events, with the Grand Final to be held at The Bend Dragway in April 2024, at which the inaugural NDRC Aeroflow Sportsman Series Champions will be crowned.
“Following consultation with the NDRC, ANDRA believes that bringing the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series and our scheduled sportsman series dates into the NDRC is the best way forward,” ANDRA Caretaker Chief Executive Officer, Ian Brown, said.
“We are excited to be taking these steps forward in partnership with the NDRC for the betterment of Australian drag racing long-term, to see unification in our sport once again while ensuring our regional member tracks maintain their place as hosts of national-level events.
“While we continue to work in a consultative manner with our NDRC partners on the finer details, we can now confirm that the dates previously published by ANDRA will be run as part of the NDRC, with those events to be held prior to December 31 to be held as Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series events. All events now and future held at ANDRA sanctioned tracks will be run under the ANDRA rulebook and with ANDRA stewards.
“When it comes to its conclusion on December 31, the relationship between Summit Racing Equipment and ANDRA will have spanned nearly a decade, and we could not be more thankful to the entire Summit Racing Equipment team for their backing of ANDRA drag racing and our members over that time. They have been true partners and worked with us and supported us through tumultuous times, including the challenges of COVID-19, and we will be forever grateful to them for their support.”
NDRC Co-Founder, Andy Lopez, said the future of Australian drag racing is looking brighter than ever.
“I really want to thank ANDRA for getting on board and working with us. The Board was very open about wanting the best for drag racing, respecting a long-time partner in Summit Racing Equipment, and protecting their members. I also want to thank Aeroflow for being really cooperative with the process around integrating the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series into the Western Conference. I’m actually not surprised we’ve gotten such a good outcome. Drag racing is full of people who want the best for the sport, and now we’re all getting aligned, showing trust and doing good things together,” Lopez said.
Further details regarding the full NDRC Sportsman calendar, comprising of both the Western Conference and Eastern Conference dates, will be released in the coming weeks.
