ROCKINGHAM — This week’s fifth annual Yuengling Beer Carolina Powerfest signals the start of the second season at Rockingham Dragway, one punctuated by a three-month barrage of events.
The Original Super Chevy Show, ADRL’s Dragstock Pro Mod championship and three major motorcycle races — including the 26th annual Jim McClure Harley Nitro World Finals featuring the Ray Price Top Fuel Challenge — will all make a splash at The Rock in the coming months.
“Because it’s so hot in the summer, we schedule all our biggest events in the spring and fall,” track owner Steve Earwood explained. “We generally cruise in the summer months, but now it’s going to start getting interesting.”
After three $5,000 winners are crowned at Powerfest this weekend, September will begin with the Grudgefest 9 Throwback Motorcycle Shootout (Sept. 2), followed a day later by the Import Face-Off national tour — featuring a car, truck and bike show, quarter-mile drag racing and burnout contest.
A week later, the focus will shift to the KMS Drift Series, along with Mass Acceleration Motorsports’ popular Street Wars showdown. The finale of the Hoosier Racing Tires Carolina Coalition bracket series, featuring defending champions Tommy Plott (Winston-Salem) and Ernie Humes (Troutman), will take place Saturday, Sept. 16 and Sunday, Sept. 17.
Next month will end with the return of the ManCup Motorcycle Series (Sept. 22-24) and the Original Super Chevy Show (Sept. 29-30), which features — both on the track and off — all things Chevrolet.
The Southeast’s top bracket racers descend on The Rock in October (Friday, Oct. 6 through Sunday, Oct. 8) for the NHRA’s Southeast Division Summit ET Bracket Finals, featuring the top grassroots performers from 19 tracks in Puerto Rico, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
The AMRA’s Jim McClure Nitro World Finals, featuring Top Fuel bikes, Pro Fuel bikes, Nitro Funny bikes and free camping, is set for a week later (Oct. 12-15) before the debut of The Rock’s Tri-Fives bracket race — which will reward $5,000 purses to winners on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in a Pro ET versus Footbrake showdown and Jr. Dragsters.
From the brackets, the schedule moves the following week to NHRA class racing with the Lucas Oil Series featuring exhibition runs by a Jet Dragster, Nitro Pro Harleys, Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Competition Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Stock, Super Street and Stock.
It’s back to two-wheels to start November with the International Drag Bike League’s World Finals expected to attract a field of several hundred of the nation’s top street bike racers competing for cash and points in Pro Street, Real Street, Crazy 8s, Top Sportsman, Pro ET, Grudge and 4.60 and 5.60 index classes.
After a MXA Street Drags event on Sunday, Nov. 12, the feature schedule concludes with Dragstock (Nov. 17-18), an eighth-mile Pro Mod event featuring Carolina’s own “Tricky Rickie” Smith, the three-time NHRA and five-time IHRA World Champion and his all-conquering nitrous-boosted Camaro.
Below is the full 2017 fall schedule at Rockingham Dragway:
Sept. 2: Throwback Motorcycle Shootout
Sept. 3: Import Faceoff National Tour
Sept. 9-10: Mass Acceleration Motorsports Street Wars/KNS Drift Series
Sept. 16-17: Hoosier Tires Carolina Coalition Bracket Series
Sept. 22-24: Manufacturers Cup Motorcycle Series
Sept. 29-30: Original Super Chevy Show Series
Oct. 5-8: NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Southeast ET Bracket Finals
Oct. 13-15: AMRA Jim McClure Memorial Nitro World Finals
Oct. 20-22: Tri-Fives bracket race at The Rock
Oct. 27-29: NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series
Nov. 4-5: International Drag Bike League World Finals
Nov. 11: MXA Street Drags featuring the Street Car Shootout
Nov. 17-18: ADRL Dragstock Pro Mod Championship on the eighth-mile
