IHRA: Sportsman drag racing is 'smart business'

IHRA Vice-President Skooter Peaco, Senior Director of Competition and Racing Operations Mike Baker, and Director of Communications Shayna Keller were central sources for the January cover story titled, "The Pull of Sportsman Drag Racing," written by award-winning journalist Louise Ann Noeth for Performance Racing Industry magazine, the journal of the trade group that stages the influential annual Performance Racing Industry Trade Show.

"Sportsman racing is red-hot," wrote Noeth. "New classes and events combined with Americans' love affair with modern muscle cars have invigorated the non-professional segment of the sport."

Sportsman racing, she wrote, "represents upwards of 20 percent of increased pit gate receipts."

Said Peaco: "Our sportsman racers compete all year long at their home track for a chance to go up against teams from differing regions, and for a chance to win the championship title to see who is the best of the best. Top, Modified and Junior Dragster classes average 40 cars in each class at the World Finals, and another 250 racers compete in the Summit SuperSeries Championship."

Speaking of Junior Dragsters, Peaco told author Noeth that, "We're seeing a lot of racers that have been with us for a long time starting to bring their kids to the track. It has become more of a family atmosphere at our local bracket racing programs."

Keller said that part of the IHRA's success can be traced to knowing what the member tracks need. "We look at every aspect – from schedule, location of our main sportsman events, to the payout – because we know that the sportsman racers are the backbone of our sport."