Summit Racing assumes role as
title sponsor of IHRA Tournament of Champions
Norwalk, Ohio,
December 16, 2010 – In an effort to further strengthen its
commitment to sportsman drag racing, Tallmadge, Ohio based
automotive retailer Summit Racing Equipment announced today its
plans to assume the role as title sponsor of the International
Hot Rod Association’s Tournament of Champions sportsman
championship program.
The Summit Racing
Equipment Tournament of Champions is held at the conclusion of
each season and features a runoff of the top sportsman drivers
in each of IHRA’s seven sportsman classes to decide the world
champions in each class. It is one of the most unique
championship programs in the country and has received much
praise for its ability to decide championships on the track and
give all racers an even playing field regardless of their
geographic location or financial ability to travel.
“Summit Racing is
very excited to assume the title sponsorship of the IHRA
Tournament of Champions,” said Jim Greenleaf, Summit Racing
Equipment’s Motorsports and Event Manager. “We have watched the
intense level of competition at the previous TOC events as every
round matches up the heavy hitters of sportsman racing in a
battle for the championship.”
Debuting in 2009,
the Tournament of Champions has been an overwhelming hit among
the majority of racers and with the added support of Summit
Racing Equipment, the TOC program should continue to evolve into
one of the premier sportsman programs in the country. Entry into
the Summit Racing Tournament of Champions is earned through a
national event victory on the Nitro Jam tour, a victory in a
special Summit Racing TOC qualifier or by finishing in the top
three in one of the six divisions on the Summit Racing Equipment
Pro-Am tour. To add to the value of competing on the Summit
Pro-Am Tour, all Summit Pro-Am champions also earn a first round
bye in the tournament.
The qualified
drivers are then placed on a ladder and the competitors compete
head-to-head with the winner being named world champion in their
respective class.
“The Tournament
of Champions was designed to give all drivers, regardless of
financial circumstances, location or other outside factors, an
even playing field when it comes to competing for an IHRA world
championship. The bottom line is that traditionally a champion
was crowned based heavily on how many races they could attend,
where they lived versus where the events were held and how much
they could spend. Now a champion is one that has been victorious
during the year and comes to the World Finals and beats everyone
else on the track,” said IHRA President Aaron Polburn. “We’ve
been able to level the playing field and actually race for the
championship with the new TOC. And now, with the added weight
and support of Summit Racing Equipment behind this incredible
program, I don’t know how any sportsman racer could pass up on
an opportunity to be involved in this program.
“It is an
exciting time to be a part of the IHRA as we continue to grow
and expand our sportsman programs and find new ways to provide
maximum value for all of our competitors.”
From a return on
investment standpoint, the Tournament of Champions is the most
lucrative sportsman world championship program in drag racing.
Each sportsman class world champion receives $10,000 cash in
addition to other perks befitting a champion without the
tremendous costs associated with a traditional points chase.
Instead of just the usual few drivers winning world championship
prize money, the top eight in each IHRA sportsman class all
share in the $125,000 year end point fund.
Summit Racing
Equipment’s involvement in the Tournament of Champions is just
another example of Summit’s continued dedication to sportsman
racing across the nation. In addition to sponsoring the
Tournament of Champions and Summit Pro-Am tour, Summit Racing
Equipment also supports the Summit SuperSeries and Summit Team
Finals, two very important programs that recognize racers at the
grassroots level.
Summit’s latest
move will replace the Summit Racing Allstars program as the
Summit Racing Tournament of Champions expands and takes on the
new role as the biggest sportsman program of the year.
“We feel stepping
up to the title sponsorship of the TOC will allow us to increase
our involvement with a larger number of IHRA sportsman racers,”
Greenleaf said. “We are working with the IHRA to increase the
awards available to these sportsman racers.”
In 2011 the
Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions will take place
at the World Finals at the conclusion of the Summit Pro-Am and
Nitro Jam seasons. For the first time, this World Finals weekend
will be dedicated entirely to the sportsman racer. The
championship weekend will also feature the new Sportsman
Spectacular event which will be a final TOC qualifier as well as
the Summit SuperSeries World Championship and other special
programs throughout the weekend.
“We are very
fortunate to have a great partner in sportsman racing like
Summit. Their commitment to all of IHRA sportsman racing is
tremendous,” Polburn said. “Summit Racing supports those that
support them – the hard working racers that put in all that time
to be able to do what they love.
“Summit’s
commitment and support for IHRA sportsman programs only helps to
reaffirm that sportsman racing at IHRA will be around for a long
time.”
Summit Racing
Equipment started from humble beginnings and has grown into the
world's largest mail order automotive performance equipment
company. Headquartered in Tallmadge, Ohio, the company has three
Retail Store and Distribution Centers in Tallmadge, Ohio,
Sparks, Nevada and McDonough, Georgia. Summit Racing Equipment
is also one of the biggest supporters of sportsman drag racing
in the industry today and continues to find new and inventive
ways to show its support each year.
“Tournament Of Champions” – the new sportsman world
championship system
In 2009, each Nitro Jam national event (and
select other events) will become individual tournaments, with
the winner of each tournament getting a spot in a select field
of racers that will race each other for the world championship
at the end of the season. This race, during the World Finals at
Rockingham, will crown a national championship as well as the
national top 10 in each class. This format provides incredible
value for the racers who financially can only afford to attend
the national event closest to them. It also provides
opportunity for those that can run more than one event, as each
national event becomes a new opportunity to qualify for the
world championship race. If you do poorly at one tournament,
the slate is wiped clean and you enter the next tournament with
a new opportunity to qualify for the world championship.
To spend today’s money on travel demands that
each event provide value for competitors. By creating a
tournament system, competitors can choose one or multiple events
to compete for a world championship without the financial
commitment of maximizing claims and having to follow the tour.
With the new tournament system in place, the
competitors who live in areas where there is only one national
event close to them now have just as good of a shot at competing
for a world championship as anyone else. Geography and gas
prices will no longer dictate who can participate in the
sportsman national world championship program. The goal is to
have the event champions from each of the tournament events
decide the world championship by racing head-to- head for it.
The tournament system also eliminates the variables in scores
based on the size of the event and/or the division it is
contested in. A win is finally worth the same amount at every
Tournament Of Champions event.
To further expand this tournament format
and populate the World Championship race with a true cross
section of the best racers from all over North America, there
will be additional ways to qualify for the world championship
final event.
-
All Summit Pro Am division champions will
automatically qualify for the world championship race.
(Note: The current Summit Pro Am points system will not
change). Summit Pro Am division champs will
earn a first round bye run in the world championship race.
-
In each Summit Pro Am Division, the #2 & #3
points finishers in each class will qualify for the world
championship race.
-
All IHRA category champions at all the IHRA
Sportsman National events will qualify for the world
championship race.
-
Each of the class winners of the Summit All
Star race will also qualify for the world championship
race. (Summit All Star points will continue to be kept
specifically for this program)
As you can see, this world championship race
will consist of a cross section of the best drivers from every
tournament in all regions of the US and Canada that IHRA
visits. All these tournament winners (35 spots total) will meet
in Rockingham during the World Finals to battle it out in head
to head competition. The world championship will now be decided
on the race track and not by where you live or the cost of fuel.
There will be some competitors that have to make
a big trip to Rockingham, without question. In the big picture
one big trip is by far more economical than the old system of
competing for the sportsman world championship.
HOW IT WORKS
-
A maximum of 35 competitors in each class
can qualify for the World Championship race by winning a
nitro jam national tournament, a Sportsman National
tournament, the Summit Pro Am division championship,
finishing 2nd or 3rd in your Summit Pro Am division or
winning the Summit All Star race.
-
The 1st round ladder will be generated using
only the drivers that show up to compete at the World Finals
(less any Division Champions – see below). Example: If 28
drivers show up in Hot Rod, then a 28 car ladder will be
created. If 32 drivers show up in Super Rod, then their
class will run a 32 car ladder.
-
Each class’s ladder at the world
championship race will be generated via reaction time from
the class’s final time run prior to the World Championship
race. The best reaction time of the pair will get lane
choice. Ties will be broken by coin flip.
-
All Summit Pro Am division champs will earn
a 1st round bye run and be inserted into the second round.
The 2nd round ladder will be re-generated based on 1st round
reaction times of the 1st round winners and any 1st round
actual bye runs.
-
A competitor may not have more than one spot
on the ladder in the same class regardless of how many
tournaments they win. For example: John Doe wins the
national event in US 131 in Stock and a Sportsman Nationals
event in Stock. John Doe would only have one spot on the
ladder in Stock. The other position will remain open.
-
A competitor MAY qualify for the world
championship in a maximum of two different categories but
may not drive the same car in two classes during the World
Championship race.
-
If a competitor was to win 3 Tournament
of Champions events in 3 different classes,
then the first 2 Tournament Of Champions events that
competitor won would determine the eligibility for the
World Championship.
-
If a competitor was to win 2 Tournament
Of Champions events in 2 different classes, then went on
to win a Division Championship in a 3rd class, the World
Championship eligibility would become the class that the
Division Championship was won in plus the 1st Tournament
Of Champions event class the competitor won.
-
Any Division Championship won would
always become the primary class and ladder position the
competitor would qualify in.
-
The final national order (World Champion
through 10th place) will be determined by head to head
racing. The winner of the run-off at the World Finals will
be the national champion, the runner up will be #2
nationally; the semi-finalists will be #3 and #4 nationally,
etc. #3 through #10 will be determined by the best reaction
time when the competitor is eliminated. The end of the year
World Championship payout (Champion through 8th place) will
be earned by the competitor’s finish during the world
finals. Ties will be broken by best package.
-
The World Championship race will be
contested on a 1/4 mile.
-
The 32 car qualified fields in Top Sportsman
and Top Dragster will remain qualified fields at each nitro
jam national events during the season. The World
Championship race in Top Dragster and Top Sportsman will
follow the 1/4 mile nitro jam national event format and
rules (wing requirement, maximum dial requirement, etc).
-
The Saturday & Sunday “World Finals” in
Rockingham in 2009 will not be a traditional “open” national
event. The only IHRA sportsman class racing contested
during those two days will be for the competitors who
qualify for the world championship and the competitors who
qualify for the Summit Super Series world championship.
There will be a 2 day (Thursday/Friday) IHRA Sportsman
National event (the last chance to qualify for the world
championship) prior to the World Finals.
Tournament Of Champions – World Championship Prize
Money
|
Place |
Top Sportsman
|
Top Dragster |
Super Stock |
Stock |
Quick Rod |
Super Rod |
Hot Rod |
|
1 |
$10,000 |
$10,000 |
$10,000 |
$10,000 |
$10,000 |
$10,000 |
$10,000 |
|
2 |
$4,000 |
$4,000 |
$3,000 |
$3,000 |
$3,000 |
$3,000 |
$3,000 |
|
3 |
$1,500 |
$1,500 |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
|
4 |
$1,500 |
$1,500 |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
|
5 |
$750 |
$750 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
|
6 |
$750 |
$750 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
|
7 |
$750 |
$750 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
|
8 |
$750 |
$750 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
