By IHRA Communications

ESPN will broadcast more than 200 hours of the 2017 IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship via ESPN3 , ESPN ’ s live multiscreen sports network . ESPN3 will stream as much as eight continuous hours of each event ’ s eliminations from 13 race weekends . Broadcasts will include on-track action , interviews , reports from the pits , features and more starting with this weekend ’ s event near Fort Myers , Fla . IHRA Drag Racing last appeared on one of the ESPN networks in 1999 .

“ This is a landmark opportunity for the IHRA to further advance its plans for all stakeholders in the Sportsman Racing Division ,” said Chris Lencheski , vice chairman and CEO of IRGSE , the parent company of the IHRA . “ This agreement highlights our sportsman racers and positions us to move into 2018 with a tremendous partner for our professional racing series with significant momentum behind the IHRA , its teams , tracks and sponsors .”

“ We ’ re always looking for ways to serve sports fans and are very pleased to be able to offer IHRA racing to our viewers through streaming on ESPN3 ,” said Dan Ochs , ESPN Director Content Strategy & Acquisitions . “ IHRA and ESPN have a history dating back to the 90 ’ s , and it ’ s great to bring them back .”

This unprecedented agreement to cover sportsman racing in 2017 is a harbinger of things to

come . When IHRA Drag Racing ’ s professional series resumes in 2018 , the agreement will cover the professional IHRA national events in addition to the IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship .

“ This announcement is really excellent news for the IHRA , our competitors and our sponsors ,” IHRA president Mike Dunn said . “ We ’ ve been working on this agreement for a long , long time , and it ’ s great to be able to make the announcement today - it ’ s a game changer . With ESPN ’ s help , we ’ re able to spotlight our sportsman racers like never before , and next year , we ’ ll add the professional component into the mix when our professional national events return . On a personal note , it ’ s gratifying for me to resume my 14-year relationship with ESPN .”

ESPN3 is a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually . It is accessible on computers , smartphones , tablets and connected devices through WatchESPN . The network is currently available nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider . It is also available at no cost to U . S . college students and U . S . -based military personnel via computers , smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks .

“ Drag racing belongs on ESPN , which is the industry leader in television sports and has enormous reach and promotion power across all its distribution platforms ,” Pilson Communications founder and president Neal Pilson said . “ IHRA fans will be the main beneficiaries of the ESPN / IHRA partnership .”

The IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship is a new national championship format for sportsman-class racers that will be determined

using points claims from the best seven of the first 10 events in which a driver competes . Racers will accrue points based on a national points system and may race at whatever events they choose regardless of regional boundaries .

The Summit Sportsman National Championship is comprised of 30 races , two per weekend at each venue , on 15 weekends from February through September . On weekends with two venues on the schedule , only one will be available on ESPN3 . Telecast times and additional details will be announced later . The 2017 IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship schedule on ESPN3 is below :

Date & Race Location

Feb . 4-5 – Immokalee ( Fla .) Regional Raceway

Feb . 11-12 – Palm Beach ( Fla .) International Raceway

March 4-5 – State Capitol Raceway – Baton Rouge , La .

March 18-19 – San Antonio Raceway – Marion , Texas

March 25-26 – Darlington ( S . C .) Dragway

May 6-7 – Maryland International Raceway – Budds Creek , Md .

June 3-4 – State Capitol Raceway – Baton Rouge , La .

June 10-11 – US 131 Motorsports Park – Martin , Mich .

June 24-25 – Piedmont Dragway – Julian , N . C .

July 8-9 – Keystone Raceway Park – New Alexandria , Pa .

Aug . 19-20 – Memphis International Raceway

Sept . 2-3 – Carolina Dragway – Aiken , S . C .

Sept . 23-24 – Dragway 42 – West Salem , Ohio

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38 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 117