| BIR's ET Finals Team Announced |
BIR Announces ET Finals Drag Racing Team(Sept. 7, 2011) - Brainerd International Raceway today announced the 37-member drag racing team that will represent the track Sept. 16-18 during the NHRA West Central Summit Racing ET Finals, which will be hosted by BIR this year.
BIR's team members earned their way onto the team by successfully competing during the first four races in BIR's Bracket Drag Racing Series, which has one race left. The racers on the team are at the top of the points standings in their respective classes. At the ET Finals race, there will be only five classes competing: Super Pro, Pro ET, Sportsman, Pro Bike and High School. At stake are individual and team honors, prize money and contingency awards. Some drivers even have a shot at earning a trip to compete for a national championship in Ponoma, Calif., during the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Finals in November. The trip to Pomona is for the drivers selected to compete in the Race of Champions. Each team identifies one driver in each of the five classes to represent the team in the Race of Champions. On Saturday, those drivers are paired up in an elimination format by class to determine the class champion. The champions advance to compete against the top drivers from the NHRA's other six divisions for a national championship in Pomona. BIR's team finished sixth last year and sent Toby Giese to Pomona when he won the Pro Bike Class. "BIR has always had a really competitive team at the ET Finals, and this team could easily take first place in the team competition," said BIR owner Jed Copham. "The racers in our Bracket Drag Racing Series prove every year that they're some of the top bracket racers in the country and they represent BIR well at the ET Finals. We're really excited about the makeup of this team and we're hoping we get a lot of fans out here to cheer them on." When picking the team, BIR owner Kristi Copham said she wanted a full team in each class. In order to even the odds for drivers to get picked in the Super Pro, Pro ET and Sportsman classes, BIR pro-rated the number of entrants in each class based on the average number of entrants through the fourth bracket race. That resulted in a break-down of 40% Super Pro (or 12 drivers), 40% Pro ET (12 drivers) and 20% Sportsman (7 drivers). Five Pro Bike riders and one high schooler rounded out the field. From there, the team members were invited based on their points standings after the fourth race. Driver information is available by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of that page and find a link to a downloadable Racer Information Sheet that explains all the racer requirements, fees, prizes, etc. Time trials are Friday and Saturday, with eliminations on Sunday. Below are the members of BIR's ET Finals team: SUPER PRO PRO ET SPORTSMAN PRO BIKE HIGH SCHOOL ALTERNATES |
The team will compete against teams from 21 other tracks in the NHRA's West Central Division, which stretches from Wyoming to Wisconsin and from Colorado to Kansas, including part of Canada. Car counts for the event are expected to be more than 600.
| Download BIR's 2012 Fan Guide |
|
| Watch drag racing live! |
|
