Hot Rod magazine is revved up for 10th annual Drag Week, which starts today at Osage Casino Raceway Park in Tulsa, Okla. Day Four of racing will be held Thursday, Sept. 11, at the SRCA Drag Strip in Great Bend.
The Sunflower Rod and Custom Association Drag Strip is located in the Expo Complex at 9951 B29 Way. Racing hours Thursday are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is $10 to ages 13 and up. Kids 12 and under can attend free each day with paid adult.
For the Great Bend event, Hot Rod magazine’s Editor-in-Chief David Freiburger will be on hand, as well as tour participants and their vehicles.
With over 100 more entries than last year, an unprecedented 340 cars will race in the biggest event yet, Hot Rod spokesman Emily Wilson said. Competitors will be put to a grueling test over five days of drag racing and more than 1,000 miles covered in the same car, with the same engine, in the search for Hot Rod’s Fastest Street Car in America. Participants will register times at four drag strips: Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway on Monday; Heartland Park in Topeka on Tuesday; ad Thunder Valley Raceway in Noble, Okla., on Wednesday; SRCA in Great Bend on Thursday; and the Tulsa Raceway again on Friday. Some of the most amazing vehicles in the world will be on display, as a few will be looking to top 200 mph in the quarter-mile in less than 7 seconds.
But it’s not just about clocking the lowest elapsed time on the strips; the racers will also have to drive their vehicles on a specified route from city to city. The crew at Hot Rod will require photographic evidence from each entry that drivers are adhering to the prescribed route. Thus, drivers will be on the clock for five straight days and must remain alert to all rules.
“To make this adventure even more difficult, competitors will not have the luxury of having chase vehicles or support from outside team members,” Wilson said. “Entrants can, however, tow their own trailers, within Hot Rod’s guidelines, of course, but they must work alone.”
Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park will be open today from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for tech inspection and “test n’ tune.” Spectators can see the field of competitors as they undergo tech inspection then take the track for some test time prior to the first day of racing.
For the first time ever the Heads-Up Shootout will take place on Saturday, Sept. 13. This is a real race, whereas Drag Week is essentially time trials. It’s the chance for the little guys to trounce the big guys if they can. Cars will race until a winner is announced.
Follow the action at Hot Rod Drag Week 2014 on Twitter using #dragweek14. Learn more about Drag Week at www.hotrod.com.