National Dragster: From The Director's Chair with Charlie Neilson, Pacific Division director

With five of the six Pacific Division Lucas oil Drag Racing Series events in the books and only three events remaining on the Pacific Division NHRA Jr. Drag Racing Series calendar, the titles for division championships are up for grabs. It doesn't seem that long ago that we kicked off each series at Firebird Int'l Raceway and Speedworld Motorplex, respectively. The calendar year may only be half over, but our racing series are heading into their home stretches. This last leg will take each series to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in what traditionally has been the largest Jr. event of the year and largest LODRS event anywhere. Attendance in each series remained consistent throughout 2003, which to me was somewhat of a surprise. Given the price of gasoline and traveling, especially in the West, I have been very pleased with the attendance at each event this year.

It may only be August, but we in the Pacific Division are hard at work planning for 2005. The 2005 event schedules are sure to feature a few changes from what has been tradition in dates, facilities, categories, and events. We want to give more racers a chance to participate in NHRA-sanctioned events and more time between events. This may mean the addition of new events as well as changes in event dates. The first two months of action in the Pacific Division this year is a prime example of why we must do this. The unfortunate one-week rain delay in the running of the K&N Filters Winternationals meant that many of our racers had to decide whether they wanted to participate in divisional and/or national events during six of the first seven weeks of the NHRA POWERade and Pacific Division Lucas Oil seasons.

The same thought process is being used in planning our Jr. drag racing season. Two years ago, we expanded the Pacific Division's Jr. series from eight to 14 events. The expansion has been met with limited success. I have been consulting with our track operators, racers, and officials to determine if changes should be made for the 2005 Jr. season. Collectively, we will decide what is best for our Jr. racers.

The July 9 issue of National DRAGSTER announced the addition of Albuquerque National Dragway to the Pacific Division, bringing the division's total to 24 tracks. A couple of other new projects are also in the works, so I won't be surprised to see the Pacific Division grow further in 2005 and 2006.

We are in the process of planning the 2004 NHRA Pacific Division meetings and awards banquet. The location for the meetings and festivities will stay the same - the Gold Coast hotel and Casino in Las Vegas - but we have changed the date to Jan. 8, 2005. The hotel is once again offering a special NHRA rate for meeting and banquet attendees. More information will soon be available on the Pacific Division website: www.nhradiv7.com.

A large portion of our home stretch will involve the Pacific Division's NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals at Famoso Raceway. This year's event promises to be huge since the geographic location of Famoso Raceway makes it very easy for our member tracks to fill up their rosters and send full teams. The staff at Famoso Raceway has promised to add a lot of fun to the event by incorporating an event theme and a host of after-hours activities.

Perhaps one of the biggest events this fall will be the annual Jeg's Allstars event in Chicago. I am looking forward to this year's event with great anticipation. The Pacific Division came close to winning the team title last year. This year's team comprises terrific racers in each category, and our goal is to go one step further. Everyone will learn more about the Pacific Division's team in a future issue of National DRAGSTER.

As you can see, the Pacific Division never rests; there is always another event to plan or attend. Between Jr. races, national events, meetings, and visiting our member tracks, we are full speed ahead 365 days a year. I want to wish each of our racers the best of luck and safe racing in the home stretch in the Pacific Division.

with Charlie Neilson, Pacific Division director