The National Drag Racing Championship has today unveiled the calendar for the Aeroflow Sportsman Championship.
The NDRC has unified Australian drag racing under one national championship for both Group One and Sportsman competitors under the guiding principle of ‘One Way, Forward.’ The first NDRC Aeroflow Sportsman Championship calendar will run from July 2023 through to April 2024.
The Sportsman calendar is organized into two conferences, East and West, with conference championships up for grabs at two Conference Finals in Mildura and Calder Park. National championships will be won at the qualification-only Sportsman National Grand Final at Dragway at The Bend, April 2024.
The Eastern Conference comprises Group One events at Sydney Dragway, Willowbank Raceway and Dragway at the Bend, with additional rounds being held at Springmount and Benaraby in Queensland as well as at Heathcote Park Raceway and Calder Park Raceway in Victoria.
The Western Conference includes Group One rounds announced for the Perth Motorplex, Alice Springs Inland Dragway, Sunset Strip, South Coast Raceway, and Hidden Valley.
Andy Lopez, NDRC co-promoter said today, “It’s an exciting time to be a drag racer in Australia. There’s more to race for in more places, in front of bigger crowds both in person and watching live, and with a truly unified national title up for grabs, it means more, too. The Aeroflow Sportsman Championship will see racers from all parts of Australia competing at multiple events and accumulating points and Christmas tree trophies, both for their conference championship as well as for their category national title.”
Racers do not need to nominate a conference and can race where they choose with all of their racing counting toward both the conference championship and qualification to the National Grand Final. No points from the regular season are carried into the Aeroflow Sportsman National Grand Final, with all racers who have qualified starting with an equal chance to win the National title. The winner of the event will be crowned the national champion.
The National Grand Final qualification process is a simple one. The winners and runner up from each Conference Final automatically qualify to the National Grand Final. The rest of the field is comprised of the top racers in each category (nationally) as determined by a Grand Final qualification score. This score comprises (a) the points a racer has earned at their best four events in either conference, and (b) the total bonus points they’ve earned throughout the season. The highest scoring racers in each racing category will join the Conference winners and contend the National Grand Final.
Racing categories in the Aeroflow Sportsman Championship will be as per the categories outlined in the rulebooks of the sanctioning body of the track where racing is held. The NDRC acknowledges that there are differences between the sanctioning bodies on the classification of a small number of categories, and the NDRC is working constructively with ANDRA and IHRA towards a positive resolution.
Moving forward, the NDRC’s goal is that a racer should be able to take their car or bike to any Australian track and race in a category that is consistent no matter who the sanctioning body is. Achieving consensus is a key focus of the Sportsman Racing Committee over the next 12 months.
For consistency, the Aeroflow Sportsman Championship has adopted the Sportsman racing format and points system outlined in the ANDRA rule book in Section 2.12. This is irrespective of what sanctioning body is operating at the venue and includes the Points Cap system up to and including the Eastern and Western Conference Grand Finals. The travel bonus points rule will be extended to include the Springmount round.
Morice Mcmillin of Aeroflow Performance said they were proud to be associated with the championship. “The Aeroflow Sportsman Championship has a great spread of racing between regional tracks and big city venues and will deliver quality racing at every round. We’re pleased to continue our history of support for sportsman racing in Australia through the NDRC and look forward to seeing the thousands of racers battling it out for their conference championship and the national title.”
ANDRA Chairman Nathan Peirano added, “What we’ve got for year one in sportsman is a great result. There has been plenty of good discussions and positive compromise and I’d encourage racers to get behind what’s happening, enjoy the new aspects that the NDRC is bringing, and get out to race and have fun.”
IHRA CEO Maurice Allen said, “This is a great step forward to showcase all aspects of drag racing and the excitement that the sport brings. It’s also an excellent opportunity to widen the front door for people to get involved in this sport we all love.”
Race day for the eleven Group One rounds at which the Aeroflow Sportsman Championship appear will be broadcast live and free on the Seven Network’s digital streaming platform, 7plus.
The first season will give the NDRC and all stakeholders an opportunity to evaluate and assess what has worked well, and what needs improving. Season Two will kick off at the iconic Winternationals in June 2024.
Andy Lopez, NDRC co-promoter added, “The Aeroflow Sportsman Championship includes 19 race meetings at a dozen different racetracks across the length and breadth of the country with eleven of those events broadcast live and free on 7plus right alongside the Burson Top Fuel Championship or the Nitro Funny Car Championship.
“The NDRC’s motto is ‘One Way, Forward.’ We all race in the same direction, for the same reason, and the announcement of the Aeroflow Sportsman Championship calendar is a hugely positive step in the right direction for Australia’s favourite motorsport.”
National Drag Racing Championship | Photos: NDRC
