NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League celebrates 25th anniversary
The NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League is celebrating its 25th anniversary of giving youngsters a start in the sport in a controlled environment. The program was officially launched at the NHRA Summernationals in 1992 and remains the gold standard upon which all youth-oriented racing programs are judged.
The league offers kids ages 5-17 a chance to race half-scale dragsters in a controlled environment at many of NHRA's 130 member tracks throughout the United States and in Canada. The cars that Jr. Drag Racing League competitors race are called Jr. Dragsters and are half-scale versions of Top Fuel dragsters. Using a five-horsepower, single-cylinder engine, a Jr. Dragster can go as fast as 85 mph and as quick as 7.90 seconds in an eighth-mile, though younger age groups are restricted to slower times/speeds.