LATEST NEWS FOR UPCOMING 2015 RACING SEASON via "THE ROCK"     BIG PURSE, FREE ENTRY FOR HOOSIER CAROLINA COALITION RACERS An increased Top Eliminator purse and free entry in Modified (Footbrake) are among the enhancements expected to draw record numbers of bracket racers to the 2015 Hoosier Tires Carolina Coalition Series. The four-race series is hosted by Rockingham Dragway, Piedmont Dragway, Farmington Dragway and Galot Motorsports Park (formerly Dunn-Benson). At each event, champions will be crowned on both Saturday and Sunday with series points awarded for both participation and rounds won. Top Eliminator race winners will earn $5,000 with $1,500 to the runners-up and $500 each to the losing semifinalists. Although the entry fee is being waived in the newly-designated Modified category, winners nevertheless will earn $1,000 on each day of competition. In addition to Top Eliminator and Modified, Jr. Dragster champions also will be determined on a daily basis with competition in the first three rounds restricted by age – 11 and under drivers on one side of the bracket; 12 and older on the other. Defending champions in the Hoosier Carolina Coalition Series as Charlie Doss of Statesville in Top Eliminator, Terry Rucker of Benson in Mod and Ashleigh Stafford of Kernersville in Jr. Dragster. Racers will earn three entry points for every event, a potential six points each weekend. A single point will be awarded for each round won and, at the conclusion of the final event in the series, three bonus points will accrue for racers who participate in all eight races. The series kicks off March 7-8 at Rockingham before moving to Farmington on April 18-19, Piedmont on June 20-21 and concluding at Galot on Aug. 29-30.   - VIEW "THE ROCK" Coalition Info. & Flyer ROCKINGHAM SCHEDULE INCLUDES RACES FOR TWO WHEELS, FOUR WHEELS AND FEET ROCKINGHAM, N.C. – Rockingham Dragway owner Steve Earwood announced Monday a comprehensive 2015 schedule that for the first time in 17 years features the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series along with the PDRA Pro Mod Series, the AMRA all-Harley Motorcycle Series, the Dieffenbach Classic Rock Super Chevy Show presented by Richmond County Tourism and even a race that uses manpower instead of horsepower. The sandhills area track will open for the first time on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, for the first event in the 2015 Rock Solid Test-and-Tune Series and two weeks later will play host to the annual Racers Appreciation weekend featuring free entry for all ET racers. The first of Rockingham’s feature races will be the second annual “Roar at the Rock” PDRA Springnationals, April 10-12, featuring three classes of Pro Mod cars plus Top Dragsters, Top Sportsman and two Jr. Dragster classes. On May 16, the track will be reconfigured to accommodate the Rugged Maniacs Series which features a three-mile run through an obstacle course that includes climbing towers, underground tunnels, waterslides and other challenges followed by a party on site featuring music, mechanical bulls and adult bounce houses. “The Rugged Maniacs is something that’s trending nationally,” Earwood said, “and we’re pretty excited to be included. I think there are 21 events planned this year. Austin, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, L.A., Atlanta. It’s pretty impressive what they do and we’re anxious to see how it plays out.” The Lucas Oil Series, which features NHRA’s Sportsman stars, returns to the track May 29-31 and the annual Iron Horse Smoke Out Bike Rally makes its sixteenth stop a month later (June 19-20). The Dieffenbach Super Chevy Show returns Oct. 9-11 with its traditional all-Chevies, all-the-time format before the track reverts to two wheels Oct. 16-18 with the annual AMRA Jim McClure Nitro Harley Nationals. Also new for 2015 is the SouthRock Motorcycle Grudge Series hosted jointly by Rockingham and by South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta and the Hot Rock Summer Sizzler, part of the Manufacturers Cup motorcycle series. - VIEW NOW!  Rockingham Dragway 2015 Schedule SOUTHROCK SERIES TO FEATURE POPULAR MOTORCYCLE GRUDGE RACING Responding to the growing popularity of motorcycle grudge racing, Steve Earwood announced Thursday that Rockingham Dragway is partnering with South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga., and promoter Dano McGee for a four-race series in 2015. The SouthRock Grudge Series will feature four distinct classes (All Out Flat Slick, Ultimate Street Tire, All Motor and True Hand Clutch) and will debut on March 28, 2015 at The Rock.  Subsequent races will be held at South Georgia on June 6, Rockingham on Aug. 29 and South Georgia on Oct. 10. Grudge Racing, which has become the fastest growing segment of motorcycle drag racing, encourages innovation through an informal “run-what-you-brung” structure.  That philosophy, manifested in McGee’s free-form nighttime format, will be the cornerstone of the new series.  “Bikes are being built everywhere just for grudge racing,” Earwood said.  “The growth of the grudge racing segment has been amazing especially because it is such a simple  format.  I think the secret is that it’s one-on-one competitive, but it’s also fun.  It’s fun to do and it’s fun to watch.” Announcement of a rules and payout package will be forthcoming, Earwood said. ‘THE ROCK’ GETS A NATIONAL EVENT IN THE MANCUP CHAMPIONSHIP MOTORCYCLE DRAG RACING SERIES Moving quickly to insure that Rockingham Dragway remains at the forefront of two-wheel drag racing following the dissolution of the MIRock Superbike Series, Steve Earwood confirmed Tuesday that in 2015 the iconic Carolina track will play host to a championship round in the ManCup Series. That most likely means an appearance by Larry “Spiderman” McBride, the 56-year-old rider from Newport News, Va., who made last year’s ManCup Pingel Top Fuel title his 14th major championship. En route to yet another victory at the MoTeC World Finals presented by Mickey Thompson tires in Valdosta, Ga., McBride lowered his own national record to a sizzling 5.76 across the record setting SGMP quarter mile. “We’re really excited about bringing the Manufacturers Cup Series to The Rock,” Earwood said. “We have a rich history as a motorcycle track and when told the new owners of MIR dissolved the MIRock Series, our first priority was to develop alternative races. The Man Cup national event, which will run in August, is the first of those.” The ManCup Series crowns champions in Top Fuel as well as 12 other classes every year. The series 2015 schedule begins at South Georgia Motorsports Park the weekend of April 10-12, moves on to Memphis TN the weekend of June 20-21, hits The Rock on the weekend of August 22-23 and closes out the 2015 motorcycle drag racing calendar with the always massive World Finals Nov 13-15 at SGMP.         "THE ROCK" ROCKINGHAM DRAGWAY RETURNS TO FAMOUS NHRA SANCTION     ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (Nov. 6, 2014) – Rockingham Dragway, one of the most iconic drag racing facilities in the country, will operate under the sanction of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) beginning Jan. 1, and will host one of the Southeast Division races in that organization’s Lucas Oil Series, Track Owner Steve Earwood announced today. “I think it is the right thing to do for our racers and our track at this time,” Earwood said. “I take great pride in what we achieved during our association with the IHRA and I wish Jason Rittenberry and his people nothing but continued success moving forward. “However, we think the timing is right to host one of the NHRA’s Southeast Division Lucas Oil Racing Series events,” Earwood said. “Many of our Carolina Sportsman racers are tied to construction in some manner, whether they be contractors, electricians, or carpenters, and we have learned that with the uptick in the economy, particularly in the North Carolina housing industry, more and more racers are back competing for NHRA Divisional titles. “The NHRA Sportsman program historically has been the very foundation of drag racing,” Earwood said, “and we believe it is trending upward right now.” “I’m sure Sportsman racers throughout the Southeast are thrilled by this announcement,” said NHRA Division Director Rich Schaefer, “because it gives them a chance to race at a great facility with lots of heritage.” Earwood added, “I got hooked on NHRA drag racing reading Wally Parks’ column in Hot Rod when I was 13 years old. Plus, I was NHRA’s public relations director during one of the most exciting times in the sport’s history (1975-1982). As a result, the NHRA has been a big part of my professional and personal life.” Rockingham Dragway also has an NHRA past. From 1989 through 1998, it hosted the biggest NHRA event outside of the national championship series. That race, the NHRA Winston Invitational, paid a bigger pro purse than the national events which is why the list of past champions includes drivers like John Force, Don Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein, Joe Amato and Connie Kalitta. When it was built in 1971, The Rock was a drag racing showplace, one of the first of a new breed of racing-specific tracks that slowly began to replace facilities that were built around abandoned airstrips with runways that provided ready-made racing surfaces. Initially sanctioned by the now inoperative American Hot Rod Association, it became one of the anchors of the newly-founded IHRA and operated as an IHRA flagship from 1972 until 1989 when it became the new home of the NHRA Winston Invitational. Earwood, one-time co-owner and general manager of Atlanta Dragway as well as NHRA’s PR head, bought the track in 1992 and transformed the Invitational into one of the most popular events in the sport. When the NHRA opted in 1999 to move the race from Rockingham to Bristol, Tenn., Earwood decided to return the track to IHRA sanction and, for 10 seasons, it played host to two events in the IHRA series including the season-ending World Finals. “We get an enormous amount of satisfaction from doing what we think is right for our racers and fans,” Earwood said. “Rockingham has been successful with the AHRA, the NHRA and the IHRA and we’re anxious to get started on an exciting new chapter in our history with the world’s top drag racing sanctioning body, the NHRA.” Photo: 300 mph Top Fuel Dragsters at Rockingham Dragway by Gary Rowe / RaceWorks.com         "THE ROCK"  Always Action Packed and Extremely Fast For All Race Cars & Bikes!!