Mon, 25 Aug 2014, 15:31 PM NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will Showcase 300-Mph Excitement at 24 Events in 2015

Courtesy of NHRA Communications

GLENDORA, Calif. The 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule was announced today by NHRA officials. The 24-race NHRA Mello Yello Series will make its traditional stops across the country and remains the most geographically dispersed U.S. touring series in all of motorsports, reaching fans with its unique brand of high-horsepower entertainment from New England to California, Washington to Florida, and all points between.

Highlighting the schedule once again in 2015 will be the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, the world's most prestigious drag race, at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-7.

The season again will open and close at famed Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. The season kicks off at Pomona with the NHRA Winternationals, Feb. 5-8, and closes at the historic dragstrip with the final race of the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs, the Auto Club NHRA Finals, Nov. 12-15.

Following the season opener, the series returns to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park near Phoenix for the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, Feb. 20-22. NHRA teams will traverse the country to make it to the traditional East Coast opener at Florida's Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville for the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, March 12-15.

Three traditional stops will follow: the popular NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, N.C. (March 27-29); the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (April 10-12); and the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway near Houston (April 24-26).

In May, the teams will travel to Atlanta for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, May 15-17, and then on to Topeka, Kan., for the NHRA Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka, May 22-24.

Teams will compete at three races in three weeks in June, starting with the Toyota NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J. (June 4-7), followed by the Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals, June 12-14 at New England Dragway in Epping, N.H., and the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, June 19-21 at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway on Father's Day weekend.

After a week off, the NHRA Mello Yello Series will make two more stops before the Western Swing. A massive Fourth of July celebration is guaranteed for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, July 2-5 at Norwalk, Ohio. The summer racing parade will continue with the O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals, which will move to July 9-12 at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago.

The famed Western Swing will begin one week later in 2015 and kicks off with the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at scenic Bandimere Speedway in Denver, July 24-26. From there, the teams will trek farther west stopping in Northern California for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals (July 31-Aug. 2) at Sonoma Raceway before finishing the Western Swing near Seattle at Pacific Raceways with the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals, Aug. 7-9. NHRA teams will then take another week off before heading to Brainerd, Minn., for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Aug. 20-23.

The last race in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series regular season at which the final positions for the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship can be secured will be the prestigious Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-7.

NHRA's playoffs, the six-race NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, kicks off two weeks later with three consecutive weeks of racing: the NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte, N.C. (Sept. 18-20); the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis (Sept. 25-27); and the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa. (Oct. 1-4).

The AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas (Oct. 15-18) will set the stage for the final two Countdown playoff races. The season concludes out West with the NHRA Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas (Oct. 29-Nov. 1) and the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, where world champions will be crowned in Southern California Nov. 12-15.

The Pro Stock Motorcycle class will compete in a 16-race schedule, with six of those races in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship. The location of the 16th bike race will be announced at a later date.

ESPN2, a part of the ESPN network, will again provide exclusive television coverage on a same-day basis of all NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events, featuring action from qualifying rounds Saturday and eliminations Sunday.

2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Schedule

NHRA Mello Yello Series Regular Season

Feb. 5-8        NHRA Winternationals                                    Pomona, Calif.
Feb. 20-22      CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals                      Phoenix
March 12-15     Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals (PSM)              Gainesville, Fla.
March 27-29     NHRA Four-Wide Nationals (PSM)                          Charlotte, N.C.
April 10-12     SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals                         Las Vegas
April 24-26     O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA SpringNationals                Houston
May 15-17       Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals (PSM)   Atlanta
May 22-24       NHRA Kansas Nationals                                   Topeka, Kan.
June 4-7        Toyota NHRA Summernationals (PSM)                       Englishtown, N.J.
June 12-14      Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals                    Epping, N.H.
June 19-21      NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals                           Bristol, Tenn.
July 2-5        Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals (PSM)            Norwalk, Ohio
July 9-12       O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals (PSM)       Chicago
July 24-26      Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals (PSM)                    Denver
July 31-Aug. 2  NHRA Sonoma Nationals (PSM)                             Sonoma, Calif.
Aug. 7-9        O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals            Seattle
Aug. 20-23      Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals                                Brainerd, Minn.
Sept. 2-7       Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals (PSM)              Indianapolis

NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship

Sept. 18-20     NHRA Carolina Nationals (PSM)                           Charlotte, N.C.
Sept. 25-27     AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals (PSM)              St. Louis
Oct. 1-4        NHRA Nationals (PSM)                                    Reading, Pa.
Oct. 15-18      AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals (PSM)                      Dallas
Oct. 29-Nov. 1  NHRA Toyota Nationals (PSM)                             Las Vegas
Nov. 12-15      Auto Club NHRA Finals (PSM)                             Pomona, Calif.

(PSM) - Event will include Pro Stock Motorcycle

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