Drag Racing United - NDRC to Repair Fractured Sport

Australian drag racers rejoiced with yesterday's announcement of the National Drag Racing Championship (NDRC) - a single, national drag racing championship encompassing all categories that is set to unite the sport like many thought may never happen again.

With a number of so-called national championships on the calendar, the challenge for any promoter entering the space was always going to be how to take the two heavy-hitting categories - the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship and the Nitro Funny Car Championship - and somehow combine them into a single national calendar. The NDRC has gone a step further by creating a national series for all drag racers from the nitro-burning kings of the sport right the way through to the next generation in Junior Dragster.

The press release laid out the big picture plans and key points that the NDRC aim to hit with this championship, and we've repeated them here.

• ONE WAY FORWARD FOR DRAG RACING IN AUSTRALIA
• SINGLE NATIONAL CALENDAR • SINGLE MANAGEMENT GROUP
• NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST
• 11 GROUP ONE EVENTS
• EACH ROUND STARS EITHER THE BURSON TOP FUEL CHAMPIONSHIP OR THE NITRO FUNNY CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
• THE CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURES TOP DOORSLAMMER, PRO ALCOHOL, PRO STOCK, TOP BIKE, PRO STOCK BIKE, AND PRO MOD CHAMPIONSHIPS
• ONE GRAND FINAL EVENT FOR ALL GROUP 1 AT THE 2024 WINTERNATIONALS
• SPORTSMAN CHAMPIONSHIP RACING AT ALL 11 EVENTS
• STANDALONE SPORTSMAN CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS IN REGIONAL VENUES
• SPORTSMAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AND GRAND FINAL

The full announcement is pretty wordy, so we've summarised our takeaways for what this means for Aussie racers below.

SINGLE NATIONAL SERIES

The NDRC has the support of a majority of racing stakeholders including 400 Thunder director Tony Wedlock who was quoted in the release as saying the NDRC is "...the next logical step for drag racing in Australia." He added that "...it's time to retire the 400 Thunder series and we ask all racers to get behind the NDRC." The ADRC name will also be retired leaving the NDRC to deliver the only truly national Professional and Sportsman drag racing championship in this country.

11 HUGE EVENTS

We're going to see six events headlined by Top Fuel and another five events headlined by Nitro Funny Car with an all-in final at the Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway in 2024. The Winters has traditionally been one of the biggest events on the calendar, but with Top Fuel and Nitro Funny Cars on the same bill, 2024's NDRC Grand Final will be next level. Sportsman racing features at all 11 events and they even get their own Grand Final separate to Group 1 and an entirely new conference system.

EAST VS. WEST CONFERENCE

Not everyone has the cash to travel across the country to chase points all year long, so the NDRC will use a conference system, like what you might see in the NFL, to crown an Eastern and Western Conference Champion in each racing category. The Eastern Conference will comprise NDRC events held in QLD, NSW, and VIC, while the Western Conference will be for those events in NT, WA, and SA, with border tracks in SA and VIC able to choose which conference they belong to.

WATCH IT LIVE, WHEREVER

Can't make it to the track? You can watch the action live and free wherever you are thanks to a broadcast partnership that will be announced soon. With the same people heading up the NDRC as run the Burson Top Fuel Championship, our money's on it being a combination of Seven Network platforms. The NDRC have said the broadcast announcement will happen Wednesday 17th of May with the calendar coming a bit later on the 26th.

BIG GOALS

A stated objective of the NDRC is, "To make drag racing Australia's favourite motorsport." It's a goal we can get behind, especially as it's not saying "biggest" or "most watched". NDRC co-promoter Andy Lopez explained to PG what they meant by favourite. "When you're watching drag racing, every seat in the venue gets to see the whole race from start to finish. Every ticket provides the same access to the pit area to interact with drivers and teams. You see a new winner every couple of minutes, and the rush from watching a thunderous Top Fueller or Funny Car blast down the track is incredibly addictive. Once you get someone to the track for the first time, and they see a really well crafted event put on by awesome race teams, you've got them hooked. That's why we think drag racing will be this country's favourite motorsport and it's part of our mission to prove it."

ONE WAY, FORWARD

The theme of the announcement is clearly one of unity - something plainly missing from Australian drag racing for the best part of a decade. The way we see it, the time is right for all racers, no matter where they live, what they race, who their mates are, or how long they've been in the involved to pull together and help move the sport forward together.