Congratulations to Anthony Smith of Waldorf, MD for winning the “10 Ben Dash for Cash” sponsored by J&J Customs in Mechanicsville, MD (301)-373-3334. This program awards ten crisp Ben Franklin’s to the first driver in Junior Dragster that collects three diamond points in the 2010 season. Please be sure to thank the crew at J&J Customs for their support of the Junior Dragster program by sponsoring a huge payday of $1,000 (ten Benjamin’s) to the contest winner!

The WildCard Race for the last three qualifying positions for team MIR (one Top, one Mod and one Junior) will be held this Saturday, September 4, 2010. To qualify for the WildCard Race, drivers must be listed on the points roster by the first Saturday in August. The entry fee for the WildCard race will be $20; all money collected will go to the racer’s fund.

BUDDS CREEK, Md. (August 29, 2010) – It is a rivalry still in its infancy, but the battle between Bill Evans and Mike Manners has already developed into one of the most intense in the series.  For the second week in a row the talented drivers making up the new Pro Fuel class put on an incredible show and at the head of that list was Manners and Evans who traded the national record for the class back-and-fourth nearly half a dozen times before Manners finally walked away the victor Sunday afternoon.  “This weekend was a lot of fun. Obviously we were in the exact same position as Bill coming into the weekend with cars capable of setting records and it was fun battling him for the new mark,” Manners said.

BUDDS CREEK, Md. (August 28, 2010) – Just seven months ago following a bad fire at the season opening Palm Beach Nitro Jam in Florida Bob and Cathie Floch, owners of the well-known “Bullet Bob” Prostalgia Nitro Funny car, were on the verge of walking away from the sport after nearly four decades in the business.  With a destroyed car and seemingly no hope of repair by the season’s second race in Baton Rouge, the Floch family found themselves carefully weighing their options as to what to do next. Then came a miracle. Dozens of racers from across the country came to their aid, lending parts, cash and support to help get the “Bullet Bob” machine back on the track.

On Saturday, August 14th, MIR held its first ever Speed Unlimited ET Series Team Challenge. Teams consisted of up to eight members each and could be any combination of Top, Mod, Motorcycle or Junior Dragster racers. Each time a driver turned on a win light, that team earned one point for their team. The program paid back 100% of all collected entries, with 70% going to the winning team and 30% going to the runner-up team. Climbing all the way to the top was Team "Winlight" with 21 points, who took home a grand total of $1,134!

On Saturday August 14,2010 Rickey Nelson of Great Mills, Maryland, came to the track with four diamond points already in his pocket. For the last four years in a row, Rickey has earned four diamond points but could never get the 5th point needed to bring home the $8,000 diamond ring prize sponsored by Ricks Jewelers of California, Maryland.  He finally accomplished his mission and earned his 5th diamond point later in the day. He was under pressure from six other racers who already had three diamond points and could easily catch this "Country Boy that Knows How to Survive".

Thousands of race fans were on hand Saturday Nite at the Super Charged Jet Wars Event to witness a dream come to real life. If you weren't there, you missed a great show with over 30 Pro Cars along with Jet Cars and a story that was scripted for a Hollywood Movie! For over 20 years, Lil Bear Pritchett had visions of racing his Godmother, Bunny Burkett, in a Funny Car at his home track, MIR. He staged the Xmas Tree when he was just 3 yrs old with his battery- powered Big Foot Truck and the rest is history in the making. His father Bear Pritchett has been the Crew Chief of Bunny and The Boys Race Team for about 22 years, so LB cut his teeth at the race track. Growing up as a crew member on a low budget, hard working, and dedicated Race Team molded him into the young man that he is today.

The Northeast Outlaw Pro Mods fourth “Extreme” Event” of the season at MIR August 7th was a huge success with huge crowds and over 25 Pro Mods contesting eight qualifying positions in each of the two classes. In the extreme heat of the day, with track temperatures reaching close to 140 degrees, taking the pole position on the Blower/Turbo side was Tommy Gray in his 2007 Undertaker GTO with a 6.053 ET at 240.38 MPH. This is the first race for the GTO this year after switching from the 68 Camaro and the first race since the passing of his beloved father, whom the NEOPMA dedicated this race to. On the Nitrous side, Fredy Scriba qualified number one with a 6.023 at 237.71 in his 63’ Corvette. There were many personal bests and a track record set.

The last week of July was a big one for local bracket racers at MIR. With the Jimmy Jones Memorial $10K on Wednesday July 28th, and the Mod ET $2K double header just 3 days later on Saturday the 31st, racers had plenty of opportunities to reward themselves with a nice payday. Obviously, with the Mod 2K not open to dragsters, door cars would take center stage Saturday, but door car racers decided they wanted the attention all week as they took control of the Jimmy Jones 10K.

With the second installment of the Computech Raider ET Challenge held at Virginia Motorsports Park now in the books, the next stop for the series will be at Maryland Int'l Raceway on Saturday and Sunday, September 11-12, 2010. Chris Bell holds the lead in Top ET with 250 points, Larry Miller in Modified ET with 271 points and Chris Fiorillo in Junior Dragster with 241 points.

The Summit Super Series enters its final full month at our 86 member tracks across North America. This ultra prestigious series has only gotten more valuable with the economic issues currently in effect. Thousands of sportsman racers have been chasing a world championship by racing at their local IHRA member track. This one-of-a-kind program rewards the most money at the local and national level of any other program in existence thanks to the folks at Summit Racing Equipment. Their focus on the sportsman racer is completely in line with ours and this program continues to be the biggest asset for our member tracks.

MIR is proud to announce the inaugural five selections for the Maryland International Raceway Legends Hall of Fame - an elite group of the persons who had the most impact on the Southern Maryland racing facility in its long and storied career. The MIR Legends will be recognized and awarded at the inaugural Legends at Budds Creek nostalgia drag racing event on June 25 and 26, 2010. Only five MIR Legends will be selected each year.

The Speed Unlimited ET Series at Maryland Int'l Raceway is one of the best ET programs in the country featuring great programs like the Rick Jewelers Ring for the Queen, Summit Super Series, Computech Raider ET Challenge, Pick Royce’s Pocket, Ironman Classic and much more. These exciting programs only enhance an already great weekly program; but for 2010 we've added even more!

2010 marks the 20th anniversary year the Miller family has owned and operated Maryland Int'l Raceway. Royce Miller, President and Promoter of MIR, stated “In some ways it just doesn't seem possible that it's been 20 years and in others it is hard to remember a time without the responsibilities and pressures of running a facility like this. Our family has grown up here right beside the many wonderful families that race here. Ashley was just 5 years old when we arrived. My mother would keep an eye on her as she handed out time slips while Linda was working the gates way over on the spectator side entrance road. Jason was 14 and Chris was 12 when we started and they worked souvenirs, gates and selling fuel. We didn’t have much to work with in the way of equipment or facility when we started, but we had determination, enthusiasm and great racers, fans and sponsors to build the MIR of today.

Maryland Int’l Raceway is available around the year for weekday testing (weather permitting of course). This is a very easy and affordable program available to racers looking for that extra edge they’re sure to get with private track time. Private test sessions are available Monday through Friday from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm… 8 full hours of daylight fun! Your rental includes traction compound sprayed to the 60’ mark (additional spray can be purchased as far down the track as you need) as well as a certified Maryland EMT/Firefighter and ambulance.