Pro Classes
Top Fuel
 Top Fuel Dragsters represent the pinnacle of drag racing performance. Utilizing a supercharged engine producing over 6,000 horsepower from 500 cubic inches of displacement, these machines can accelerate from a standing start to 100 miles per hour in less than one second and cover the quarter mile in the four-second zone at over 320 mph. You'll feel these earth shattering machines even at the top of the grandstands as they launch with g-forces rivaling those of the space shuttle.
Each quarter-mile run costs nearly $4,000 in basic wear on equipment, including almost $500 for the 15 gallons of nitromethane fuel used for every pass. Using sophisticated computers to monitor all engine functions and complicated clutch-engagement systems, each team is typical of the $1,000,000 investment needed to fund a full season of racing. The Top Fuel Eliminator field is comprised of the eight teams which recorded the quickest elapsed time during qualifying rounds.
Pro Modified
 One of the most popular divisions in the sport, Pro Modified embodies the true spirit of hot rodding, offering a wildly diverse group of race cars and a variety of 2,000-horsepower engines. Combining classic body styles and modern equipment, teams burn gasoline or methanol in either supercharged or nitrous oxide power plants, pushing them to low six-second times at over 240 mph. The war constantly rages back and forth between the blown cars and the nitrous cars, each seeking to claim dominance over one of drag racing's most exciting and volatile classes.
Pro Stock  To the drag racing purist, Pro Stock remains the most important category in the sport. Deeply rooted in the legacy of muscle cars, Pro Stock vehicles retain street ID while relying solely on gasoline burning carbureted engines displacing less than 820 cubic inches, all while surpassing 220 mph. Each car is scrutinized to make certain it fits specific body templates, thus ensuring the factory look. Fuel is put into the car's fuel cells in the staging lanes from the same drum. When all is said and done, the only thing left is to answer that simple question that's been asked for years: Ford, General Motors or Dodge? It's a debate that's been raging for decades, but often gets answered in less than six and a half seconds.
The IHRA Pro Stock cars, the fastest Pro Stockers on earth, must weigh more than 2,400 pounds. Pro Stock Eliminator is made up of the 16 quickest teams from qualifying rounds.
SPORTSMAN CLASSES
Top Sportsman
 As the class which spawned Pro Modified, Top Sportsman remains the "baddest" sportsman class on the planet. Covering the spectrum of passenger car body styles and power plants, Top Sportsman racers are not encumbered by displacement limitations or customizing rules, offering some of the most radical visual and mechanical thrills in drag racing.
As in Top Dragster, the drivers are allowed to use state-of-the-art electronic driving aids and the teams calculate their own Performance Predictions to determine handicaps during eliminations. Top Sportsman Eliminator is composed of the 48 quickest teams from qualifying sessions.
Top Dragster
 The fastest sportsman category in drag racing, Top Dragster is also renowned as one of the most innovative classes in IHRA. Combining dragsters and altered vintage roadsters, the class presents handicap racing with six second, 225 mph contestants.
Super Stock
 As the arena for factory musclecar showdowns for decades, this class spotlights some of history's most powerful production vehicles ever built, and allowed only some minor modifications. Cars run on a handicapped start, but each must run under their sub-category's Nationals Index, determined by a power to weight ratio. In addition to traditional Super Stockers, there are also sub-categories for GT entries, front wheel drive conversions, trucks and Super Stock production entries.
Stock
 Considered drag racing's "entry level" division, this class offers economical racing machines in an incredibly competitive forum, with everything from 130 mph muscle cars to 75 mph family sedans. All demand original production equipment with which the car was marketed to the public. Cars run on a handicapped start, but each must run under their sub-category's National Index, determined by power to weight ratio.
Quick Rod  The fastest of the "Rod" categories, Quick Rod offers dragsters, altereds, vintage roadsters, coupes and passenger cars racing with heads up start. The objective of the class is to beat an opponent to the finish line without going under the 8.90-second Class Index, or 5.70 in the 1/8 mile.
Super Rod
 Combining passenger cars and vintage roadsters, Super Rod also offers 'even starts' with contestants competing on a National Standard of 6.40 seconds (1/8 mile), 9.90 (1/4 mile). Easily the most populated division in IHRA Drag Racing, fields of over 150 entries are not uncommon. Using some of the same high-tech equipment that Quick Rod racers also utilize, Super Rod racers also utilize some of the same race strategies. Like Quick Rod, vehicles are permitted virtually any engine modification. Most Super Rod machines are tremendously overpowered to use throttle manipulation to gain high top speeds. Super Rod is open to all entries with qualifying position determined by performance against the National Standard.
Hot Rod
 Using a National Standard of 7.00 seconds (1/8 mile), 10.90 (1/4 mile), Hot Rod may appear as an entry level division but presents some of the closest competition of any category. Races are often won by a margin of only a few thousandths of a second, which equates to mere inches at the finish line. The same driving strategies and electronic driving equipment which prevail in both Quick Rod and Super Rod are evident in a class where the speeds can reach 140 mph. While each vehicle must retain a production apperance, virtually all are constructed specifically for the division. Hot Rod is open to all entries with qualifying position determined by performance against the National Standard. |
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