[h=2]IHRA: Rules released for Summit Sportsman National Championship[/h] Steven Cole Smith (words and image)

We already know when the new IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship kicks off, and it won't be long – February 3-5 at Immokalee Regional Raceway, just east of Florida's Gulf Coast and some of the nicest beaches in the country – with the second race a week later at Palm Beach International Raceway, just west of some of the nicest Atlantic beaches in Florida.


And now we have the rules for the participating cars. While the 2017 IHRA rulebook is in the printing process and scheduled for January delivery, the 2017 rules for the Sportsman classes can be found here.
The Summit Sportsman National Championship is a 30-race series featuring 15 double-race weekends. The Championship will be determined using points claims from the best seven of the first 10 events the racer attends – there will be no "divisions." Competitors will be scored against each other using a national points system. They may race at whatever event they choose without having limitations based upon regional boundaries, as was the case in the past.


Participating classes are Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Super Stock, Stock, Quick Rod, Super Rod, Hot Rod and Junior Dragster.
The payout is among the best in the business for champions. Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Super Stock, Stock, Quick Rod, Super Rod and Hot Rod get $15,000 for the National Champion, $5,000to the runner-up, and $3,000 for third. For Junior Dragster, $2,000 to the National Champion, $1,500 to the runner-up, and $1,000 to third.
We'll have a quick summary of some of the rules the rest of the week.