Dragsters return to Memphis Raceway

World Series runs this weekend

Homecoming weekends are usually reserved for football fields and fall weather. But Memphis International Raceway is prepared for a homecoming weekend of a different sort today and Saturday, when major nitro and pro stock competition returns to the Millington strip for the 63rd World Series of Drag Racing.

“We’re looking at 250 cars being here for this event,” MIR general manager Pam Kendrick said. “This is going to be a groundbreaking year for the event as the response from the local community, sponsors and fans is overwhelming.”

She said the event’s pre-sales have been running ahead of the Super Chevy Show, which has been the track’s flagship event since the days of the old MidSouth Nationals.

That’s an encouraging development for new IHRA president Mike Dunn. The World Series of Drag Racing, the oldest continuous event in the sport’s history, had spent several decades at the track in Cordova, Illinois. But it moved to Memphis and is part of IHRA’s efforts to regrow its brand. Plans are in the works for a 10-race series of national and international televised events.

“The event could not grow any more in Cordova, where it had been for years, and we have potential to draw from a wide area coming to this venue,” said Dunn, who was a Mid-South Nationals champion in a top fuel dragster and funny car during his driving career.

Tim Wilkerson and his son, Dan, will match race Funny Cars during the pro sessions, which