Racers ready to burn rubber at Gatornationals

Sparks on the raceway come to the Gator Nation this weekend.

The 44th annual NHRA Gatornationals competition started Thursday and continues through Sunday. This is the first year the competition combines Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock categories with Pro Stock Motorcycle, the Lucas Oil Drag Racing series and the NHRA Pro Mods.

2012 NHRA Top Fuel World Champion Antron Brown will be one of the many top competitors to hit the Autoplus Raceway this weekend. Brown was the first African-American to win a major U.S. auto racing season championship and has won 37 event titles overall. With the competition high, Brown says Gainesville’s track offers great advantages.

Another tough competitor hitting the track is Funny Car racer Jack Beckman; he is the defending NHRA Funny Car champion. The timing of the race couldn’t be better according to Beckman, who says the track’s location offers favorable racing conditions.

Beckman, Brown and all of the great NHRA racers will be competing starting at 12:45 p.m. all weekend until Championship Sunday. Sunday will see four rounds of Top Fuel, Pro Stock and Funny Car competitors looking to dominate the track and head to the finals.

For the complete racing schedule go to nhra.com