Some Pomona Circle K Winternationals Facts...

• The new era of TV coverage on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Broadcast Network
• Pro Stock changes hit the track with electronic fuel injection, hood scoops removed and shortened wheelie bars among other advancements
• Off‐season changes on track: Erica Enders switches to Mopar, driving a Dodge Dart; Leah Pritchett joins Bob Vandergriff Racing fulltime; Jeg Coughlin returns to competion; J.R. Todd gets fulltime sponsor with SealMaster

Top Fuel

 Antron Brown begins his 2015 world championship defense

 Shawn Langdon is the defending event winner

 Langdon has won two of the last three Circle K NHRA Winternationals

 The TF track record was set at this event last season by Langdon

 Langdon was the No. 1 qualifier last season

Funny Car

 Del Worsham opens the 2016 season as the reigning world champ

 Mtt Hagan is the defending event winner

 The win was Hagan’s fourth at Pomona and first at the Winternationals

 John Force has an astounding 16 career victories at Pomona

 Courtney Force was the event’s No. 1 qualifier

Pro Stock

 Erica Enders opens the season as the two‐time defending world champ

 Jason Line is the defending event winner

 Line has won four of the last seven Circle K NHRA Winternationals

 Enders qualified No. 1 for the event

 Rookie Drew Skillman reached the final in his first career start

STATISTICAL ACTIVE WIN LEADERS AT POMONA (TOP THREE)

Top Fuel   Funny Car      Pro Stock

Tony Schumacher 6   John Force 16   Greg Anderson 10

Larry Dixon 5            Matt Hagan 4    Jeg Coughlin 6

Shawn Langdon 3      Robert Hight 4  Jason Line 4

WHAT’S NEW IS WHAT’S OLD

It was 50 years ago that the first Funny Car

appeared at an NHRA event. During the 2016

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season,

NHRA will celebrate 50 years of the

Funny Car. The season-long promotion will

feature fan-favorite cars and drivers at many

event. NHRA will show the evolution of the

category, remember the greatest rivalries and

hear from the legends who drove the cars in

some of the most memorable side-by-side

races in NHRA history.

NEW FOX SPORTS TV DEAL

-17 live events: a major change for the sport,

bringing excitement of each matchup and round

as it happens.

-Four live events on the FOX Network: a first

for NHRA to have live broadcasts on network

TV, guaranteed to bring new viewers and

increased interest.

-New broadcasting team: Dave Rieff, Tony

Pedregon, Bruno Massel, Jamie Howe, John

Kernan, Lewis Bloom and Amanda Busick.

-Taking TV production in-house: Studios in

Glendora and Indianapolis. Gives us the ability

to tell the stories that fans want to hear. Kernan

will work in Indianapolis while Bloom and Busick

will be based in Glendora.

-Major changes in the presentation of our

broadcasts, including virtual graphics in the

lanes (identifying drivers and their stats) and a

virtual finish line.

-Better time slots – guaranteed through the

live telecasts, but also better air times overall

compared to the late-night airings of the past

-More than 500 hours of programming, including

qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday.

New Leadership:

-Peter Clifford, President: Elevated to the

presidency in July after 18 years with the

NHRA. Brings a new vision for the future and

has developed a detailed, six-step program to

grow the sport

-Ken Adelson, VP Broadcasting & Digital/

Executive Producer: One of the most respected

TV executives in the country and joined NHRA

in September to oversee the transition of the

new TV package and redesigned website and

mobile app

-Terry Blount, VP Public Relations &

Communications: Brings over 30 years of

experience as a sports journalist and

commentator. Spent last 10 years at ESPN,

eight as the columnist and commentator for

racing

-Tyler Schulze, VP and Chief Financial Officer:

Comes to NHRA after 12 years at TEN: The

Enthusiast Network. Handled strategic development

and licensing for more than 70 media

brands that focused on auto and sports entertainment.

Also worked for FOX Sports, where

he managed a $3 billion rights portfolio for 13

regional sports networks

- Brad Gerber, VP and Chief Development

Officer: Comes to NHRA after many years at

Primedia, Petersen Publishing and Source Interlink.

Served as publisher of Hot Rod Magazine

and Automobile Magazine. He will lead

NHRA’s sales and business development team

and oversee all media sales, corporate sponsorships,

and revenue development initiatives.

Competition Improvements

New Pro Stock cars in 2016: The Pro

Stock cars will have a new look that is closer

to the actual cars on the showroom floor. The

class is moving to fuel-injection, along with

the removal of the hood scoops, shortened

wheelie-bars and a 10,500 RPM rev-limiter.

NHRA: America's No. 2 Motorsport

-NHRA has more participants, more national events and a larger fan base than any other American motorsport

-NHRA has more cars competing. NHRA has more than 48 cars racing on any given Sunday, with 16-car fields

in the three major classes, Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock. More than 64 machines compete when Pro

Stock Motorcycle is included at 16 select events.

- NHRA is second in the number of major races it holds each season:

NASCAR Sprint Cup-36 NHRA-24 F1-21 IndyCar-16

-NHRA has more than 1 million likes on Facebook. That is more than the following:

-20 NHL teams

-Eight Major League Baseball teams

-Five NFL teams

-IndyCar (330,665)

-According to Nielsen, TV broadcasts of the NHRA average over 1 million households per weekly broadcast,

which is guaranteed to increase with the live FOX telecasts of 2016

-According to Nielsen, TV broadcasts of NHRA average more than 1.05 million households per weekly

broadcast, which is guaranteed to increase with the live FOX telecasts in 2016.

-NHRA.com generated more than 48 million page views in 2015, which is expected to increase significantly

with a new page design and format in 2016.

REPRINTED FROM NHRA Press Releases... ptg