NHRA Youth and Education Service (YES) Program to take place at 21 National Events, along with Two Pilot Programs

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – February 13, 2024 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – NHRA officials are pleased to announce the NHRA Youth and Education Services (YES) Program will host 15 live events during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season, as well as six virtual programs during the summer portion of the upcoming season.

The NHRA YES Program will also hold two “Pilot Program” events during the 2024 season at a pair of NHRA Member Tracks: April 15 at Kansas International Dragway in Wichita, Kan., and May 17 at Toronto Motorsports Park. The pilot program events will allow the two NHRA Member Tracks to host YES Programs for local schools in the community.

The event at Toronto Motorsports Park also marks the first NHRA Yes Program that will take place outside of the United States.

The NHRA YES Program is the only full-time education program in motorsports providing quality educational content and activities for schools and youth organizations nationwide. The YES Program invites students to NHRA national events to see first-hand the career chances within the motorsports field, bringing thousands of students to the track each year, while the pilot programs offer those same opportunities at tracks without a national event.

In 2023, the YES Program hosted more than 31,000 students at tracks across the country and in 2024 the team of partners for the YES Program will again include Ford, Mac Tools, Gerber Collision & Glass, and the United States Air Force.

“We enjoyed incredible success with the YES Program in 2023, welcoming more than 30,000 students to tracks to learn about career opportunities in motorsports, and we’re thrilled about the direction of the program in 2024,” said John Baadilla, NHRA Director of National Event Marketing Operations. “We have four amazing YES Program partners in Ford, Mac Tools, Gerber Collision & Glass, and the United States Air Force and to now extend the program to a pair of NHRA Member Tracks, including the first in Canada, it’s a great opportunity for these tracks to build exciting relationships within their communities.”

The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season begins March 7-10 with the 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. The YES Program will host live events from Gainesville through the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals on June 7-9 in Bristol and then from the 70th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park through the end of the season. The six virtual YES Programs will take place from the Virginia NHRA Nationals in Richmond through the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd.

For more information about the NHRA YES Program, please visit www.nhra.com/yes. To register to attend, please visit www.nhra.com/yesprogramregistration. For more information about NHRA Launch – Motorsports Careers, visit www.nhralaunch.com.

About Mission Foods

MISSION®, owned by GRUMA, S.A.B. de C.V., is the world’s leading brand for tortillas and wraps. MISSION® is also globally renowned for flatbreads, dips, salsas and Mexican food products. With presence in over 112 countries, MISSION® products are suited to the lifestyles and the local tastes of each country. With innovation and customer needs in mind, MISSION® focuses on the highest quality, authentic flavors, and providing healthy options that families and friends can enjoy together. For more information, please visit https://www.missionfoods.com/

About NHRA

Headquartered in San Dimas, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 21 national events featuring the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, as well as the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+, NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown™, NHRA Holley EFI Factory X and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock at select national events. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street Legal™. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With 110 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Source: National Hot Rod Association

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