WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Two winners of this year's (2017) Summit Sportsman National Championship will earn fabulous trips to the island of Aruba, the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) announced today. The IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship is a 15-weekend, 30-race championship event for Sportsman racers with most event weekends streaming live on ESPN3.

The Aruba vacations are in addition to a $15,000 cash prize for the champion in each of the eight classes courtesy of Summit Racing Equipment. The trips will be awarded at the IHRA Summit World Finals at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio Sept. 22-24, 2017.

To determine which of the eight Summit Sportsman World Champions can pack their bags for Aruba, a blind draw will be held prior to the start of the final event. Champions of the two classes drawn live on ESPN3 will win the Aruba vacation prize packages. The Aruba vacations are made possible by partnerships with AroundArubaTours.com, El Gaucho restaurant, Tropicana Resorts - TropClub casino, More 4 Less car rentals and the Don Flip Racing.

"This announcement is really great news for our IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship competitors," IHRA vice president Skooter Peaco said. "On behalf of everyone at IHRA and all of our racers, I'd like to thank Juan Werleman and all the sponsors in Aruba for putting these trips together.

"For several years, these sponsors have provided Aruba trips for our Summit Super Series Top and Mod World Champions, and without exception, our champions have returned with wonderful stories about the incredible hospitality our partners on Aruba provide. We are thrilled to expand our Aruba program into this new series for 2017."

The Summit Sportsman National Championship is comprised of 15 double-race weekends for class racers; it awards an unprecedented $15,000 prize to the season champions in each of the eight divisions. Most event weekends feature ESPN3 broadcasts during which more than 200 hours of sportsman class racing is provided. Additional information on the IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship is available here: http://ihra.com/sportsman-national-championship-tour-home

With two of the 15 race weekends complete, the IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship series resumes March 3-5 at State Capitol Raceway in Baton Rouge, La., followed by San Antonio Raceway March 17-19 in Marion, Texas and Darlington Dragway March 24-26 in South Carolina. A full schedule is available here: http://ihra.com/sportsman-national-championship-tour-schedule.

• Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at Numidia Dragway, June 2018.
• Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at Maple Grove Raceway, May 2018
• 30th Annual Performance Racing Industry Show, December 2017.
• NHRA Dodge Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, September, 2017.
• Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at Englishtown, September 2017.
• NHRA D1 Bracket Finals at Numidia Dragway, September 2017.
• Mopars@Etown and The Digs, August 2017.
• 42 Annual Night of Thrills at Englishtown, July 2017.
• NHRA Summernationals at Englishtown, June 2017.
• Memorial Weekend Shootout at Numidia Dragway, Numidia Dragway, May 27th, 2017.

More event coverage from 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012 is on the Dragtime News On Location main page.