New MUSCO lights erected to better illuminate the shutdown area are among $140,000 in improvements that will greet IHRA sportsman racers competing this weekend at Rockingham Dragway in a 2007 IHRA Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Series event.

The Carolinas' fastest race track will play host to more than 400 IHRA racers competing in seven Pro-Am categories, including Top Dragster and Top Sportsman, according to a press release from the track.

The track opened at 11 a.m. today for a test-and-tune session restricted to Summit Series drivers.

Qualifying, time trials and IHRA national record runs are scheduled Saturday with final eliminations starting at 10 a.m. Sunday.

The Summit Pro-Am event, the first in the IHRA's Raiders Division, kicks off a March schedule that also will include the season's first TORCO Race Fuels Carolina Coalition event (March 8-9), the first race in the Mickey Thompson Performance Tires MiRock Superbike Series (the Velocity Spring Bike Open, March 24-25) and the first Holcomb Motorsports All-Ford Show (March 31).

"Early indications are that it's going to be a great season," said track owner Steve Earwood. "We had more than 250 bracket cars and a good turnout of Pro Modified and Pro Stock cars for our ROCK Battery Spring Blast, and we're really excited about the Pro-Am. It's a race that's grown in numbers every year.

"It's going to be an incredible show for the fans, especially those who love the mid-60s muscle cars.

"You probably won't see more '69 Camaros and '65 Mustangs and hemi-Dodges anywhere else in the Carolinas this season."

Defending Pro-Am champions are Steve Corker of Clayton in Top Sportsman; Josh Brown of Boone in Top Dragster; Jim Harrington of Old Bridge, N.J., in Super Stock; Lee Truell of Lexington in Stock; Chris Fitton of Roncon, Ga., in Quick Rod; many-time series champion Steve Furr of Harrisburg in Super Rod; and Chris Dean of Sanford in Hot Rod.

For those who wish to follow the progress of the 2007 Pro-Am Series, results for the first time will be available, on-line, in real time at the DragRaceCentral site on summitracing.com.