The XDA’s Jason and Chris Miller released the following letter, outlining some changes to the XDA program –
Dear XDA Racers, Fans, Sponsors, Media and Staff,
We are excited to kick-off the 2021 XDA Season in just a few short months! The XDA has seen unprecedented growth over the last 3 years, which has presented some growing pains that must be addressed. We are grateful for the growth and your support, but changes are necessary so we can complete our programs, keep the wheels in motion and provide a great product for all our Pros, Sportsman and Grudge Racers.
We received hundreds of emails last year from racers with some great ideas on how to address the growth of the XDA and the changes that needed to be made so we can complete our events. The following changes have been made based on some of your great ideas and discussions with our host tracks to benefit as many racers as we can. We are excited about these changes for 2021 and we hope you are too. We know there are some that do not like change, but we ask that you understand that these changes had to be made for the betterment of the series.
Please be sure to not only thank our XDA staff, but also thank the hard-working staff at our host tracks. XDA events have 3 times the number of racers and the events last much longer in duration than most car events that they are used to working. We never want to take them for granted as we need them to help execute our events. It is also imperative that we respect their facilities and take good care of them.
We need to make sure we balance our track time between Pros, Sportsman, and Grudge. We need all 3 groups for the XDA to be successful, and no one group is any more important than the other. If the series loses just one of these groups, then all of them will fail. We have adjusted our schedule to allow more track time on Saturday evening for our Grudge and Pro Racers, as that time frame is our best shot to attract more fans during the weekend. Our Sportsman racers will still have their 2 qualifying shots on Saturday morning before starting the new Bracket Bash eliminator at 12 noon. The Bracket Bash combines Pro ET and Street ET into 1 eliminator on Saturday and should be completed by 5pm. Then we will run the HTP Performance Afterdark Underground Grudge Program from 5pm until 11pm.
These changes have been made to ensure that we complete Saturday’s program before curfew. VMP’s curfew is 11pm and MDIR’s is 1am. We need the same schedule for all events so Saturday’s program is completed by 11pm. MDIR’s 1am curfew just allows more of a buffer in Maryland should we need it. Everyone also needs to understand the importance of getting Sunday’s program done at a decent hour, as many racers have a 6-12 hour drive home to be at work on Monday.
The pressure to run 890+ racer entries as we have done in the past is extremely stressful and intense on the staff. Our past event schedule and class line-up had to be adjusted for this year to reduce the number of entries down to a more manageable 700’s range. We needed to factor into this year’s schedule the inevitable delays due to oil downs, accidents, and weather so every event can be completed. It is not practical to hope for no delays in order to get 890 entries completed like we have done in the past.
Also, we try to keep racer costs low, but with rising costs on track staffing, consumables, utilities, and other expenses increasing every year, there will be a need for the XDA to have an occasional price increase like any other business does. These events must generate enough revenue for our host tracks so that they will want us to return every year. We still have the cheapest entry fees in the sport, we lease the best tracks in the country, we employ the largest and highest quality staff, and we are paying out $80,000 per event for a total of $560,000 per year which is unprecedented.
Please review the changes to our 2021 XDA season below. We look forward to seeing you all on April 23-25 at Maryland International Raceway for the Platinum Fleet Repair Spring Nationals!
Sincerely,
Jason and Chris Miller
CLASSES & RULES
We want to start by saying Double Entries in the same class are no longer permitted in Pro and Sportsman classes at the XDA, including Pro ET. A rider can only ride multiple bikes in Grudge.
Pro Classes
Orient Express Pro Street is back with major rule revisions to take away many of the Liter Bikes rules advantages so Big Bore bikes and Liter Bikes now have more of the same rules.
DME Racing Real Street is back with minor rule revisions.
Pro Xtreme is back with no rule changes.
HTP Performance Super Stock is back with minor rule revisions.
Vance & Hines 4.60 Index is back with no rule changes.
Grudge Classes
Boosted Bulls has returned to the XDA!
APE Nitrous Bulls are back with no rule changes.
Monster Bulls are back with no rule changes.
Tommie’s Motorsports DMV Bulls are back with the only revision being that Tommie Adams will now allow Grudge Racers outside of the DMV to run in the class if he approves them.
HTP Performance Grudge & Afterdark Underground are back with no rule changes.
Sportsman Classes
Friday Night Gambler’s Race is back but will now be limited to 32 entries.
5.60 Index is back with no rule changes.
Crazy 8’s will NOT be back at the XDA.
On Sunday, MPS Pro ET and Brocks Performance Street ET will still be run like normal, as 2 separate ET classes. The only rule change is that double entries are no longer allowed in Pro ET as stated earlier.
On Saturday, all Sportsman racers including: MPS Pro ET, Brock’s Performance Street ET, 5.60 Index, and Mickey Thompson Tires Top Sportsman can run in the new Bracket Bash class which is a .500 full tree, 1/4 mile, bracket class using Pro ET rules. The Bracket Bash will be one ET race on Saturday that will replace the MPS Pro ET and Brocks Performance Street ET Saturday Eliminators.
This will help save time on Saturday as we will only be running 1 ET race instead of 2 ET races because many racers ran both Pro ET and Street ET eliminations on Saturday and now there is only one eliminator on Saturday. This should save a couple hours of track time on Saturday. A rider can enter only 1 of their Sportsman bikes in this class since there are no double entries permitted. There will not be a time run for the Bracket Bash as everyone will have received their 2 sportsman qualifying sessions on Saturday morning. The only exception will be for a bike that is only running in the Bracket Bash and is not entered in any other class, they will receive only 1 time run at the end of the 2nd sportsman qualifying session. We will be calling Street ET bikes to the lanes first, and then calling Pro ET bikes to the lanes behind them. This will be done to run as many Street ET bikes against other Street ET bikes as possible and Pro ET bikes against other Pro ET bikes as possible every round. There will only be one bye run pulled every round and since Street ET bikes are at the front, they will have a greater chance in the early rounds for a bye run. It is possible for a Street ET Bike to be paired against a Pro ET bike where the classes connect in the staging lanes.
Mickey Thompson Tires Top Sportsman is back and is now considered a bonus race since all 32 qualifiers will now move into Pro ET and not just the winner of Top Sportsman as we have done in the past. If you lose 1st round of T/S then you will merge into 1st round of Pro E.T. If you lose 2nd round of T/S then you will merge into 2nd round of Pro E.T. If you lose 3rd round of T/S then you will merge into 3rd round of Pro E.T. If you lose 4th round of T/S then you will merge into 4th round of Pro E.T. If you lose 5th round of T/S then you will merge into 5th round of Pro E.T. If you win the 5th round of T/S then you will merge into 6th round of Pro E.T. Since all Top Sportsman racers are automatically moved into Pro ET, and there are no double entries permitted in any class, you can no longer run 1 bike in Pro ET and another bike in Top Sportsman as that will break the rules. A rider can only buy 1 Pro ET tech card, but that 1 tech card now allows you to run for both Top Sportsman and Pro ET purses if you are quick enough to qualify for Top Sportsman.
Click here to view the 2021 XDA Rulebook: www.XDAracing.com/rulebook
ENTRY & PAYOUTS
Pro Classes
Pro Street, Real Street, and Super Stock will have a $5 tech card increase with the same purse.
Pro Xtreme entry fee for racers that pre-register for all 7 races will still be $300 per race. Racers that register at the event will now pay $400 per Dan Wagner.
4.60 Index will have a $5 tech card increase. The 4.60 Index runner-up will be increased from $500 to $1,000 and the semis increased from $150 to $250 due to the class’s consistent growth.
Grudge Classes
Boosted Bulls tech card will be $500 with a $250 Lock-In at the event so you can make your Shakedown passes. The remaining $250 balance needs to be paid before 1st round. 100% of entry fees goes to the winner. The XDA will add $1,000 to the Runner-Up for 4-8 bikes and will add $2,000 to the Runner-Up for 9-16 bikes. This makes the Boosted Bulls purse $8,000 to the winner and $2,000 Runner-Up if we have 16 bikes.
Nitrous Bulls tech card will be $500 with a $250 Lock-In at the event so you can make your Shakedown passes. The remaining $250 balance needs to be paid before 1st round. 100% of entry fees goes to the winner. The XDA will add $1,000 to the Runner-Up for 4-8 bikes and will add $2,000 to the Runner-Up for 9-16 bikes. This makes the Nitrous Bulls purse $8,000 to the winner and $2,000 Runner-Up if we have 16 bikes.
Monster Bulls tech card will be $500 with a $250 Lock-In at the event so you can make your Shakedown passes. The remaining $250 balance needs to be paid before 1st round. 100% of entry fees goes to the winner. The XDA will add $1,000 to the Runner-Up for 4-16 bikes. This makes the Monster Bulls purse $8,000 to the winner and $1,000 Runner-Up if we have 16 bikes.
DMV Bulls tech card will be $250 with a $100 Lock-In at the event so you can make your Shakedown passes. The remaining $150 balance needs to be paid before 1st round. 100% of entry fees goes to the winner. The XDA will add $500 to the Runner-Up for 4-16 bikes. This makes the DMV Bulls purse $4,000 to the winner and $500 Runner-Up if we have 16 bikes.
HTP Performance Grudge will have a $5 tech card increase for a total of $55 per day.
Sportsman Classes
5.60 Index will have a $5 tech card increase with the same purse.
Friday’s Gambler’s Race tech card is $100 and based on a 32 bike field with a 75% payback the winner will receive $2,000, runner-up will receive $200, and the semis will receive $100.
Saturday’s Bracket Bash will be a $65 entry fee and will pay $3,000 to winner, $500 to runner-up, $150 to semis, $75 to 1/4 finals, and $50 to 1/8 finals.
Sunday’s Brocks Performance Street ET tech card is $65 and will pay $1,500 to winner, $500 to runner-up, $200 to semis, $100 to 1/4 finals, and $75 to 1/8 finals.
In years past, the Mickey Thompson Top Sportsman total payout was $4,100, Saturday’s MPS Pro ET total payout was $4,500, and Sunday’s MPS Pro ET total payout was $4,500 for a combined total of $13,100 on a $120 2-day tech card. Many Pro ET racers have stated it was not fair that 32 Top Sportsman racers on Sunday ran for nearly the same purse as 150 Pro ET racers on Sunday under the same entry fee. So the XDA took the combined T/S and Pro ET payout of $13,100 and increased it to $13,900 while reducing the entry fee from $120 to $105. Your $105 Pro ET tech card will still enable you to qualify for Top Sportsman. The purse and entry fee for T/S and Pro ET has now been redistributed on Sunday. Top Sportsman purse on Sunday will now be $2,000 to win, $500 to runner-up, $150 to semis, and $75 to 1/4 finals. Keep in mind that all 32 Top Sportsman racers will get merged back into Pro ET and now get to run for that purse as well. Pro ET purse on Sunday will now be $5,000 to win, $1,500 to runner-up, $750 to semis, $400 to 1/4 finals, and $150 to 1/8 finals. So now Top Sportsman racers have a shot at $7,000 on Sunday (with $2,000 to win in T/S and $5,000 to win in Pro ET) all for just a $105 tech card. And this still allows the majority in Sunday Pro ET to run for $5,000 to win, along with significantly more money paid back further in Pro ET.
These $5 increases in most classes will help assist the XDA and our Host Tracks to deal with the constantly rising expenses to produce these great events. XDA can still say we have the biggest series purses and lowest entry fees in our sport.
In 2020 the total Sportsman class payouts was $21,420 per event and in 2021 it has increased to $26,000 per event!
Click here to view the 2021 XDA Entry & Payouts: www.XDAracing.com/payouts
EVENT SCHEDULE
Thursday schedule will remain the same with parking from 6pm-9pm
Friday schedule will remain the same with gates open from 8am-11pm. We will still be offering the All Day Test & Tune for Pro, Sportsman, and Grudge racers from 11am-11pm at the same $100 price. However, we will not be doing the $20 evening Test & Tune any longer as it cut into the track time of the All Day Test & Tune Racers. The first Bulls Shakedown and first Pro Qualifier will still be at 8pm on Friday and the Gambler’s Race will still be run Friday night.
On Saturday gates will open at 8am, and we will start the day like normal with 2 rounds of Sportsman qualifying with T/S, P/ET, S/ET and 5.60 from 8am until Noon. Then we will run the Bracket Bash eliminations from Noon until 5pm with a break for just the second Pro Qualifier at 2pm with no Grudge. Then the HTP Performance Afterdark Underground Pro & Grudge program will be run from 5pm until 11pm with Grudge Racing for 6 hours with breaks for the third and fourth Pro Qualifier at 5pm and 8pm. The Bulls will receive additional shakedown runs at the beginning of the 2pm and 5pm Pro Rounds. First round of the Running of the Bulls will be at 8pm, 2nd round at 9pm, 3rd round at 10pm and the finals at 10:30pm. Grudge racing will continue until 11pm on Saturday night!
On Sunday gates will open at 8am. Sportsman eliminations for all classes will begin at 9am (10am at VMP). Pro eliminations and Grudge runs will be at 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 6:30pm and 7:30pm.
ADMISSION PRICES
Admission prices remain the same at $20 per day or $40 for the weekend.
Junior (12-15 years old) prices remain the same at $10 per day or $20 for the weekend.
Kids 11 & under are still free.
CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRAM
Pro Street, Real Street, Pro Xtreme, Super Stock, 4.60 Index, Nitrous Bulls, Monster Bulls, DMV Bulls, 5.60 Index, Top Sportsman, Pro ET and Street ET will all be Championship Points Classes.
4.60 Index Championship bonus has been increased from $500 to $1,000 due to the class’s consistent growth.
Boosted Bulls, the Friday Gambler’s Race and the Saturday Bracket Bash are not Championship Points Classes.
Click here to view the 2021 XDA Championship Program: www.XDAracing.com/championships
CONTINGENCY PROGRAM
Now that we have rolled out all the changes for the 2021 XDA program, we plan to release the 2021 XDA Contingency Program with all our great sponsors very soon!
MERCHANDISE
Don’t forget to hit up our online store at www.XDAracing.com/merch
The XDA would like to thank you all for your input, patience and support in our efforts to continue to improve the XDA and make it the best motorcycle drag racing series on the planet! We look forward to seeing you all on April 23-25 at Maryland International Raceway for the Platinum Fleet Repair Spring Nationals! For more information about the XDA, please visit www.XDAracing.com
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