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Drag Race High Season Premiere Tonight on SPEED
Written by: Erik Arneson   
02/01/2009
Charlotte, North Carolina
 
Students receive instruction from teacher Steven Jennings of El Camino High School. (Photo: SPEED) ยป More Photos

Drag Race High premiers tonight at 10pm ET/7pm PT only on SPEED.

What could be better than beating your archrival? How about doing it on national television? SPEED, the definitive network for motor sports and automotive lifestyle programming is giving this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to two San Diego-area high schools as part of the second season of popular prime time original program, Drag Race High.

Set to premiere Feb. 18 at 10 p.m. ET, SPEED is teaming with High Five Entertainment to capture the three-month contest between El Camino and Ramona High Schools.

In their pursuit of constructing a champion hot rod, students will receive instruction from teachers Steven Jennings of El Camino High School and Robert Grace of Ramona High School. Both schools receive $10,000 to begin the project and are allowed to raise up to $50,000 cash or in-kind contributions, such as parts, donated by outside organizations.

“We typically do National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation task sheets and fix the teachers’ cars here on campus. Building a drag car during class is not something we normally do at the El Camino Auto Shop,” said Jennings. “This experience will absolutely have a significant impact on my students’ lives because it’s something they will never forget. My 15, 16, 17 and 18-year-old students have to step up, mature and get more serious than they probably ever have had to about anything. They are beginning to understand that without everyone working as a team, this task will simply not get done on time. Every one of my students is discovering a specialty that would have otherwise possibly taken them years to figure out.”

Production on the 10, 30-minute episodes began in San Diego Aug. 25 and is scheduled to end Nov. 15 in preparation for the finale to be raced at Fontana Raceway in Fontana Calif. Premiering in Feb., 2009, the second season of Drag Race High will be hosted by six-time International Hot Rod Association Top Fuel World Champion, Clay Millican. Each episode will follow the students as they juggle racing to construct a drag masterpiece with their lives outside the shop.

“We announced the show the first week of school at a sports pep rally,” Grace said. “The student body
went nuts. The campus knows what is going on and may come out to auto to check the progress. The students are fired up.”
During the event finale, a professional driver chosen by the students will drag the cars they spent 12 weeks constructing. According to the rules, final products must meet all National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) safety standards. The best three out of five drag races will win the competition, taking home bragging rights and their competitor’s car for the remainder of the school year to serve as a “trophy.”

In a time of illegal street racing concerns, SPEED delivers the inherent message to kids they can have fun in a constructive, safe manner while still being considered cool.

“There is no question that illegal street racing remains a very significant problem for communities throughout the United States,” said SPEED VP of Programming and Executive Producer, Robert Ecker. “It is therefore mission critical that today’s youth fully understand the degree to which this activity is inherently dangerous to themselves and others, and it is incumbent upon us to raise awareness of the safety benefits of racing in controlled environments at organized tracks. We hope to influence these kids to embrace a lifelong passion for safe racing through their real-world experience on Drag Race High.”

SPEED is the nation's first and foremost cable television network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in more than 78 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest-growing sports cable networks in the country and, the home to NASCAR on SPEED and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services. For more information, please visit SPEEDtv.com, the online motor sports authority.

El Camino Team Photos

Ramona Team Photos
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