By SEMA News Editors
IHRA Promotes Doug Foley Jr. to COO of Drag Racing
The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) has promoted Doug Foley Jr. to COO of Drag Racing, expanding his leadership role within the organization as IHRA continues to grow its national racing programs and strengthen relationships with racers and tracks across the country.
Foley Jr. will oversee the operational execution of IHRA's drag-racing programs, working closely with tracks, racers and event teams to ensure successful national events while continuing to build and grow IHRA's drag-racing platform.
"Doug Foley Jr. has grown up in this sport and understands it from every perspective as a racer, as part of a team, and as someone who truly cares about the future of drag racing," said Leah Martin, president of IHRA. "Having already been part of the IHRA team, he brings valuable insight into our racers, our tracks and the direction we are building for the future."
The announcement comes as IHRA continues to expand its motorsports footprint with new leadership, new racing series and a renewed commitment to both professional and grassroots racing.
H1 Unlimited to Debut New Race Format in Madison
H1 Unlimited, the hydroplane series races some of the world's fastest race boats, will introduce a new race format at the Madison Regatta, marking an important evolution in how race weekends are structured and decided. The objective behind this change is simple: make every session count, reward consistency and create a clearer path from Time Trials to the Final, said organizers.
Rather than relying on draw-based positioning, the new format connects qualifying, preliminary heats and the final through one cumulative scoring system called "Total Weekend Points."
Under the new structure, every boat accumulates points beginning in Time Trials and continuing through the preliminary heats.
The Madison Regatta has been held annually since 1951 and is the site of some of the sport's most iconic moments, as well as being the subject of the major motion picture titled "Madison." Last year's event took place in July.
Read more about the changes on the H1 website here.
Driven2SaveLivesTitle Sponsors High Limit Racing Events
An Indiana Donor Network program, Driven2SaveLives, will fittingly serve as the title sponsor of all four Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing events held in The Hoosier State this season. This marks the third consecutive year that D2SL and HLR have teamed up to continue educating race fans on the importance of organ and tissue donation, along with telling the stories of donor heroes and transplant recipients.
Similar to last year, the Driven2SaveLives Battle at the 'Burg at Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 29, and the Driven2SaveLives Midweek Mayhem at Kokomo Speedway on September 23--the Roto-Rooter Midweek Series finale broadcast live on FS1--remains staples on the schedule. New in 2026 is the addition of the Driven2SaveLives Bryan Clauson Hero Classic, a two-day event at Kokomo Speedway on May 8-9, honoring the legacy and lasting impact that the late racer left through his iconic career on track and his life-saving organ donations off track.
"Our partnership with High Limit Racing over the last few years has allowed us to deliver an important message to race fans in Indiana, which is that everyone can be a hero and potentially save lives by signing up to be an organ donor," said Taylor Sweeden, senior marketing program specialist at Indiana Donor Network. "We are excited about our continued partnership and the opportunity to continue to educate even more race fans about the lifesaving impact of organ and tissue donation at all of the Indiana races in 2026."
Tickets and pit passes are now available for pre-purchase at HighLimitRacing.com.
To learn more about Driven2SaveLives and about organ donation, visit driven2savelives.org.
Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing officially opens the 2026 season with the SugarBee Apples Blackjack Bash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 12-14 during NASCAR weekend.
For more racing industry news, visit the PRI website at performanceracing.com/magazine/industry-news.
Graphic courtesy of High Limit Racing, Driven2SaveLives
