By its very name, the International Hot Rod Association has embraced drag racing at venues far removed from its Ohio headquarters.

Three of the 11 IHRA National events for 2007 are in Canada, and the final race in this country will be the upcoming Canadian Nationals, Sept. 7-9, at Toronto Motorsports Park on Kohler Road, just west of Cayuga.

The event will be round nine in the $19.5 million Knoll Gas Nitro Jam Drag Race series, and the sixth annual stop at the Cayuga drag strip.

To date, the Canadian races have been very popular -- almost 50,000 attended the Edmonton race, and Grand Bend set a new attendance record with 42,000 people.

For local drag racing fans, this will the chance to witness the power and excitement of the fastest-accelerating cars on the planet. The nitromethane-fuelled Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars are capable of speeds well above 300 mph (480 km/h) in less than five seconds on the quarter-mile track. With about 7,500 horsepower, these cars will burn about 20 gallons of nitro for each pass, and are able to accelerate from a standing start to 60 mph in half a second.

A nitro-burning engine, with a displacement of 500 cubic inches and supercharged, has more power than the cars that make up the first four rows of a NASCAR Cup race.

Several Canadian teams compete in the professional classes of IHRA, and they are strong players. Several have won IHRA titles, including Todd Paton of Paris, who won two Funny Car titles in 1993 and 1995 with an alcohol-powered car before stepping up to drive a Top Fueller, the sport's top division.

Several Canadians have made their mark in the IHRA's Alcohol Funny Car class, in cars capable of under-six second passes at close to 250 mph. Three-time class champ Rob Atchison of London currently stands second in the standings behind veteran Mark Thomas of Ohio. Atchison also won the Tulsa event this year.

Paul Noakes, also of London, won the Nationals at Cayuga in 2006, and has notched two wins so far this season, one at Martin, Michigan, and the other at Grand Bend, ON. Another division driver to watch for is Welland's Larry Dobbs, currently fourth in the standings.

The Pro Modified class is popular with fans -- these cars feature full bodies with opening doors and 2,500-horsepower engines, and can get down the track in about six seconds at more than 230 mph. Carl Spiering of Jordan Station is always a threat in this class. He has only raced three times this year, with a runner-up finish in Edmonton. Another strong Canadian in Pro Mod has been Toronto's Tony Pontieri, who set the division's track record last year with a 6.060-second, 236.38 mph pass. Winning the race last year was Mike Janis of Lancaster, N.Y., who has many passes at TMP.

Nitro Funny Car and Pro Stock round out the professional classes. There are eight Sportsman classes in IHRA racing from supercharged dragsters to stock-appearing street cars.

Qualifying begins Friday and continues Saturday, along with eliminations in the Sportsman classes.

The track will hold its annual "Night of Fire" Saturday with rounds under the lights in the Pro classes, plus exhibition displays by wheelstanders and jet-powered vehicles.

Eliminations will be held for all classes on Sunday, starting at 10:30 a.m. Ticket prices range from a daily general admission pass for $50 to a reserved seat three-day pass for $125. For more information, go to www.torontomotorsportspark.com, www.ihra.com, or call the track at 905-772-0303.