National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) executives held a press conference at the Old City Hall building in Boston Wednesday to announce that its Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will make a pit stop next year in Epping.

The series will visit New England Dragway for the inaugural NHRA New England Nationals from June 20-23, 2013. The announcement completes an effort more than a decade in the making, when NHRA officials decided they wanted to stage a Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event in the New England area.

“This is a landmark announcement for NHRA and the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series,” said NHRA President Tom Compton in a release. “We identified the New England area as one of the primary regions to expand our schedule, and today’s announcement is very exciting for everyone involved in NHRA.”

Compton announced that New England Dragway will make capital improvements to the facility over the next 12 months to prepare for the series. Track officials said in a release that they joined the NHRA track network in 2011 with the goal of one day hosting a NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

“To bring the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series to New England, and specifically the state of New Hampshire, is very exciting,” said New England Dragway General Manager Joe Lombardo. “We have started the process of preparing our facility to host an event of this magnitude and look forward to hosting the stars of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing next June.”

The New England series will be headlined by 15-time NHRA Funny Car world champion John Force and seven-time NHRA Top Fuel world champ Tony Schumacher along with other top stars, including New England’s own Bob Tasca III.

Drag racing made its debut in New Hampshire at the old Newington Airport in 1953. New England Dragway opened in September 1966.

NHRA officials will hold a press conference today at the State House in Concord.

Additional announcements regarding the New England Nationals are expected in the coming months regarding sponsors, tickets, and promotional events and activities. Tickets for the event are expected to go on sale on Tuesday, Nov. 13. For more information, visit NHRA.com.