NHRA
NHRA STARS Team up with NBA FOR All-Star Weekend!
NHRA stars John Force, Brittany Force, Antron Brown, and Erica Enders provided acceleration education to NBA all 
stars for the All-Star Motor Sports Challenge that will air during next Saturday’s NBA All Star prgramming at 5 PM Eastern on TNT.
The drag race style competition — held at zMAX Dragway -– features Turner’s roster of All-Star NBA personalities including Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, Baron Davis, Ernie Johnson, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Candace Parker and Kristen Ledlow.
The hour-long show features TNT commentators divided into two teams selected by captains Barkley and O’Neal to compete in a head to head three-round race on the dragstrip to determine the champion of the Challenge.
THE SOUTHEAST DIVISION OPENS WITH THE RPM WINTER WARM-UP
ORLANDO, FL – The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Southeast Division arrives at Orlando Speed World 
Dragway for the Winter Warm-Up on February 1st-2nd. The event is one of 44 scheduled across the country where drivers earn points leading to divisional and national championships as well as a chance at a share of the year-end purse of more than $519,000. Categories include Comp Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas and Super Street. Stott’s Ford Top Sportsman Series and Hickory Enclosed Trailer Sales Top Dragster Series will also be run in conjunction with the event.
Gates at Orlando Speed World Dragway open at 8 a.m. each day. Top Dragster, Comp Eliminator and Top Sportsman qualify Friday at 11 a.m., 2:30 and 6:00 p.m. Elimination rounds for all classes will begin on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and will continue throughout the day. Round 1 for Top Dragster, Comp Eliminator and Top Sportsman is set for 11:00 a.m.
COMPETITIONPLUS.COM TO LIVE STREAM PRO WINTER TEST FROM WILD HORSE PASS
Free Viewing For Closed to Public Preseason Test Session
SPARTANBURG, SC – The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season is less than a month away and dozens of top tier 
teams are preparing for the 24 race national tour. In advance of the grueling and exciting professional drag racing season a private preseason test session will be conducted January 30 – February 2, at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park near Chandler, Arizona just outside of Phoenix. This year CompetitionPlus.com will be live streaming all four days of the private test session offering fans around the world the first look at on-track action. The daily test sessions will not be open to the public so the CompetitionPlus.com live stream will be the only way to see comprehensive live action.
“We heard the track for a variety of reasons was not going to sell spectator tickets and we reached out to see about live streaming the event,” said Bobby Bennett CompetitionPlus.com owner and publisher. “The management team at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park was receptive to the idea so we got to work on the logistics. Fans will be able to watch testing all day through the CompetitionPlusTV YouTube channel.”
Mickey Thompson Returns as Title Sponsor of the NHRA Top Fuel Harley Drag Racing Series
STOW, OH – Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels is back for another year of exciting motorcycle drag racing. The 
popular Mickey Thompson Tires Top Fuel Harley Drag Racing Series will be featured at 10 events during the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series calendar.
“The Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels Top Fuel Harley motorcycle category has quickly become one of the most exciting of the NHRA series,” said NHRA vice president and chief development officer Brad Gerber. “Top Fuel Harley thrilled fans at events in 2018, and we look forward to another electrifying season.”
The Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels Top Fuel Harley series features bikes capable of exceeding 220 mph, making it the fastest motorcycle racing action on the circuit. Races are often decided by thousandths of a second.
Mickey Thompson Back as NHRA Major Event Sponsor for 2019
STOW, OH – Jan. 22, 2019: With drag racing in its DNA, it’s no surprise that Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels is 
back as a major event sponsor of the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
“Drag racing is an important part of what we do, and who we are,” said Ken Warner, vice president of marketing, Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels. “We offer a complete line of competition tires for racers on two and four wheels and our products set new standards and break traditions in innovation.”
In addition to attending all national events with the fully-equipped Mickey Thompson trailer to provide trackside support to racers, the company will increase its presence at select 2019 NHRA events with a second on-site trailer.
Oakley Motorsports Extends Sponsorship of Division 3 Top Dragster and Top Sportsman
The NHRA North Central Division along with Oakley Motorsports and Diamond Piston are proud to announce that 
they have extended their sponsorship of the North Central Divisions Top Dragster and Top Sportsman classes for 2019.
2018 marked the first season of the sponsorship for the Oakley Motorsports Top Sportsman and Top Dragster Classes. Phillip Oakley, owner of Oakley Motorsports could not be happier with the results of 2018. During this past season some of the quickest Top Dragster and Top Sportsman events were held at the North Central Divisions Lucas Oil Series, with competitors from all over the country attending events. The bar has been set for 2019 to be one of the most competitive seasons ever. And with the continuation of support from Oakley Motorsports and Diamond Pistons, the North Central Division should once again be the home of the quickest and fastest Top Dragster and Top Sportsman classes in the country.
Oakley Motorsports is based in Ownesboro, Ky., and has been providing winning high-performance horsepower for Drag Racing, Circle Track, Tractor Pulling and Street Cars for over a decade. Phillip Oakley takes pride in every motor that leaves his shop. And the support given to the customers is second to none in the industry. He will take the time to make sure his customers reach their performance goals. When you combine the services level provided from Oakley Motorsports with quality of Diamond Pistons you have a winning combination. Proof of that is the 2018 Oakley Motorsports Top Dragster Champion Ed Dudley who used a Oakley Motorsports combination.
SOUTH CENTRAL DIVISION 4 HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
DALLAS, TX – The NHRA South Central Division 4 announced today that Jeff Teuton will be inducted into the 
NHRA South Central Division 4 Hall of Fame.
The Division 4 Hall of Fame honors individuals, drivers, and officials who laid the groundwork for NHRA Drag Racing in the South Central Division. Teuton will join the likes of Eddie Hill, Raymond Beadle, Kenny Bernstein, Bill Meyer and many more in the South Central Division Hall of Fame.
“The NHRA and South Central Division 4 are pleased to induct Jeff Teuton into the NHRA South Central Division 4 Good Guys Hall of Fame,” said Trey Capps, Division 4 director. “Jeff has had a long history Drag Racing and many accomplishments to his credit. His support through the years to the racers, sponsors, and the NHRA are sport changing.”
Jeff Teuton has been a part of NHRA Drag Racing for over 25 years. Jeff has always tried to better the sport of drag racing for not only the competitors but also for the sponsors and as well as the NHRA. Jeff was one of the founding members, as well as the President, of the Sportsman Racing Association (SRA). Jeff has held multiple NHRA ET and MPH Records with a variety of cars. He is the only known racer to win an 8 round Stock Eliminator Class Race from the Byron IL. Class Nationals in 2001, and still holds the title of the oldest driver to win in Stock Eliminator.
THREE INDUCTED INTO NHRA NORTH CENTRAL DIVISION HALL OF FAME
INDIANAPOLIS – Travis Miller, a veteran NHRA technical inspector, former Division Director Jay Hullinger and the 
late Leo Taugher a national and divisional announcer were inducted into the National Hot Rod Association’s North Central Division Hall of Fame during their annual awards banquet (Saturday, December 8) held at the Indianapolis Wyndham West.
Miller from Louisville, Ky. started drag racing at Bullitt Dragway in 1964 and later became a technical inspector at Ohio Valley Raceway in Valley Station in 1970. He joined the NHRA certification team in 1985 and continues to serve as an NHRA chassis and technical inspector.
Hullinger grew up at the family’s owned Bunker Hill Drag Strip, which his father opened in 1956 as Indiana’s first drag strip. He served as NHRA North Central Division Director from 1987 to 2017 overseeing NHRA drag racing in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and western Ontario, Canada.
‘NHRA on Fox – Powered by Dodge’ Livestream Broadcast Set for 2018 PRI Trade Show
Auburn Hills, MI – The Dodge brand is fired up for the 2019 race season, bringing the 2018 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show right to enthusiasts and race fans as official sponsor of NHRA livestream coverage from the annual event, scheduled for December 6-8 at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. “NHRA on Fox – Powered by Dodge” will offer three full days of livestream coverage from the 2018 PRI Show, available for viewing at www.NHRA.com.
“We are excited to partner with Dodge to livestream our NHRA on FOX studio from the PRI Show,” said Brad Gerber, NHRA vice president of sales and chief development officer. “Everyone is going to enjoy seeing the Dodge Challenger 1320 and the Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak by our booth. These impressive automobiles are sure to be a crowd pleaser.”
Mopar Dodge Top Fuel driver Leah Pritchett and Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car driver Matt Hagan will stop by to participate in livestream interviews with Tony Pedregon and John Kernan from the “NHRA on Fox – Powered by Dodge” broadcast team. Hagan and Pritchett will also take part in autograph sessions at the NHRA display, booth #7032, on Thursday, December 6.
ARAGONA CLINCHES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
GLENDORA, CA – Going into the NHRA season ending Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Dragway at Pomona 
this weekend, Frank Aragona Jr. has locked up his second NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Comp Eliminator World Championship. The Freehold, N.J., racer racked up 613 points including four wins in six final rounds and cannot be caught.
A second-generation driver, Aragona came out strong with a pair of wins and a runner-up finish in his first five events. He won national events in Gainesville, Fla., and in Charlotte, N.C., and advanced to the final round at Speed World Dragway in Orlando, Fla. He then added a win in Reading, Pa., a runner up in Rockingham and a win in West Lebanon, N.Y., to cap off his points total.
A number of racers were chasing Aragona going into last weekend’s divisional event in Las Vegas with most dropping out of contention including 2017 champion David Rampy. The championship was officially locked up when Clint Neff elected not to enter this weekend’s event in Pomona, Calif.
