- NHRA RETURNS TO CHICAGO FOR ACTION-PACKED GERBER COLLISION & GLASS NHRA ROUTE 66 NATIONALS
- DRAG AND DRIVE EXHIBITION WITH ALEX TAYLOR AND TOM BAILEY RETURNS TO NHRA NATIONAL EVENT AT ROUTE 66 RACEWAY
- Record Setters and Race Winners Head to Virginia for PDRA Mid-Atlantic Showdown
- Race Wrap | NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals
- Race Wrap | NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals
- Stewart, Hagan Record Final Round Performances at Las Vegas NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in TSR Dodge//SRT Nitro Machines
- KALITTA, TASCA AND COUGHLIN JR WIN LAS-VEGAS 4-WIDE
WORSHAM, NEFF, ANDERSON, TONGLET, REINHART ON WFO RADIO
Courtesy of WFO
HOLLYWOOD, FL – O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Route 66 Nationals winners Del Worsham, Mike Neff, Greg Anderson, and L.E. Tonglet all join Joe Castello along with the NHRA’s Alan Reinhart, on WFO Radio NHRA Nitro. To listen now, go to
WFORadio.com.
Al Anabi Racing’s Del Worsham, won his fifth race of the 2011 season with a victory over David Grubnic. Worsham discusses the continuation of his best season, recovering from a driving error second round, and answers email questions from WFO Radio listeners.
John Force Racing Funny Car driver, Mike Neff, celebrates his fourth victory of the season. Neff talks about the 200th Funny Car win for Ford Racing, the tricky track conditions in Chicago, the art and technology behind reading the race track, his final round battle with Jeff Arend, and post victory testing.
Roy Hill Qualifies on Top, Advances to Third Round at Sportsman Spectacular
Courtesy of Roy Hill Racing
Photo by Bryan Epps / BME Photography
BUDDS CREEK, MD – Drag racing icon Roy Hill found himself in a familiar position at the conclusion of qualifying for the 
inaugural Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Spectacular at Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek, MD this past weekend.
After posting a class-leading 8.646-second elapsed time in the opening round of Super Stock qualifying, Hill cemented the pole position with an even better 8.595 in the final qualifying session Saturday evening. Hill’s Phoenix Racing Ford Mustang Cobra Jets have now qualified number one at every race the team has entered since April. Hill also won class eliminations in Super Stock A/Automatic yet again.
“We had another good weekend,” Hill said. “We went out and were number one qualifier right off the bat and came back and bettered ourselves, and won class. We were very happy with how well we ran in qualifying for Racing Radios, Coca-Cola, Goodyear, and Alsco.”
A Pair of Semi Final Finishes for Chris Demke and Maddern Racing in Chi-Town
Courtesy of Maddern Racing
Chicago, IL – After qualifying was completed at the NHRA Full Throttle Route 66 National Event for the Top Alcohol 
Dragster class, Chris Demke and Maddern Racing found themselves qualified in the pole position for Jeg’s Allstars competition and held on to the #3 position for final eliminations.
The Peen Rite/Clean Boost sponsored dragster was a very consistent car throughout most of qualifying and eliminations posting times of 5.332 to 5.371 on five of their seven passes down the track. Those times took them into the Semi Finals in both competitions.
“The car shook pretty hard in the first round of qualifying” noted Demke, “I pedaled it twice and it didn’t settle down, so I lifted.
Top Fuel battle reaches fevered pitch in Grand Bend
Courtesy of IHRA
GRAND BEND, ON – Exactly one year ago at the annual summer spectacular known as the Mopar Nitro Jam Nationals at the Grand Bend Motorplex in Ontario, Canadian owner/driver Todd Paton piloted his Tim Horton’s backed Top Fuel
dragster to a victory over former champion Bruce Litton to claim the very first Top Fuel victory by a Canadian at an IHRA Canadian event.
Next week, Paton hopes history will repeat itself once again.
With the 11th annual Mopar Nitro Jam Nationals just a few days away, Paton will be back in action at Grand Bend this weekend looking to once again put his familiar red and black nitro machine in victory lane against a trio of very tough Top Fuel opponents at one of Canada’s premier drag racing events.
“We were a late addition to the show last year and we surprised even ourselves by coming out on top and finally getting a win in this thing,” Paton said. “Hopefully we will have the same kind of success in Grand Bend and win another Ironman for Canada.”
Tim McAmis Performance Parts Sponsoring Top Sportsman Low Qualifier Program In ADRL
Courtesy of ADRL
O’FALLON, MO – New doors continue to be opened for Top Sportsman racers in the American Drag Racing League (ADRL).
The world’s premier eighth-mile drag racing league announced on Monday that ADRL sponsor Tim McAmis Performance Parts will be offering a new Top Sportsman No. 1 Qualifier Program.
The low qualifier program will award the top qualifier in Top Sportsman $500 at each of the final five events during the 2011 season.
This exciting incentive will begin at this weekend’s Ford Drive One Summer Drags VII, which is the fifth of ninth stop on the 2011 ADRL Tour and takes place from U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Mich.
Maple Grove Gears Up For A Huge Super Chevy Show Featuring the NEOPMA
Courtesy of NEOPMA
Mohnton, PA – Get Your 1320ft worth of Pro Modifieds Action July 15th to 17th.
New this year for Super Chevy at Maple Grove will be the “Chevy vs. the World” Pro mod wars format that would be our
standard two eight car fields, one class Nitrous and one class Blower/Turbo with our standard rules and payouts. All NEOPMA Members would be eligible for this event, regardless of make or model.
Yes that’s right fans; the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association will be hazing the quarter mile of Maple Grove Dragway July 15th to 17th for their ultimate side by side drag racing, all the best Pro Mods from Nitrous Class to Supercharged/Turbocharged Class, will be adding to the excitement of the “Super Chevy Show” weekend.
When speed and ET is the only thing that will quench your horsepower induced thirst for screaming burnouts, huge nitrous purges and supercharged madness on the top end at over 230MPH, full on nitrous tune-ups bursting out the exhaust into the night; these doorslammers of the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association have your ticket.
MIR Sportsman Photo Extra
Courtesy of Bryan Epps/BME Photography
Budds Creek, MD – As a special treat to our readers, Bryan Epps of BME Photography, has sent us a special gallery of the winners from this past weekends Sportsman Spectacular at famed maryland International Raceway.
[nggallery id=9]
Winners crowned on championship Sunday at inaugural Summit Racing Sportsman Spectacular
Courtesy of IHRA
BUDDS CREEK, MD – Over the past 40 years thousands of different drivers from all corners of North America have h
oisted trophies and celebrated victory with the International Hot Rod Association.
None, however, have done it more than Anthony Bertozzi.
Bertozzi, a native of the small town of Ashland located in the heart of Virginia, has compiled an impressive resume during his lengthy drag racing career that includes a record 16 IHRA championships and over 60 national event victories, all of which sweeter than the last.
So when the IHRA decided to celebrate the past four decades with a special race held over the weekend in southern Maryland featuring a record payout and other prizes just a few hours from Bertozzi’s home, it was only fitting that the winningest driver in IHRA history participate.
And even more fitting, win. Bertozzi was one of nearly half a dozen winners from the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Spectacular held at Maryland International Raceway over the weekend, winning the Super Stock class and pocketing a cool $5,000 in the process awarded to class winners at MIR.
BARTONE WINS 4th NATIONAL EVENT OF 2011 IN JOLIET
Courtesy of Jackson Racing
Joliet, IL – On the same weekend where New York Yankee Derek Jeter made history collecting his 3,000th career hit, 
Long Island City, NY native and life-long Yankee fan Tony Bartone, driver of the Rick Jackson Racing Mustang Top Alcohol Funny Car captured his 4th National Event victory of the 2011 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Route 66 Nationals contested at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. The victory also extended his point lead in the team’s quest for the Lucas Oil TAFC World Championship.
Bartone entered the National Event at Route 66 Raceway qualified in the number 3 position, after recording a 5.648 during the final qualify session which also served as the first round of the Jeg’s Sportsman All-Star competition. The Rick Jackson Racing team was the NHRA Division 4 representative for this unique specialty event. However, their quest for the Jeg’s title ended in a 0.0142 second margin of victory semi-final loss to Division 1 hitter Todd Veney.
Fields set following huge opening day at Summit Racing Sportsman Spectacular
Courtesy of IHRA
BUDDS CREEK, MD – It was billed as the biggest and grandest sportsman drag race in the 40 year history of the International Hot Rod Association.
And so far, after just one day of competition, it looks like the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Spectacular is living up to that hype.
A massive contingent of championship race teams filled the grounds at Maryland International Raceway on Saturday as the opening rounds of qualifying and first round of eliminations wrapped up day one at the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Spectacular at MIR.
In addition to the $5,000 awaiting class winners on Sunday, Summit Racing Equipment also added a $100 bonus to top qualifiers on Saturday leading to some fierce competition to grab the top spot in each class. And leading their respective fields after a busy Saturday at MIR are Alan O’Brien (Top Dragster), Todd Fontana (Top Sportsman), Roy Hill (Super Stock), Jim Marshall (Stock), Mike Daymude (Quick Rod), Jay Bradford (Super Rod) and Matthew Robinson (Hot Rod).
