- Austin Prock living up to his 'Prock Rocket' nickname in first season in Funny Car
- TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER, TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR RETURN TO THRILL FANS AT CLEETUS AND CARS BURNOUT RIVALS EVENT IN INDY
- Stampede of Speed and NHRA Texas Fall Nationals Tickets on Sale
- Zizzo Racing Hooks up with Master Truck & Trailer for 2024 Campaign
- WDRA EXPANDS SUMMIT BRACKET FINALS SERIES TO INCLUDE NORTHWEST CANADA
- Hangsterfer’s Metalworking Lubricants Increases Involvement with AB Motorsports, Angelle Sampey
- Chicago Native Don Schumacher to be Honored During NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet
Alex’s Lemonade Stand, Darrell Gwynn Foundation join Pitch Energy Funny Car in honor of the late John R. Gray
BRISTOL, TN – Johnny and Terry Gray, and Johnny’s sister, Terry Chandler, announced today at Bristol Dragway that the Don 
Schumacher Racing Funny Car they are sponsoring this season through the family’s Pitch Energy business will have a different look at four upcoming NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events.
Their Dodge Charger R/T, which has won a series-best three Funny Car titles and is ranked second in the points standings, will be devoted to raising awareness and funds for the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s effort to find a cure for children’s cancer, and the Darrell Gwynn Foundation, which offers support for people with paralysis and works to prevent spinal cord injuries.
Rowe Makes Big Move in NHRA Pro Mod Points After Semifinal Finish at Bristol Dragway
BRISTOL, TN – Danny Rowe, driver of the Agave Underground Pro Modified Camaro, parlayed his number-one qualifying effort at 
Bristol Dragway into a strong semifinal round finish at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals and – more importantly – made a big move in the championship points standings.
After qualifying first with a 5.958-second, 242.76mph quarter-mile blast, Rowe met Clint Satterfield in the opening stanza. Rowe was off the starting line first and never waivered, moving on to the quarterfinals with a 6.004/243.59mph effort. Rowe then dispatched turbocharged frontrunner Eric Dillard before meeting with another turbocharged racer – Troy Coughlin – in the semifinal round. Rowe again had the advantage at the starting line, but couldn’t quite hold off Coughlin, who snuck around him at the 1,000-foot mark, taking the win with a 6.001/246.53mph pass over Rowe’s 6.028-second, 241.8mph run. Coughlin’s margin of victory was a mere 0.0123-seconds, approximately four feet.
Although shy of his goal of repeating his 2011 final round appearance at Bristol Dragway and this time scoring a win, Rowe made a tremendous move in the points – making the jump from ninth to fourth and straight back into title contention.
Alexander Progresses to Bristol FC Semifinals
BRISTOL, TN – Auto Service Plus Funny Car driver Blake Alexander added another highlight to his strong 2013 season this weekend 
when he reached the semifinals at the Ford Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. Despite struggling in qualifying, the 24-year old Virginian turned on two win lights before falling to eventual race winner John Force.
Alexander’s best qualifying run of the weekend, 4.35, came during the Friday night session, but it wasn’t enough to place him in the top twelve to carry over to Saturday. His final pass during Q4 placed him No. 15, setting up a first round match with the reigning NHRA Funny Car champion, Jack Beckman.
“We were trying a few different things in qualifying. Sometimes you need to go slower to go faster, and obviously we went slower before progressing. We knew we were already qualified going into the last session on Saturday, so we just went up there seeing what the track would take with our set-up,” said Alexander.
X-DRL Eliminations – All classes complete except Pro Xtreme
Madison, IL – Eliminations during the 2013 X-Treme Drag Racing League X-Treme Gateway Showdown at Gateway Motorsports Park 
moved faster than a huge storm front, avoiding a stoppage and allowing the XDRL to complete another event.
Pro X-Treme low qualifier Brandon Pesz’s ’58 Corvette kept the third driver’s door in two days in place, running a 3.690 @ 204.91 MPH to down Quain Stott’s ’63 Corvette, which ran a losing 3.725 @ 203.25, with identical reaction times. On the other side of the ladder, Tim Tindle’s Mustang outran the Mustang of Todd Tutterow, 3.696 @ 204.57 MPH to Todd’s 3.743 @ 201.70 MPH. The only class which did not finish with an event winner, it will be decided during qualifying at the next event in Maryland.
Continue readingFREDY SCRIBA RACES TO NEOPMA PRO MOD SERIES VICTORY AT ATCO DRAGWAY’S DOOR WARS
Atco, NJ – Fredy Scriba and Team had their 63’ Sorcerer Corvette Pro Mod tuned and ready for action with an impressive win at the 
Door Wars at Atco Dragway this past weekend.
Conditions were favorable for some fast ET’s and with beautiful weather Saturday and 18 teams prepared for qualifications after a two year absence from competing at Atco Dragway. Many of the teams struggled to get a handle on the track, but by the final qualifier many of the teams where ready for eliminations.
“Atco is such a great track to race,” Fred Scriba said. “The Sorcerer Vette was working perfectly. Joe Sway, Len Capone and all the staff at Atco took care of all the racers, and prepped the track well. It’s been a couple of years since we raced here, and it’s a tricky track, but those who figured it out were getting down the track”.
Jarid Vollmer sets New NHRDA Pro Street Record at Indiana Diesel Shootout
Indianapolis, IN – Jarid Vollmer has set the NHRDA Pro Street world on its head with his record breaking weekend at the NHRDA Indiana 
Diesel Shootout. Vollmer laid down the quickest pass in NHRDA Pro Street history in the first round of qualifying with an 8.81. One of the cool things about the run was he was the first truck to run during qualifying so all his competitors had to sit back and watch as he we almost .3 tenths lower than the record.
Vollmer was still going to have to back up the record if he wanted it to stay. And he would back up the 8.81 with an even quicker run of 8.70 in eliminations. Vollmer was not able to back up the 8.70 as he had some mechanical failure in the final round.
Every NHRDA Pro Street truck across the nation now knows that the gauntlet has been laid down by Jarid Vollmer and the Bully Dog team.
Despite Difficult Day at Bristol Mopar Still on Top
Bristol, TN – Eliminations on Father’s Day at the 13th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals did not quite go as planned for the 
Mopar contingency, but while none of the Dodge entries in either class were able to advance past the second round at Bristol Dragway, a few positives remained. Despite the shortened race day, Matt Hagan and the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Don Schumacher Racing machine remain atop the leaderboard in the Funny Car points race, while Allen Johnson and Mopar teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. are tied for the second spot in the Pro Stock standings.
Another top highlight took place prior to first round action, as driver of the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger, Johnson along with his father and engine builder Roy Johnson, were presented with the “Mopar President’s Award” by Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. They were recognized in front of their hometown fans and family for their contributions as brand ambassadors, their five decades of loyalty, dedication and service to Mopar, and for bringing home a long sought after 2012 NHRA Pro Stock World Championship. Father and son are the first recipients of this special award.
Rare holeshot loss sends Jeg Coughlin Jr. to the sidelines in quarterfinals
BRISTOL, TN – On a day when the top three runners in the ultra-competitive Pro Stock category were all eliminated earlier than 
expected, Jeg Coughlin Jr. was relieved to maintain his No. 2 ranking in the Mello Yello championship points after a Round 2 dismissal at Bristol Dragway.
Coughlin had a car that could have gone the distance, but upstart Erica Enders managed to squeak out a .009-second holeshot victory in the quarterfinal round to end the five-time champ’s day. Fortunately for Coughlin and his JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger, points leader Mike Edwards and third-place Allen Johnson also lost in the same round, leaving the top echelon of the class as it was at the start of the weekend.
BRISTOL FAN SCORES AS RESULT OF FORCE’S THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS WIN
BRISTOL, TN – The efforts by John Force and his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang team this weekend brought a well-deserved event win to 
the John Force Racing stable. With that, came the delight of putting a 55” flat screen TV in the hands of lucky fan Shawn Adams from Roanoke, Va. at the 13th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Ford Dealers, compliments of BrandSource and the “Win with Force” promotion.
Force came out of the No. 6 spot and raced his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to the finish line during Sunday’s first round of eliminations against his youngest daughter, Courtney Force, clocking a 4.0125 at 309.49 mph. He then went on to dismiss Matt Hagan, Blake Alexander and Cruz Pedregon from the show.
“It is big. When you have been out of it a while I used to complain about winner’s circles. Now I am like are you kidding me. I have Brittany and Courtney in the car at the other end. We loaded everybody up and went to the winner’s circle with mom. People ask me when is enough enough? I’ll tell you when it is time. It is not time yet,“ said Force from the winner’s circle.
Coughlin grabs control of Pro Mod points lead with runner-up finish in Bristol
BRISTOL, TN – JEGS.com driver Troy Coughlin returned to the top of the NHRA Pro Mod points standings with a runner-up finish in 
the Ford Thunder Valley Nationals Sunday at Bristol Dragway.
Coughlin, the defending Pro Mod champion, fell to Rickie Smith in the final round but leads Smith by 10 points in the battle for the 2013 series championship.
“You always hate to lose, but we’ve got to consider the big picture, too.” Coughlin said. “(Crew chief) Steve (Petty) and the guys have the car running great, and we got to another final round. We’ve been really consistent in this latest stretch, and that’s a testament to how good this car is running.”
Coughlin qualified No. 4 and took out Mike Knowles in the first round Saturday night.
