- Tony Stewart Racing Funny Car Team Announces 2025 Crew Chief Lineup
- Past PDRA Top Sportsman Champ Nick Meloni Adds Top Dragster World Championship
- This Week at MBE
- Brunson Grothus Earns Long-Awaited First PDRA Pro Extreme Motorcycle World Championship
- Antron Brown to Make Pro Mod Debut with Team Buginga at DI Winter Series at Bradenton Motorsports Park
- Drag Illustrated Winter Series Introduces Points Championship for Pro Mod Racers
- PRO Superstar Shootout Adds Callies as Premier Sponsor in 2025
WINNER-TAKE-ALL FINAL ROUND LEADS TO GREG ANDERSON’S MOST MEANINGFUL NHRA PRO STOCK TITLE
Pro Stock’s all-time wins leader caps 2024 season with unbelievable comeback, sixth title and 106th career win
INDIANAPOLIS – Greg Anderson has enjoyed as much success as nearly everyone in NHRA history. But this year’s sixth Pro Stock 
championship might have been the most meaningful accomplishment of his stellar career.
Anderson got the situation he longed craved for – a winner-take-all final round in Pomona – and the veteran delivered in a major way, defeating KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn in a thriller with a run of 6.501-seconds at 211.30 mph in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro to narrowly defeat Glenn’s 6.516.
It handed the driver with the most wins in Pro Stock history (106) an unbelievable moment in a situation many would have thought improbable just few short weeks prior. As he’s been prone to do throughout his championship career, Anderson found another level when he needed it, warding off the young talent for one more year and winning a championship he said meant more than any of the previous five.
“I definitely feel that way,” Anderson said. “Our class is in good shape, that’s the good news. We’ve got so many young guns who can drive the wheels off these things and they’re racing for wins and championships. Yes, they’re trying to push me out the door, but I’m dragging my feet. People ask me when I’m going to quit and I’ll quit when I can’t win anymore. Apparently, I can’t quit yet. It’s not going to be tomorrow.” Continue reading
Mark Reese Clinches First PDRA Top Sportsman World Championship
FREDERICKSBURG, VA – The MagnaFuel Top Sportsman presented by Corbin’s RV world championship typically comes down to the wire 
in the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series, but this season, newly crowned world champion Mark Reese simply had to qualify at the season finale to secure his title. Facing tough competition with razor-thin margins of victory all season, Reese won two events in three final-round appearances to claim his first world championship in the series.
Reese’s championship hopes began in late May when he drove his nitrous-assisted, PAR Racing Engines-powered ’08 Mustang to a runner-up finish at the American Doorslammer Challenge at Summit Motorsports Park. Two races later, he won the Northern Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park. He backed that up with a second consecutive win at the inaugural Thunder Valley Throwdown at Bristol Dragway. Those performances gave Reese enough of a lead that he merely had to qualify at the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park to clinch the championship. Reese, who doesn’t live far from VMP in North Dinwiddie, Virginia, qualified No. 22 in the Top Sportsman 48 field.
“This is probably the biggest accomplishment I’ve ever done in my racing career,” said Reese, who thanked his wife, as well as tuner Buddy Perkinson. “I’ve won four championships at VMP before with index racing driving for Keith Cox. It just all came together towards the end of the season. Winning Michigan and Bristol and runner-up at Ohio gave me enough confidence thinking I could compete with these guys out here.” Continue reading
HISTORIC MILAN DRAGWAY GOES ON THE MARKET
Milan, MI – The owners of Milan Dragway have made the difficult decision to put the historic facility on the market. The venerable dragstrip 
located less than an hour from Detroit, Michigan has gone through a renaissance under the direction of the owners who purchased the closed facility in 2021.
Multiple physical upgrades have been completed over the last 30 months including asphalt and concrete paving, updates to the men’s and women’s restrooms, renovations to the pro shop, club house, performance center, concession buildings and more.
Additionally, a new P.A. system and speakers have been installed, lighting has been upgraded throughout the facility, landscaping renewed, general upkeep, and more have been completed.
Several hundred thousands of dollars has also been spent on equipment for both the dragstrip operations and grounds maintenance.
New events have provided exceptional car counts with strong spectator attendance. The facility hosts more than 100 event race days annually with a highly diverse number of events. Continue reading
FUNNY CAR’S AUSTIN PROCK LEAVES NO DOUBT EN ROUTE TO DOMINANT NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
Prock’s record-breaking season, including monumental 341.68 mph blast, 8 wins and 15 No. 1 qualifiers, leads to first world title
INDIANAPOLIS – Making a dream a reality is never easy, but surrounded by family and a standout team, Funny Car’s Austin Prock lived out 
a lifelong aspiration during his dominant, championship-winning 2024 season in the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Prock left no doubt, turning in one of the most incredible seasons in recent Funny Car history, blistering track records, setting national marks and making the fastest run in NHRA history in the process.
It was everything Prock dreamed of – and much, much more – when he made his Funny Car debut this season. Filling in for John Force Racing President Robert Hight, a three-time world champion, Prock had big shoes to fill, but it’s an opportunity he relished. Prock raced alongside star crew chief and his father, Jimmy Prock, and his brother, Thomas, fulfilling a dream that only seemed to get better as the season went on.
Prock won eight races, tying him with Hight and Ron Capps for the most in a single season in Funny Car since 2000, with his playoff victory in Las Vegas putting him in position to clinch the world title during qualifying in Pomona. The 2019 Rookie of the Year did that and then went 3.804-seonds – the quickest run in Funny Car since 2017 and the fourth-quickest in history – to close out qualifying and his championship season with an emphatic exclamation point in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS. Continue reading
Billy Meyer Caps Entertaining First Season of Talkin’ Funny Cars
DALLAS – The first season of Talkin’ Funny Cars with Buddy Hull will wrap up with legendary Funny Car driver and Hall of Famer Billy 
Meyer as the special guest this Wednesday, November 27 at 8 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. PT on the NHRA’s FAST Channel. Meyer and Hull get into the ins and out of some of Meyer’s innovative sponsorship programs as well as talk about the differences across the eras of Funny Car racing. One of the highlights of the show is Meyer’s colorful and detailed explanation of his history at the U.S. Nationals. Following the debut of the Meyer episode all nine episodes of the 2024 season will air back-to-back on Saturday, November 30 beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.
“Getting to talk with Billy about winning the U.S. Nationals as well as his history at the biggest race in drag racing was so cool,” said Hull. “He is the first legend we have had the chance to chat with on Talkin’ Funny Cars and next season we are hoping to get some more early days drivers on the show. His stories about Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham are amazing. This season was a learning experience for me on the track as well as on the show. I want to thank every driver who shared their stories. I am also excited to give fans the chance to catch up with the Thanksgiving marathon of the shows this Saturday.” Continue reading
FOURTH NHRA WORLD TITLE WORTH THE WAIT FOR TOP FUEL’S ANTRON BROWN
Brown gets past loaded field in Pomona, earns 80th career win to cap off dream weekend, first title as team owner
INDIANAPOLIS – On a day that summed up just how incredible the competition is in the Top Fuel category, Antron Brown’s fourth world 
championship – and first as a team owner – came only after a remarkable run through a loaded field at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
Eight years after he won his third title, Brown had to earn every bit of his fourth championship at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, knocking off Justin Ashley, Shawn Langdon, Brittany Force and Doug Kalitta to cap off one of the biggest days in his spectacular career.
It was necessary work to win a title, but by no means was it easy work for Brown and his standout team. Ashley entered the weekend as the points leader, Langdon was third (one point behind Brown), and both Kalitta and Force were in championship contention. An early defeat would have ended Brown’s championship dreams, but the four-time champion embraced the moment – as he always seems to do in pressure situations – and slipped past Ashley in a side-by-side thriller in his 11,000-horsepower Matco Tools/Toyota dragster. Continue reading
Amber Denton Claims Second PDRA Pro 632 World Championship, Third in Series
FREDERICKSBURG, VA – Amber (Franklin) Denton is now a second-generation two-time world champion in the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag 
Racing Series professional classes, as she won the 2024 Pro 632 world championship. Denton, who won the 2017 Pro Jr. Dragster and 2022 Pro 632 world championships, secured the title by winning three races in six final rounds across the eight-race season. She also qualified No. 1 six times before closing out the season – and her Pro 632 career – by setting a new class E.T. national record.
Following a third-place finish in the 2023 standings, Denton and her Tommy Franklin Motorsports team were determined to get back to championship form this season. She claimed two No. 1 qualifier awards and two runner-up finishes in the first three races of the season before getting her first win of the season at the North vs. South Shootout at Maryland International Raceway. That was the first of two double-up wins with her father, three-time Pro Nitrous world champion Tommy Franklin. The second came just two races later at the inaugural Thunder Valley Throwdown at Bristol Dragway. Denton in her Musi-powered “OG Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro then dominated DragWars at GALOT Motorsports Park, qualifying No. 1 and winning the race. She clinched the world championship during eliminations. Continue reading
Sick The Mag Joins PRO Superstar Shootout as Media Partner
INDIANAPOLIS – Continuing to develop unique marketing and promotional relationships Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO), 
the driving force behind the 2nd annual SCAG Power Equipment Superstar Shootout, February 6-8, 2025, today announced a wide-ranging cross-promotional program focusing on media exposure and racing exhibitions with Sick the Mag. The PRO Superstar Shootout will highlight select drag-and-drive competitors in exhibition races during the star-studded three-day event.
Sick the Mag will promote the Superstar Shootout during Sick Week from January 27 – February 1, 2025, encouraging fans and participants to attend the event. The two organizations hope to highlight the unique aspects of each of their events to new audiences highlighting the future of hot rodding and drag racing entertainment. Plans are also in the works for additional driver engagements between the two organizations around the upcoming PRI Show in December.
“We are looking to continue to create a disruptive and fun event for the drag racing and motorsports fan base with the PRO Superstar Shootout, so joining forces with Sick the Mag made perfect sense,” said Scott Woodruff, PRO Board Member. “Sick the Mag has been on the cutting edge of the drag-and-drive phenomenon for years. They have developed a passionate following and we would like to tap into that group and introduce them to the PRO Superstar Shootout drag race.”
WDRA WELCOMES PIEDMONT DRAGWAY TO THE MEMBER TRACK FAMILY IN 2025
NORWALK, OH – Piedmont Dragway, hailed as “The Doorslammer Capitol of the World,” has entered into a multi-year sanction agreement 
with the World Drag Racing Alliance (WDRA) beginning with the 2025 season. Located in Julian, North Carolina, Piedmont Dragway boasts a slam-packed season with nearly 100 events stretching from January to December. The eighth-mile facility was founded in 1957 and has accumulated a rich history throughout decades of exciting action and close competition.
“Inviting such a well-run and beloved facility to our family is a pleasure,” said Josh Peake with WDRA. “I have a long-standing relationship with the facility and its racers, so it’s an honor to be able to bring them into the programs this sanctioning body has to offer.”
Co-managers Buffy Brewer and Rick Moore have decided to switch sanctioning bodies to provide their racers with the unique benefits that come with being part of the WDRA. Additionally, the track looks forward to challenging the best racers from the Carolinas when they bring a team to compete at the WDRA Summit Southeast Bracket Finals presented by Laris Motorsports at Galot Motorsports Park in October. Continue reading
Against the Odds, Kyle Harris Claims PDRA Elite Top Dragster World Championship
FREDERICKSBURG, VA – Going into the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series season finale, Kyle Harris didn’t expect to have a realistic 
shot at the world championship in Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster presented by Greenbrier Excavating & Paving. Ranked third in points, a range of scenarios had to play out perfectly for Harris to climb into the points lead. That’s exactly what happened, though, as Harris raced to his first win of the season at the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals to clinch the championship.
Harris went into the season hoping to be competitive, but his other major goal was helping his son, Pro Jr. Dragster title contender Ryan Harris, earn his Top Dragster license. To accomplish that, Harris switched from his proven but wild Altered to a supercharged, full-length, rear-engine dragster to allow Ryan to make licensing passes during pre-race testing. Harris reached the final round at the third race of the season, the American Doorslammer Challenge at Summit Motorsports Park. He later switched back to the Altered, but when that entry faced continued parts failures that led to early exits, Harris started to feel his championship hopes slip away. Incredibly close first-round losses – both by a .0006 margin of victory – at the sixth and seventh races of the season didn’t help. Continue reading
